<p>Currently, I go to a college prep high school that is not very well known, because in Central New York. It does have a 100% college marticulation, but the only kids who go to top schools are legacies, athletes, kids who have way better grades than me, etc. </p>
<p>I'm Asian with no hooks.</p>
<p>I really aspire to go to top college, but I don't think I can staying at this school. Here is why I shouldn't stay and should stay:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I have a 96/100 average which is an A+ at the school. However, it's not in the top 10% of the class, due to grade inflation.</p></li>
<li><p>The school had a policy that makes it hard for students who don't start in honors classes having a difficult time being reccommended for honors classes in the future. I will be taking Honors Global History II and Honors French II, next year, but that's not the most rigorous courseload.</p></li>
<li><p>My guidance counselor and teachers pressure me to do more school ECs like clubs and sports. I don't want to do that. I do two outside of school ECs and that's it. </p></li>
<li><p>I am on full scholarship at this school. If I transfer to a less competitive college prep school in the area, I would probably have to pay almost full tuition. My parents can't afford it, because we have a poverty line income.</p></li>
<li><p>Even though at a public school I would be able to take a lot of hard courses and get a top 10% GPA, public schools in the area are not that great. Robbery, harasssment, drugs, foul language, etc. is common. Teen pregnancy is also common. At the school I am at, there is no robbery, harassement, drugs, teen pregancy, and foul language is rare. Since I have been a sheltered person all of my life, I don't know if I deal socially at a public school.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Stay in your school. At any school, the only kids who get into top schools are the ones who “are legacies, athletes, kids who have way better grades than me, etc”. Being from a certain school doesn’t automatically get you into a top school. And if you refuse to do more than 2 ECs, then you don’t deserve the right to go to a top school.</p>
<p>It’s not that I WANT to do only two ECs, but all of ECs at my school don’t interest me. The clubs never meet and do nothing, besides talk about random things.</p>
<p>Who the hell made you the gatekeeper to a top school? School’s often stress that they want to see people who are deeply involved in their activities. If the kid only wants to do 2 but shines in those two, then that’s a lot better than doing 5 and doing average things in all 5. </p>
<p>I second Erin’s Dad’s suggestion. Starting a club is great and if you do some stuff that most clubs normally don’t, then you’ll stand out even more.</p>
<p>^ Chill with that n3rd. Odds are, theyre crap ECs anyway. But with that insulting assumption aside, I dont know why this kid would think switching into a crime filled ****ty inner city public school will help him get a better education. Seriously.</p>
<p>The IB program is good, but it isn’t worth the risk of drug use, pregnancy, or immorality at a public school. You should either stay at this private school or transfer to ONLY another private school, taking out a job to meet the tuition if need be.</p>
<p>^Wow, not all public schools are that bad. And not all private schools are much better, though they may have a better grasp on the use of condoms and drink vodka instead of cheap beer. </p>
<p>OP, I wouldn’t transfer unless you feel another school can offer you opportunities yours doesn’t. Honestly, it just sounds like you’re having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that you may not get into HYPS in two years. Hey, few people do. It’s unlikely that transferring will improve your chances, especially since the standards for kids at shoddy publics are different than those for kids at top privates–you would be expected to be, if not val or sal, at least top 1-2% of your class, and grades don’t always transfer well.</p>
<p>Besides which, adcoms are smart. They know you’re getting a good education at this school, and I see know reason why, with solid SATs, two teachers to write great recs, and ECs you’re passionate about, a T25 school wouldn’t be happy to have you. </p>
<p>I don’t mean to be a dick about it, but are you that committed to going to a top school?</p>
<p>You’re not in the top 10% of your class at a school which is good, but not great. Maybe staying where you’re at will allow you to end up at the school which is the best fit for you, as opposed to the nicest school you can make yourself look capable of fitting in at.</p>
<p>You’re right. I don’t deserve and am not committed to going to a top school.</p>
<p>If I were, I would be working 10x harder than I am right now. </p>
<p>Also, I would take any honors classes my teachers reccommends me, instead of debating whether or not I should take the course. I don’t need to memorize the drop/add dates.</p>
<p>There is no rank. I think I am in the top 15%, but it could be very possible that I could be in the top 10%.</p>
<p>It looks to me like you have two good options. You can stay where you are, and take advantage of the smaller school environment, or you can transfer to the public school with the IB program. It would be a good idea for you to visit the school with the IB program, and talk with the instructors and the students in that program. Often the IB students are completely separated from the rest of the school because of their schedules. This can be good (less sex, drugs, whatever), or bad (less opportunity to do non-IB things). You also could visit a school that doesn’t have IB but does have open enrollment for honors and AP classes. That way you could see what each environment would be like for you.</p>
<p>As for your ECs, keep on doing whatever it is you are doing. Happykid has only one EC that consumes nearly every waking minute. It is not going to get her into a “top” institution straight out of high school, but it does offer her a life-time career option. And to be honest, that is really the better deal.</p>
<p>Since your parents have so little money, you need to be thinking about how you will pay for college. Help them run the FAFSA EFC calculators at [College</a> Calculators - savings calculators - college costs, loans](<a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>Calculate Your Cost – BigFuture | College Board) and start talking about where the money can come from. Ask the guidance counselors at your current HS how much they know about helping a kid with your financial issues and your grades and test scores get into an affordable college. The sooner you start working on this, the better.</p>
<p>I think what a lot of these people are saying is that colleges don’t want to see you just with a top GPA or whatever. I think they want to see the situation you’re given and how well you perform and excel in it. So instead of trying really hard to change your situation, try working with it. Start your own club and take hard classes to overcome the grade inflation or whatever.</p>
<p>Now, I just have to chase the top kids in my class by self-studying APs, getting a higher GPA, trying to get into harder classes at school, even though it is hard to, etc.</p>
<p>^^^ Even if it means less hours of sleep, more people calling me a “nerd,”, etc. etc. etc.</p>
<p>So, all of you mean by all of this it is worth it?</p>
<p>What do you want to do with your life? Do you have a goal for life after college that will give you a particular focus for your studies while you are in college? If you don’t have much of a plan yet, that is OK too, but since you are talking about college here as a reason to change schools, I suspect you do have some notion of your post-college expectations for yourself.</p>
<p>Working backwards from that goal, you should think about what kind of college experience might help you achieve it. Working backwards from the kind of college experience you have defined, think about what kind of HS experience will help you achieve that. Chances are you can have this and a decent night’s sleep too. Remember, the goal is not to study harder, but to study smarter. Talk with your teachers and your school counselor/psychologist about ways to study more efficiently.</p>
<p>Oh, and the proper response to people calling you “nerd” is: “You say that like it’s a bad thing!” Then go home, turn on the TV, and watch how the nerds in the lab on CSI take down the bad guys one more time.</p>
<p>I would love major in German or Art History, but to my parents, that’s just not possible, but it’s not lucrative. I probably wouldn’t even find a job in these two fields nowadays. Plus, I don’t want to teach, which makes it even harder.</p>
<p>My school has no German program or any Art History classes. Also, it’s also how things are approached where I live: if you want to do something not lucrative (like math, science, etc.) than the only way to get a decent job is Ivy League. Period.</p>
<p>I have a great night’s sleep and do get good grades that are decent enough to get into a good, but not great school. I sometimes think that I am the only person that has a good night sleep everynight. I know kids who take all Regents and stay up nearly all night, but still get lower grades than me. I know kids who take all Honors, who are just burned out and get only 1 hour of sleep.</p>