<p>So I kind of screwed up my freshman year, and pulled a weighted GPA of 3.30 (my high school weights normal classes as a 1.1, and I had all regular classes). As a result I cannot take any honors or AP classes this upcoming year (sophomore year).
I'm not stupid, I mean I pulled a 1660 on the PSAT one month into high school, on my first try. My results say:
550 in Critical Reading (better than 86% of sophomores)
520 in Mathematics (better than 78% of sophomores)
590 in writing (better than 94% of sophomores)
It also says that performed into the 78% percentile of all juniors.</p>
<p>Can someone please provide me with advice? I plan on joining a number of clubs, and doing an internship this year. Plus, my good grades for sophomore year will enable me to take at least 3 advanced classes junior year. I just need some guidance.</p>
<p>The main thing is to do as well as you can in your sophomore year courses. Most colleges understand that many students have difficulty adjusting to high school and will ignore those freshmen grades. Is there any chance you could talk your way into one honors class? Is there a teacher who might go to bat for you?</p>
<p>Getting involved in a club or two and doing an internship are great ideas. Look for opportunities to show that you are a self-starter, show initiative, and that you have interests that you pursue deeply. (Sometimes called having a passion, but realistically most high schools students don’t have passions, though they may have interests.) Also, look around your community for activities. For my younger son (who loved American by the way), I think his interest in origami and some historical work he did for our neighborhood association were more useful in the college application process than the fact that he took part in Science Olympiad and the literary magazine at school. They made him stand out from others. </p>
<p>Good luck! It sounds like you are on the right track.</p>
<p>Your stats are a little low for American, but you have plenty of time to pull them up. Work hard and take as advanced classes as you are allowed. Also, American has really put an emphasis on “expressed interest” as a criteria for admission. So make sure you visit, participate in chat room discussions (sponsored by the admissions dept) and perhaps do an interview. Also, admission to American also depends on the competitiveness of your intended major. It appears to be much harder to get in if you intend on majoring in international relations, than performing arts (my D is a musical theatre major and her stats were also on the low end).</p>