I am a rising sophomore in a average hs. what are my chances of getting into the ivy league and other prestigious colleges and universities. vandy, duke, northwestern etc…
3.6 unweighted gpa
-65 in spanish
-90 in living environment
-96 in male empowerment
-90 in english
-101 in algebra
-96 in us history
-100 gym ’
-100 in college and career readiness
-95 in extra history class
As you can see spanish stopped me drastically btw its a class juniors take.
Im a black male in a low class neighborhood (both at school and home)
Im a 1st generation
I didnt do any extracurriculars last year but this year i plan to join lacrosse and fencing and the debate, med, and science club Did freshman year kill my chances are am i still a viable candidate
As you are a sophomore, you still have plenty of time to improve your scores, grades and participate in EC’s. But you should keep in mind those schools are very competitive and academics are extremely important.
Spend your sophomore year keeping up your grades, take some rigorous courses and prepare for the SAT and ACT. Your 65 in Spanish most likely will not kill any chance for you to get in, however it leaves you little margin for error for the rest of your high school career.
thanks so much i just bought the green test prep system so when i take the act i should be ready
does anybody else have advice i just hope my chances aren’t ruined
Yes. Make sure you get your grades up.
Perhaps even more important, though, is to find something you’re good at and practice it every day, until you hate it. Work on it for at least an hour a day, whether it be physics, oboe playing, or gardening. Enter local, state-wide, and national competitions. Research your topic & the internship opportunities within it. Just involve yourself in every way that you can with this one thing. Start the school club on the topic. Something.
I’m a rising senior, and if you look at my chances thread, you’ll see that I’m the president of a few clubs. However, I recently realized that I would’ve been much better off solely focusing on 1-2 things and really excelling at them, rather than being “pretty good” at 5-6 things. The ivies want a well-rounded class rather than a bunch of well-rounded students. They’ll let less-than-optimal test scores slide if you really are outstanding at something. Best of luck!
thanks so much i really appreciate you taking the time to tell me that. my school just created lacrosse team so i’m hoping to join. I plan on studying pre med so im gonna join clubs in that, also my dad works in a hospital so hopefully I can get volunteer hours over the summers. I wish you the best of luck on your college journey!!!
^ Not sure how much I agree with that.
Like others have said, focus less on college - and more on enjoying and getting the most out of high school. If you engage in activities and find something you join that you love, that’ll come through in your application. I think joining the lacrosse team is a great idea, if it’s what you enjoy. I would hold off on taking the ACT until your junior year. Until then, work on your critical reading and thinking skills. You can start really studying for the ACT next summer. Maybe take a practice test this year if you really want, to see what specific subjects you want to really study hard in school. Overall, focus on getting the best grades you can in school and finding activities you enjoy, and the rest will come later.
Thanks so much! Im really excited about lax honestly one of my favorite things only second to fencing. Im planning on taking the ACT this year so I can work on subject test next year. I know that I still have things to work on but Im honestly am having a blast (a little too much according to my parents) but I want to take more challenging classes any tips?
@whitespace I’d say that it depends on what the thing is (if chief were to be recruited for lacrosse, for example, he/she could definitely get in with lower scores than the average applicant) and how far you go with it. I mean I’m no expert but a few kids from my school have gotten into ivys with around 2000-2150 and a special talent that they were nationally recognized for (one kid is in the top 100 chess players under 18 internationally; another performed around the nation with a selective all-national choir).
@chiefsurgeon1001 I agree that for right now, just enjoy high school, and don’t worry about standardized testing until next year (junior). However, don’t be afraid to just jump into the things you want to do; go for varsity if your school has a varsity lacrosse team. Don’t be afraid to start helping your dad out in the hospital on the weekends, if you really want to learn about pre-med; why wait until summer? 2 hours every Sunday can add up over the school year. You seem like you’re on the right track, just enjoy life and throw yourself out of your comfort zone once in a while; you’ll learn a lot more that way. 
thanks! My school has a couple kids who went to the ivies and other top schools so when they come back (typically during their winter break ) I’ll have a chat and see but as far as lacrosse and fencing my school was recognized by the state for fencing but since lacrosse is new I doubt we’ll be winning anything until late in the season or next year but fingers crossed though!