Scared Sophomore

<p>Hi, I am currently a sophmore in highschool and is just very afraid of not getting into the top colleges in two years because a) a girl from my high school this year<br>
was deferred for MIT and she is like the only one that has applied to an Ivy from my school in years, let alone one that has actually gotten in and her resume is just so awesome that there is no way that I could compare to her and she does
everything from sports to being the star of the school play. Even her spotless resume was rejected at MIT. How can I get into an Ivy let alone Harvard, if she couldn't even do it? b) I am ranked 1 in my class and I am also taking the hardest courses that are available which most of the classes I am taking right now are just full of seniors and juniors but it still doesn't seem like I am doing enough to realize my Harvard dream. c) i live in Mississippi, and unless one is in a big city, you can't really enter in contests that are nation wide like debate contests and stuff like that.
I really don't know if I should give it up now or just keep on going because the resumes that I see other sophmores posting on the cc boards are just amazing and mine just kind of pales in comparison to theirs.</p>

<p>If you are taking the hardest courses in your school and are ranked 1, your chances at H are good. Being from Mississipi will give you a bit of an edge as you will be bringing some geographic diversity. But Harvard is a crapshoot, so don't focus all your dreams on it. There are plenty of other terrific schools besides H. Who knows, some of them might fit you better than H. Keep on going; don't give up. You are studying for your own sake, not just to get into a "top" college, though there are many more of those than just HYPSM.</p>

<p>Don't be afraid of not getting into the "top colleges." Apply to schools that fit you, not schools that are just prestigious.</p>

<p>Just do your best in high school and do what interests you. Nothing stands out more than a high school career that's tailored to exactly what students think admissions officers want to see.</p>

<p>In terms of being in MS and not having the ability to enter contests and other things, it's not a problem. All top schools like Harvard consider what you've done in the context of what you were able to do given your surroundings.</p>

<p>You are scared because you read these forums. Turn back now before you get sucked into the vortex!</p>

<p>Have your taken either the ACT or SAT for practice yet? If you have you might want to post your scores so we can know more about your situation. It's never too early to start thinking about college :) I'm a soph too and I'm obsess about CC.... my grades are sliding... (quit CC before you get addicted people!) Anyway, my school's having a mission trip down to Mississippi during our spring break! Too bad i can't go :( It would be such an awesome experience, and a spark to my application.</p>

<p>Oh... and something I'd like to share with you... Bad schools like University of Washington (ranked 47 I think), are NOT random. They care about numbers too much and as long as you have 1100+ SAT and 3.3 unweighted GPA you are grareentee admission, literally. On the other hand, ivy schools are RaNdoM when it comes to admissions.</p>

<p>taffyluchia cool from taiwan cause I'm chinese, well haven't taken the act or sat yet but have been practicing for like six months now so maybe when i do take it a miracle might happen and right now I'm taking ap euro and ap biology but I don't know if I should take the ap bio exam because our teacher hasn't really prepared us for it and I really haven't cared about the class to much since I'm really working hard on ap euo. I think ap euro is a safe bet for a 4 or 5 because our teacher had 25% of all the kids that made fives on the ap euro exam in all of mississippi counting both private and public schools. So do you think I should risk taking the ap bio exam or just take it next year?</p>

<p>Take the exam.</p>

<p>Taffy, why is University of Washington "bad" for being ranked number 47 in national universities? Just because University of Washington isn't ranked in the top 20 schools in the country doesn't make it a bad school. UC Berkeley is number 21, does that make IT a bad school?</p>

<p>crazyace -- I've heard that all AP tests are very basic. As long as you get the basics, you'll do fine. Plus you get a curve. If you get 50% of the questions you get a 5, 40% 4, etc.</p>

<p>dreamkissed -- I'm not saying that colleges that are not in the top 20 are bad. I have personal experiences with UW myself. I live in WA and our teachers often take us to their library for research papers and stuff, so I know better than to judge it by its ranking along. It's got excellent grad schools, but for under grad, I'll have to say it stinks. By the way, notice how UW is 27 places behind UC Berkeley, which is alot.</p>

<p>I don't think the curve is THAT generous on all the AP tests. I thought it was more along the lines of 70% = 5, and then downwards. I've heard the AP Chem curve is about 50% though.</p>