<p>Hey all,</p>
<p>Thx for choosing to view my thread! I'm going to be a junior next year and I figure I'm also going to need some advice. There are two colleges at the top of my list: UPenn and JHU. I already know they can offer me some of the best experience/education in terms of premedical studies and have friends who say good things about them. But first, a quick profile of myself:</p>
<p>In case the username doesn't give it away, I'm pretty stereotypical:</p>
<p>Ethnicity: Asian
State: NJ
Career: Medicine
Prospective Major: Biochem/Biology </p>
<p>GPA (Estimate): UW - 3.8ish, W-4.03
Rank (Unofficial, school doesn't rank): From what I can tell, I should at least be in the top 5% of my class of 700+. I have no way of knowing exactly where though. Probably top 20, and possibly top 15. I doubt I'm in the the top 10...</p>
<p>***Rigorous GPA System (90%-94%=A-, 95-100%=A, and AP Weighting is +.5/ Honors is +.25) *Here's the bad news: My school is changing the system to make it easier starting my junior year and the new system won't be retroactive. I'm afraid this is going to artificially boost my GPA and discourage adcoms... (New System: A=93%-100%, AP Weighting is +1/ Honors is +.5).</p>
<p>PSAT: Sophomore = 206
SAT: Scoring Between 2290-2320 in the Blue Book and Between 2200-2270 in Barron's on practice tests (these aren't lowest to highest scores, but rather rough approximations, I've scored higher than 2320 in the Blue Book on occasion)
SAT IIs: Prepping for Math II (looking for a solid 800). Bio and Chem next May/June</p>
<p>Freshman:</p>
<ul>
<li>AP Physics B (A- and 4 on exam; actually the 4 is a shocker b/c I didn't even buy a study book for the exam. I could have easily received a 5 had I put some effort into it)</li>
<li>Honors Alg II (B+) = quite literally the worst grade and experience of my life and in no way due to the material (I really do love math)</li>
<li>Honors English I (A-)</li>
<li>Honors Gov + Economics (A-)</li>
<li>Latin I (A)</li>
<li>Intro to Computers (A...completely worthless)</li>
<li>PE (A)</li>
</ul>
<p>Sophomore:</p>
<ul>
<li>Honors Pre-AP Calculus (A-)</li>
<li>Honors Biology (A)</li>
<li>Honors Chemistry (A-, should have been an A, had a 94% and the school's toughest teacher :()</li>
<li>Honors English II (A-)</li>
<li>Honors US History (A)</li>
<li>Latin II (A)</li>
<li>Computer Programming (A)</li>
<li>PE (A)</li>
</ul>
<p>Junior Year Schedule: AP Chemistry, AP Calc BC, AP English III, AP Comp Sci A, Global Studies Honors (required course, otherwise, it would be AP), Honors Latin III</p>
<p>Well, those are as far as my academics go. Now, part of what I need advice with is on how my academic profile (what I've provided above) can be improved upon. I really slacked freshman year and tried a bit harder sophomore year, but still didn't give it all that I could. My problem is I get discouraged easily by a few low grades and that leads me on a downward trend through the year. I'm a lot more serious now and I'm hoping to really give it my all this coming year and come out on top. If I pull out junior year with two A-'s in 2 of the 4 AP courses (which I'm assuming will be in English and perhaps another course) and A's in the rest, I'll end up with a decent 4.17 W GPA. Of course, I'm planning to do better and I have a feeling this will only be a worst-case-scenario. What else can I do? How will the change in GPA systems affect my chances? I'm open to any advice. Should I add on another AP course? I guess I can throw in AP Econ or something in place of Global Studies (and then take that senior year). Am I planning enough SAT IIs or should I have more? Extracurriculars are, of course, another case entirely:</p>
<p>ECs:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Careers in Medicine Club - I joined sophomore year, ran for office (lost), and plan to attend and help coordinate next year and hopefully receive an officer position as a result.</p></li>
<li><p>Science Competitor's Club - I joined sophomore year and will be an officer next year. We basically compete in certain science-related competitions and my plans are to expand the playing field for the coming year. </p></li>
<li><p>NJ Science League - I competed for the school in Chem I. No recognitions other than the fact that I qualified to take the tests in the first place.</p></li>
<li><p>Took AMC last year and scored a few points below the cutoff for AIME. This was with minimal studying so I have a feeling I'll be able to correct it next year.</p></li>
<li><p>I've been involved with JSA since freshman year. I will be Director of Debate next year for my local chapter and a cabinet member for the NJ region as well. I have a few Best Speaker acknowledgements (with hopefully a few more on the way) and I also write for the JSA political newspaper. Overall, JSA is the embodiment of my leadership and communication abilities.</p></li>
<li><p>National Latin Exams and Princeton University Competitions - Silver Medal in the 9th grade and a gold in the 10th on the NLE. I have also competed at Princeton University as a part of a team for the past two years which has received placements (2nd and 4th).</p></li>
<li><p>March of Dimes - I joined the local Youth Chain Reaction Council in my sophomore year and helped organized a fundraiser that raised around $30,000 dollars last year and was recognized nationally for its contribution. Each member also received recognition from Governor Corzine and the NJ State Legislature. I'm assured an officer position by the end of next year. </p></li>
<li><p>Volunteer: Hospital and Senior Center. About 100 hours so far. </p></li>
<li><p>Research in molecular biology at Rutgers University: Working with drosophila melongaster (fruit flies) this summer and currently conducting an experiment with the PR-set7 protein that may have signficance in the rapid division and growth of cancer cells in humans. It's really not as big as it sounds; it's more of the quality of the research report that will determine how interesting it is. I plan to compete next year at the North Jersey Science Fair with this work. By the end of next summer, I hope to have explored the field enough to write Intel STS/Siemen's quality research.</p></li>
<li><p>I also play tennis for fun (and suck) and play the piano (and suck more). Both are just leisurely activities that I don't plan on mentioning on a college app. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>Overall, though I think I have been pretty involved in and out of school, I feel like I've been lacking in terms of truly worthy scientific ECs. I hope to correct this by next year and have already started taking action to do so. Not only have I started research but I will also likely be the founder of a club/team at my high school to compete in the New Jersey Science Olympiad. Addtionally, I have already compiled a list of noteworthy scientific competitions and programs that I will look into/compete in next year (foremost among these are the USNCO, USABO, and North Jersey Science Fair (hopefully followed by ISEF)). I want to ask if I'm heading in the right direction if I want to make it to any of the following colleges:</p>
<ul>
<li>UPenn</li>
<li>JHU</li>
<li>Columbia</li>
<li>Cornell</li>
<li>Duke<br></li>
</ul>
<p>More than likely, I would apply ED to JHU (because I just love what they have to offer and am not so ivy-obsessed as to choose a lesser school in terms of premedical education over it). I don't believe wholeheartedly in Newsweek's college 'rankings', but I am at least in full support of their choice for Best College for PreMeds (JHU). Anyway, I'm willing to take any advice anybody will offer. I need to know now whether or not I'm planning the right path for myself and even whether or not I'm being realistic in my ambitions. But most of all, how much will my results in such science competitions as I plan to participate in matter to my chances at each individual college (especially JHU). Thx in advance for any responses.</p>