<p>I am a sophomore in High School with a 4.7 GPA. I am currently taking the following classes:
Pre-AP English II, Chemistry Honors, AP Biology, Spanish III, AP World History and Geometry</p>
<p>**I plan on taking Algebra II online and take the following classes next my junior year
AP Lit, AP Psychology, AP Spanish OR Spanish IV, AP US History, Physics, and Pre-Calc</p>
<p>I have pretty much 0 community service at the moment but I plan on volunteering at Lighthouse Ministries over the summer or at a clinic</p>
<p>I am in the following clubs: Academic Team, Photo Club (Treasurer), Chem Club and NHS. </p>
<p>I am a Straight A student and don't find it very challenging to maintain good grades. What should I add to my resume that would increase my chances of getting in?</p>
<p>[] There is a chance that I could graduate next year.. so I'll be 17 when I graduate.. I am considering it at the moment but i wanted to know if graduating early holds more value or graduating at a normal pace but loading up on AP classes because I'll finish my core classes next year? </p>
<p>What should I do??!! Help!!</p>
<ol>
<li><p>You should not base any decisions on what will appeal to Harvard (or to Yale, Stanford, MIT or any of their peers). No decision you make will have enough of an effect by itself to secure you a place in any of these institutions.</p></li>
<li><p>I don’t think you gain anything–in your life or in selective-college admissions–by rushing through high school to finish early.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>That having been said, I have a sister who loathed high school and left after her junior year to go to a selective LAC. I also have a brother-in-law who had been advanced in so many subjects that he was running out of classes to take in his small but very good public high school, so he doubled up on English, finished h.s. in 3 years, and went to Harvard. Those are different cases, IMO. They weren’t rushing high school in order to “look good.” One was escaping early from an experience that she despised, and the other was just taking the logical next step in his schooling.</p>
<p>But all other things being equal, I think that staying in high school and getting the most challenging and enriching high school preparation you can get (which is not exactly the same as, in your words, “loading up on AP classes,” as if they were cookies in a dessert bar) will serve you better wherever you end up in college.</p>
<ol>
<li> If you don’t find it too demanding to earn top grades in top-level classes, then you should be doing something with your out-of-school time that either benefits you or benefits others. It could be community service, but it doesn’t have to be. It’s a little late now to start developing real skill in any kind of skill-based activity (e.g., sports, music, dance, visual arts); most students who are noteworthy in these areas have been working in them for years. But you can get a paid job, or volunteer for a cause that you believe in. Whatever you do, you should make sure you can show that you’ve taken on additional responsibilities or gained new skills or grown as a person over time.</li>
</ol>
<p>May I suggest you take a look at this blog entry ([Applying</a> Sideways | MIT Admissions](<a href=“http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/applying_sideways]Applying”>Applying Sideways | MIT Admissions)) from the MIT Admissions blog?</p>