<p>this year i will be a freshmen, i have been thinking ahead for a long time now, i have decided what i want to do, and where i want to apply, i would like to do engineering and buisness, at MIT or any ivy league school. i have been worrying about my application. since i am not very athletic, i did not take any sports, and i am pretty confident i will not make it if i try out. i am worried about what to put on my college application in terms of ECs. can someone recommend what to do, volunteering doesnt sound too bad. but i think i seem to fall behind when compared to other because they have athletic achievements or research something, i dont know if i would ever get that chance. can someone point me in the right direction on what to do in terms of ECs?</p>
<p>If you plan to major in Engineering then you might study related fields; you should always be ahead of your school when you like something. For example, you might like physics or math. I am personally studying calculus now and I am officially not even in pre-calc yet.
School is a matter of equalling everybody; you should study what you like and don't be afraid to study something at graduate level in school.</p>
<p>You have no idea what you want to do or where you want to go in 8th grade....</p>
<p>i think i have an idea of what i want to do, even if i do change, i will not change fields, when you say learning ahead, does it count if you are learning to program?
here are my high school courses
<a href="http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/1152/courses8mt.jpg%5B/url%5D">http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/1152/courses8mt.jpg</a></p>
<p>jPoD, I knew that I will be majoring in physics in first grade, lol. Guess what major I'm intending as a rising sophomore now? :)</p>
<p>indiasfinest, how can you take Calc AB and BC in one year? Block schedule?
And no, you may correspond a little bit to your program but you should be generally MUCH ahead of it in area that you like. School (even such flexible as in US) usually gives equal level of learning to everyone. Say, you are not very good at writing poems, that's why school is generally not requiring this skills; but someone who's good at writing poems may know nothing about, say, String theory and that's why school is not offering anything on this subject.</p>
<p>Uhhh you're a soph. bro. Talk to me next year.</p>
<p>I don't think you can really decide what you want to do until you're at least a junior or senior. Even after that, there are huge possibilities for change in college.
I wanted to be premed from 1st grade until 11th grade. Now, I have absolutely no clue.
My friend though chemistry ever since 3rd grade. He entered Columbia as an intended Biochemistry major. He's now an Asian-American Studies/Sociology double major. </p>
<p>People change, and it's definitely too early to state your major. Sure, you can have an idea of what you want, but I think it's foolish to go around researching schools as a (rising) freshman based on what you want to do NOW.</p>
<p>mr_chipset: a lot of southern schools with block scheduling let their students take calc AB and BC in one year, but it sucks in a way because its 2 hours of calculus every day for the whole year =.</p>
<p>its 4 classes a semester, 105 minutes of each class. then 2nd semester, you get a change of classes.</p>
<p>Holy crap, you're insane. And I MEAN IT. </p>
<p>Sorry, but you're a freshman and you've already planned out your future? Damn, chill out. Here's some advice as a freshman in high school:</p>
<ol>
<li>STOP WORRYING ABOUT COLLEGE</li>
</ol>
<p>College should be the last thing on your mind right now. What are you nuts? You think your plans will work? Have you ever heard of variables? You know? Things may turn out differently in 2-3 years and you may like different things, you may have new interests/passions. </p>
<p>You are basically closing yourself off to any other interests by choosing your life choice. </p>
<p>You got some problems, stay a kid. You don't gotta worry about it until at least end of sophomore year.</p>
<p>lol, u can't take Calc AB and BC in the same year/semester. You take 1 or the other lol. Wow, I never even thought about what my senior/junior/sophomore schedule would be like when I was an incoming freshman to high school.</p>
<p>You really got some major problems. I advise you to slow the hell down because this is unhealthy. You're 14 for pete's sake. Geez. </p>
<p>Some of the people here are freaky crazy with these classes. They think it's the end all be all.</p>
<p>.......****....get a life dude.....your barely in highschool, don't worry yet, you¡'ll have plenty of time later.</p>
<p>"any ivy league school": hopefully this ranked obsessed comment is due only to your age...the ivies are so different from one another that I just can't think of a person who would find all 8 as a fit for them.</p>
<p>i dont see it as him being 'worried'. if i had the chance to know the ins and outs of high school scheduling, i would have done things totally different.</p>
<p>ask your friends, their older siblings, get to know sophs and juniors even though they will hate you. sophmore year is when you start to have things fall into place.</p>
<p>It's actually quite good to schedule right things before high school, even as rising freshman.</p>
<p>^its quite sick</p>
<p>^ Indeed. It's stupid. Youll have plenty of time. Get a freakin social life nerds.</p>
<p>i do have a social life, and all my teachers said to plan all 4 years.</p>
<p>Indiasfinest -- your original post asked for assistance with ECs and you don't seem to have gotten much help in that area.</p>
<p>first -- as far as planning out high school, that's great. it gives you a chance to look ahead and see what is on the horizon. You have the opportunity to make sure that you fulfill the prerequisites for later classes and that you schedule classes you know you want to attend. certainly nothing wrong with that. Make sure you stay flexible and open to new opportunities (you never know what is coming up) but if you have a general idea of the direction you are headed you can deal with any problems along the way.</p>
<p>As far as ECs, I am not very knowledgeable in the math and engineering areas -- and I know there is plenty available. Here is my suggestion:</p>
<p>First, keep in mind that excellent and outstanding ECs tend to be those that go above and beyond what would be normal for a student your age/grade and location. It is what you make of your opportunities and not the title/position that really count. So look for something that few, if any, students do. think outside the box.</p>
<p>Second, a laundry list of ECs does not help you. Do not spread yourself so thin that you cannot do any one EC with a passion. As a freshman, do some exploring -- this is the time to see what is available, what you like and what you do well. It does not have to be related to engineering or math. visit clubs, community organizations, etc. Then get involved in sophomore year and in Junior year look for leadership positions and outside the box opportunities.</p>
<p>Third -- read the posts here on CC. especially the posts where people talk about their ECs (like the acceptance threads, etc) and see what others have done. Then google those opportunities. Make a list of what is available and what students did themselves. This will give you some ideas for what possibilities there are for you.</p>
<p>best of luck!</p>
<p>mr. chipset...</p>
<p>are u moronic? No it's not a good or healthy thing. I'm not going to plan out my whole college schedule for the next 4 years or whatever. I'm going to go it by each semester at a time. </p>
<p>And the same should be done for high school. Geez, you don't even know what could happen from year to year that could change your thinking. This crazy person, the original OP, doesn't even know that you cannot take AP Calc AB/AP Calc BC in the same year b/c the first semester of Calc BC I believe goes through many AB concepts. I took Calc AB, but I know of these things from other kids.</p>
<p>i dont know if your teacher wants you to "plan all four years", as in, like where ur going to college, and also, if you really are so eager, learn a bit about the colleges themselves before saying "i would like to do engineering and buisness, at MIT or any ivy league school." all the ivies are very different, and when i say very, i mean VERY. just take hs one step at a time, do what you like. if you do what you like, you develop your passion for the subjects you partake in. this scares me, when people ask "what should i do for so and so college". just do what you have been doing, colleges are the ones who see if you fit in, and i dont think you want to get into a place as a person you arent. </p>
<p>so if you really want to, visit to see what they are like, but really dont flip out yet, thats for the end of junior year and beginning of senior year. just work hard.</p>