Started strong, now to just keep up

Applying to College
1

<p>In short: I'm a high school sophomore. I'm ambitious in trying to get into college and have done well enough so far, but it's only been 1.5 years in high school and I have plenty of room to screw up. I'm good at screwing up.</p>

<p>You don't need to read through this mess, just go all the way down and refer back as you need .</p>

<p>----- The following may very well be unnecessary; refer to it if you care to or just shoot general words of wisdom -----</p>

<p>Current Class Rank: 1 out of 456 (tied with like 4 other people)
Current Unweighted GPA: 4.00
Current Weighted GPA: 4.625</p>

<p>Courses I Have Completed:</p>

<p>9th Grade:
Spanish II
Project Lead The Way (PLTW) – Intro to Engineering
Health/Physical Education
Honors Algebra II
Honors English I
Honors World History
Honors Freshman Seminar
Honors Biology</p>

<p>10th Grade
Honors Spanish III
Honors Chemistry</p>

<p>Courses I’m Currently Taking in High School</p>

<p>10th Grade
Honors Physics
Honors Chemistry
Honors Physics and Economics
Honors English II
AP Psychology
AP World History</p>

<p>Courses I Plan to Take:</p>

<p>11th Grade
Honors Spanish IV
AP English III
AP US History
AP Environmental
AP Calculus AB
AP Calculus BC
AP Chemistry (First Semester)
AP Chemistry (Second Semester) </p>

<p>12th Grade
<undecided>
<undecided>
AP Physics C
AP Biology
AP Statistics
AP English IV
AP Spanish V</undecided></undecided></p>

<p>SAT Scores: Took it, I get score report in mid-Feb</p>

<p>PSAT Scores: CR - 58, MAT - 67, WRT - 62
------- The Reference info ends here, clarification info starts here ------</p>

<p>So basically, I have a habit of messing up, badly. So far I've avoided it in high school by constantly keeping myself in check (procrastination is my "tragic flaw" so to speak).</p>

<p>Specifically I'm worried about how I'll manage once I jump into junior year trying to take 7 AP's, standardized tests, applying for a flurry of scholarships, community college courses, plus a mass of extracurriculars (not listed) and... work.</p>

<p>I may drop some things ("some things" = work and any social life that may still exist). Just looking for any pointers as I'm prone to self-sabotage, but I'm not asking for someone to plot out my course of action baby me through it, ie. I'll accept any advice you may offer but I'm not asking you to spend an hour going through every detail and telling me to teackle evrey challenge (though anything and everything is appreciated)</p>

<p>I am not interested in dropping any classes. I've tasted AP's this year spoken to all the teachers of the respective classes I hope to take, I'm confident I can handle it. Academic challenge has been non-existent in my schooling since... ever, and now everyone is telling me to ease off. Worst case scenario I learn my limits the hard way, and I'm willing to go that far.
----- clarification info ends here ----</p>

<p>So simply: How do I not screw myself over? I really have no idea how to better put it.</p>

<p>Thanks SO MUCH in advance to anyone who takes the time to actually respond.</p>

2

<p>Bump?
Edit?
Ebduimtp?</p>

<p>I also wanted to what in particular extracurricular should I be looking to do? I've taken a bunch across the board in freshman year and this year trying to get a feel for my interests and to sorta occupy my time, but I plan to settle on a few and go all out in those, what should I look for in particular?</p>

3

<p>I'm asking myself the exact same thing :) What schools do you plan on looking at in the future?</p>

4

<p>To tell you the truth... I haven't a clue. I'mprimarilly concerned with academic programs and aside from the fantasy of getting into some ivy league (or something similar) the only school I'm actually "looking" at is UC Berkley. And even that may be too much of a reach. I'm peering at a few in0state places for sake of tuition and familiarity (a factor I'm trying to eliminate) such as Wake Forest, Chapel Hill, and Duke which will also be quite a reach as well.</p>

<p>I've really run through almost every college database search thing (fastweb, college board, etc.) only to get 3,000+ colleges that all look just as great as the next one. Trying to resist the urge to use "prestige" as the deciding factor though it seeps through a wee bit. </p>

<p>RANTING WARNING
I may actually seek advice here, but I'm scheduling an appointment with my counselor first to see if that's any help, because up till this point every counselor I've had has been completely useless. In middle school they were (and understandably so) dumbfounded by any question I may ask and told me to "look it up". 9th grade led me to find a counselor who adamantly repeated the same automated response that fell along the lines of "don't let the college prep get in the way of you enjoying the high school experience" which I in all truth was. I had plenty of free time and took advantage of it often, but now I'm looking to be a lot more serious, and thankfully my 10th grade counselor is looking to be a better fit. She's already referred me a program or two, written a few evaluations, requested a few official and one not-so-official transcript (technically junior year is when the school starts informing students of their status according to school policy) which is hoe I have this info.</p>

<p>And that was a bunch of ranting. I should go back and throw up a warning... done.
Will appreciate any responses greatly!</p>

<p>In the meantime, @dukebound11, what are you looking into (besides Duke? :) )</p>

5

<p>Depending on your HS councilor, they probably would not let you do AB and BC during the same year. It's a very hard thing to do because you're hitting BC without hardly any experience in calculus. BC senior year would be better. Statistics is a weak math, with usually quite simple algebra. I continuously hear that colleges much rather have the student continue with a challenging math because many students go onto finish calculus and differential equations in college. </p>

<p>Switch calc BC to senior year. You could possibly switch stats with it or just take them both as a senior.</p>

6

<p>Um, My top choices are: Princeton,Stanford, Carnegie Mellon and Penn :)</p>

7

<p>Taking AB and BC Calc the same year? First semester and a bit of second semester of BC Calc is AB material, so there's no point to taking both at the same time.</p>

<p>That being said, I disagree with FloridaKidd about BC being hard with no prior experience in calculus. I took BC my sophomore year, and I scored a 5 on the exam. It's nothing too difficult, and I'm not particularly "math-savvy" as they say (aka: not Math Team material). Several of my friends also took BC junior year, and they all scored 5s as well. However, if you struggled in pre-calculus and/or aren't really that into math, you might want to take AB in junior, and BC in senior year. Another [senior] friend of mine is taking BC right now with no AB knowledge, and she landed herself with a C first semester; she hadn't expected it to require quite so much work. Moral: Take it if you think you can handle it.</p>

<p>I'll admit that AP Stat is a bit of a joke; take it if you want an easy class that doesn't require too much involved brain-work and/or want to slack off. The only thing I had trouble with in Stat was remembering the format for the calculator functions...</p>

8

<p>Your schedule is so intense. Where are your mental health classes - the art, music, woodworking etc? You need to grow in other areas of your education.</p>

9

<p>@twomules
I was actually worried about the whole prospect of not taking any fine arts. Simply put I'm not that interested in them (though I do have a thing for percussion I'd rather just play around with a drum set at home like I do now). I was under the impression that taking such a unilateral load wouldn't portray me as... what's the term... a "well-rounded" student? I've spoken to my less-than-helpful counselors about it before but they've all assured me that it would be no problem and wouldn't affect how colleges looked at me, as long as I'm not pursuing a degree in fine arts. Is it that much of an issue? I mean I have no problem with the intensity just worried that it might look bad.</p>

<p>About the Calc AB/BC: I had originally planned my schedule around taking AB junior year and BC senior year, except when someone looked at my scheduale (one of my classmates) they suggested I double-block and take AB firstsemester and BC second semester, something that apparently a few students do manage often at my school. Seeing nothing wrong with it I went with it. I didn't know AP stat was that easy, maths and sciences tend to be my strong suit so I suppose I don't need to take an easy class just for the sake of it being easy. I just thought this would be the best way. However, I was looking at physics C which requires a strong base in calculus, but no one can tell me if it's calc AB that I should take or calc BC before I take physics C because I'm not sure I'll get away with BC concurrent with physics C.</p>

<p>More than maths, which tends to be where my strength lies, I'm more worried about my Englishes which are my weak point. Though, the way I see it is, if it's truly college level work I'll be expected to do in AP English, then it should be the same as my freshman year in college, thus... it's like a head start program. I doubt their's much logic to that but it consoles me enough :).</p>

<p>As for school choice, if I could get into any of those schools you listed it would be awesome, though I don't see it happening. Of course that won't stop me from applying.</p>

<p>In any case I'll be glad to hear anything at all that anyone else thinks. And I'll also like to hear if anyone has any advice on my first concern (what to do to avoid having this blow up in my face?).</p>

10

<p>I saved the fine arts outside of my in-school class schedule, and instead took ECs in them (like Art Club, my school's art/literary magazine, etc.), and that may be an option for you too. I'm not that deep into the arts, nor am I majoring in them, but it would definitely boost your app to have just a sprinkling of it in your activities.</p>

<p>You can take Calculus BC as a corequisite to Physics C, although this is from what I've heard from others in my school. I'm currently taking Physics B w/ Calc BC so I'm not too sure.</p>

11

<p>I may have missed this somewhere, but what is it yu want to do with your education other than attend a great college? I think what I see missing in your high school plans is a passion for a particular area. It is not enough to just challenge yourself, but to challenge yourself in your own particular niche. for example, son took statistics rather than Calc AB/BC because he wants a future in the social sciences and stats was a better fit for that. His ECs were also focused in his area - eg, he wants to be a professor so he worked his way into becoming president of peer tutoring... He's not a sports or music kid so he had no ECs in these areas. My best advice, as a mother whose kid got into a top college with scholarships, is to focus, focus, focus with future goals as a guide post.</p>

12

<p>@caltech
That does sound like a good idea. I am still concerned that it may not look great to appear too unilateral. Just a few things here and there to show that I've explored my options or something may not look bad at all. Thanks :).</p>

<p>@MattsMom
I see what you're getting at. Personally I'm not too concerned with a "great colleege" as I want a "great education" which by implication, I suppose, does mean I'd be quite happy with a great college ;)
I didn't mention my future goals/aspirations as I wasn't sure if it was necessary or if anyone would care, but just in case I suppose:</p>

<p>I'm kind of torn between a career in medicine or one in scientific research (physics). So education-wise I plan to double major in both Biology and Physics. After which I'm hoping to either (maybe both :) ) go to med-school and become a physician or get into a PhD program and get a Masters in-passing while working towards a PhD in physics. For physics I'm fascinated by subatomic particles getting ever smaller (quarks and the like) and quantum mechanics. In medicine I'd probably look towards specialized diagnostics (HOUSE?) or internal medicine but I'm not at all sure.</p>

<p>For this reason I'm taking "challenging courses" that I also hope will help me as I work towards my degrees in mind plus I'm also trying to get as much college credit as I can now (which is why I'm hoping to take so many AP's and taking courses outside of High School as well) so that I don't have to stretch beyond the 4 years in college... maybe even graduate early.</p>

13

<p>Best advice to you is to get some mentoring in a university setting. If you have any connections that can get you an internship in research jump on it. The kids who get into HYPS with your particular goals, are not only the kids who take the math and science APs, and have 2400 SATs, but get authorship, patent-credit (my nephew got into Yale ED as physics major, not only because he had 2400 SATs, but because he came up with a mathematical formula he was able to patent...how did he do that? My brother had invented a new use for the pulse oximeter ((which he had patented - the new use - not the pulse oximeter)) and got his son working on the project. I know of a kid at my son's school (also accepted early at Yale) who connections through his Dad did research at UF on the migration patterns of elephants in the Serengeti...he later presented his paper at an international conference. He also made it to the Nationals in ISEF for discovering a previously unknown enzyme. </p>

<p>If you don't have connections, start trying to make them...write professors who are doing research in the areas you're interested in, and try to win them over...persistence and focus will get you where you want to be.</p>

14

<p>Don't know if I'm answering your question but...</p>

<p>I was reviewing your schedule and notice you didn't/ don't plan on taking gym. At my school, it's required... though if it wasn't I would most likely would have been extending my years in spanish to 3 years. I've also sorta had a lack in electives such as art, music, etc.... Due to taking engineering classes ( as elective) for 9th and 10th grade. Your 12th grade schedule looks difficult, and you may wan't to add a history class in it.</p>

15

<p>@coolbreeze</p>

<p>Er, actually I have taken gym. 9th grade, 3rd class listed: "Health/Physical Education" is basically my school's way of saying gym. It is a required course so I got it out of the way early, though I didn't have much choice. No one really consulted me when I "chose" my 9th grade courses, but I made it work. My 12th grade shcedule may be difficult though I don't plan on taking a history. I'm got World History(required), AP World History, Civics/Economics(required), AP US History(required), and AP Psychology all under the "social studies" heading so I think I've covered that base fairly well. I'm looking at what to fit into those two "undecided" spaces and I'm not sure. Though I do appreciate the advice :D.</p>

16

<p>Yeah I see, when I seen health I was thinking of a health class at my school ( which I use to get confuse with gym, when metion at school). </p>

<p>I recommanded another history class because I thought why not countinue for years of every subject like you've seem to have planned with most. Sometimes I don't really see Civics/ Economics and Ap Psychology as a history class. </p>

<p>Me myself next year as a 12th grade will be taking computers ( required). Seems like you haven't took computers so maybe you would wan't to fit it into your schedule. </p>

<p>( took engineering classes 9-10th, and were not considered as a computer class)</p>

17

<p>My high school doesn't require a computer class per se but does reccomend that you take something along those lines. This is because my district requires all students pass a computer test before graduating. You get to take that test once in 8th grade, twice in 9th, twice in 10th, twice in 11th, and twice in 12th. You can stop once you "pass". The passing score is really low and the test is ridiculously obvious. I got shoved into a computer course in middle school since my school assigned elective priority alphabetically (last name starts with a "z" -.-) after which I took the test and got a perfect score so i don't have to worry about that. Technically besides Us history and my last two english courses, I've wiped out all my mandatory courses this year. I just need to take electives to satisfy the credit requirement (which I'll have satisfied by the end of Junior year)</p>

<p>On the topic of computers, I'm taking a C++ programming course at a local community college this semester because I have too much free time and I could use the transfer credit. Plus it's pretty interesting, as I've always been curious about how programming works.</p>

<p>The engineering class I took in 9th grade was a waste of an elective. I could have gotten precalc out of the way that year and such but I had little say in my schedule going into highschool and never bothered to switch out (almost regret not switching out). This is besides the fact that I find engineering itself interesting. It's merely that, that particular course was a class you took to catch up on missed sleep.</p>

<p>So I have no issues with satisfying required classes or anything to that effect, I'm just worried I'm going to slip up somewhere down the line.</p>

18

<p>Check with the colleges you are interested in to see how many AP credits/community college credits the school lets you apply towards your degree. Policies vary greatly, mostly depending on the selectivity of the college.</p>

<p>My daughter is at a top LAC. She was able to place up in Calculus because of her AP score. However she was not able to place up in Chemistry or Bio, even with 5s, because they had been taken in high school sophomore and junior years and they did not have the 4 hour labs like the college has. Because she is repeating them, she does not receive credit for them.</p>

<p>Many of your competitors will have an arts component to their application. You'll need to think carefully about how to present the drumming. You don't want to come off as one of the maligned academic "robot" kids.</p>

19

<p>This is directed at anyone, not just at you.</p>

<p>This is not the first time I have seen courses being repeated - Honors Chem one year, AP Chem the next. Our school does not do this. What is the rationale behind this?</p>

20

<p>Ap classes tend to be more in debt/ advance etc... than honors. Honors classes are about the same as non honors just more work load etc...</p>