<p>I am only a sophomore, but I am starting to think about colleges early. I want to make sure that I don't start out with too broad a list and without having anything to really aim for. So if you guys could help me out and let me know, just based on my stats so far, what my chances are at some colleges, i would really appreciate it.</p>
<p>white female
High School: very competitive Jesuit College Preparatory
Freshman GPA: 2.8 (a lot of personal problems, but I don't know how much freshman grades count, and if I will be able to explain the low GPA)
Sophomore GPA: 3.6uw/3.8w (I know colleges like upward trends...)
one honors class (english-freshman and sophomore years...I plan to take AP History, AP English, and AP Government)</p>
<p>PLAN (pre-SAT/ACT test that predicts SAT, ACT scores): predicted 1500+</p>
<p>ECs:
- Co-founder/President of CauseWeCare (a large youth volunteer/service group in San Francisco; work with many organizations and political leaders in SF and California)
- member of the San Francisco Youth Commission (selective group of 17 young people who advise the Board of Supervisors and Mayor on youth-related issues in the city)
- Co-founder/President of a political discussion group at my school
- writer for my school newspaper
- 300+ service hours (aiming for 1000+ by senior year)
- Co-founder/President of an underclassmen JSA (seniors took over everything, and underclassmen didnt get a chance to do anything)
- soccer coach for 2 years, ref for 1 year, player all my life
- member of Social Justice and Amnesty International
- member of selective service advisory group at my school
- head student costume designer/coordinator for past three school shows
- member of the Commonwealth Club
- Co-founder/President of Drive for Anysoldier.com</p>
<ul>
<li>published poetry</li>
<li>published newspaper article</li>
<li>interviewed and held several press conferences covered by local news television and radio</li>
<li>certificate of commendation from the San Francisco Board of Supervisors</li>
<li>san francisco independent scholar</li>
</ul>
<p>Thats everything so far. I will continue to do all of this and more. I suppose sophomore year is kind of early but better safe than sorry! Thanks everyone!</p>
<p>stop doing stuff for college. i'm highly against setting goals for things so that they will look good for college apps. no college is worth worrying about so early. its great knowing where you want to go, but really all you have to worry about is doing well in your classes and taking more challenging courses.</p>
<p>the other stuff should be because you want to do it. i'd try not to associate it with college. I think its okay to associate grades with college as a sophomore but other than that, it will take away from your high school experience. that is don't treat high school as just a step towards college because if you do you will probably treat college as a step towards grad school or whatever. just do whats fun now and then think about college in 2 years.</p>
<p>I remember in sophomore year I was worrying about the same thing and I asked a counselor about extracurriculars etc. He gave me some really good advice (that worked, I was accepted EA). He told me to not do anything just to get into college or join clubs just to pad my r</p>
<p>wow. sophomore and you are worrying about college already. Get over it. Going to the most prestigious college isnt going to propel you into the elite. Hard work will.</p>
<p>I completely understand where you guys are coming from, but I just want to say that I am having fun. I love and am passionate about politics, service, social justice and theatre. I am really enjoying my sophomore year this year. I do have a life and I do things outside of school and my ECs. I get what you are saying and I appreciate your advice, but I really am enjoying school this year. Anyways, thanks for your advice, and I wish you all luck on getting into colleges and having fun.</p>
<p>yeah, i think we're all saying that it's ok to view your ecs through the lens of the college app process, but stay true to yourself and feel free to dabble and find out what interests you. You'll be fine, no matter what.</p>
<p>Maybe it's just me, but I see this effort of sophomores and even freshmen to jump on the college bandwagon early saying something about an increasing societal pressure to get into a good school. And unfortunately, it's intimately tied with prestige; like an HYPS degree means you're going to be more successful than someone with a degree from a state university. Being admitted to a school like HYPS is NOT validation. It's going to be difficult for some of us to swallow that in April (including myself, without a doubt), but it's something to remember. [/end anti-elitism rant]</p>
<p>I'm not saying you don't like Stanford with good reason--it's a fantastic school--but the fact that you're on here when most of us didn't start seriously thinking about colleges until late junior year/early senior year just says a lot. Stanford never even entered the picture until I was there for a creative writing program over the summer and fell in love.</p>
<p>Sometimes I wish I would have thought about it early on because I had absolutely no idea what the extent of pressure and stress associated with college really was. It's like one of those things you hear about, and convince yourself your philosophy concerning college and academics will keep you sane, but when you're up at four in the morning finishing essays for a school with a 13% acceptance rate, it gets to you. But don't worry, good for you and me (I think I had a 3.2, but I have a steady upward trend), Stanford doesn't even look at your freshman year grades.</p>
<p>Anyways, very little of this rant was directed at you specifically/directly, but more of a social commentary. I think it's great that you know what you want to do and are pursuing it whole-heartedly, and I really admire people who know early on exactly what their interests are and have (or make) opportunities available. What you're doing as a fifteen-year-old just baffles me, especially when I didn't decide what I wanted to do until last April.</p>
<p>Anyways, good luck, but don't think about getting into Stanford too much. Lurking around this board will almost make you want to gouge your eyes out after awhile; this place is like another dimension. The people here make the top 10 students at my school look like mongoloids.</p>
<p>I completely agree. I know that you were talking about students a lot like me, but what you said makes sense. I go to a competitive college preparatory in SF, so I definitely know about the pressure to get into a good school. And I'm not only applying to the "HYP"s of the country (NYU, Berkeley, Stanford, Georgetown, UCSF, Sarah Lawrence, Columbia, Boston U. possibly others...), but often at my school, not going to one of the more prestigious schools is...well a disappointment to say the least. I just decided on a few schools to start looking into this year, and I might change my mind, I might not. We'll just have to wait and see what happens. So to all those people telling me to get a life, I have one, and this is just a part of it. So thank you for your comments...they made a lot of sense.</p>
<p>nope i go to Lowell. CARDINALS, baby! (and soon to be Cardinal again at Stanford)...i have a bunch of senior buddies over at SI though. :-) that's why i asked.</p>
<p>seriously, i think it's alright to be posting as a sophomore. Whenever i posted last year in on the old website, every one would see the "2006" in my username and no one would take me seriously. That would really annoy me because they would say "stop thinking about colleges so early" but its not like I would just automatically stop because some one said so, and I think being aware of the college admissions process is helpful and even fun in its own way, so keep up the good work superstarr, i support you and think you're pretty much doing everything well so far, and everyone please forgive me for ranting...</p>
<p>Yea, I am a sophomore and personally, I just like to kind of see what the whole process is like. If I wait untill the end of junior year/early senior year, then I won't be able to really compare my stats with those who got in ED/EA. I also have an idea about what kind of grades I should have. I also wanted to find out if the fact that my school did not offer APs will effect me. So in the end, I am not some weird obsessed sophomore, I am just a person figuring things out ahead of time. Not to mention...this sight is interresting and a great way to pass the time. Heck, when I apply I should put CC as an EC sophomore-senior year lol. Also...what jmarsh said:)</p>
<p>Superstarr was just trying to ask a question, if you don't think that it is worth a response, don't respond and say that it isn't worth a response because well...that's just downright hypicritical. </p>
<p>I just read my post...sorry for sounding so rude! It is late and I just finished writing a paper.</p>
<p>if i remember correctly, the adcom rep mentioned during the info meeting that freshman year grades were "too far in the past" to be reasonable predictors....i wouldn't worry too much =).</p>
<p>yea dont worry too much...its still ur soph year
plus, your junior year holds a lot of weight, so work hard next year and dont screw up. join/do things because you're passionate about it not to impress them. </p>
<p>And you know really, you could have a GREAT resume...but its all about how you put it on your application..so dont worry right now..work hard and have fun...worry about Stanford when you become a senior...but anyways, Good luck with your college search and hope to see you on The Farm in 2 years!</p>
<p>Realistically, you arnt in great shape for Stanford, and its a little too late to do anything about it now. Maybe if you had come to us earlier, say kindergarden, we could have set you straight. Most kids at cc start preparing for Stanford at the age of five, organizing play groups and snatching up all the leadership positions in sand castle construction. But hey, there is always Berkeley.</p>