I am and upcoming senior in high school and it has just hit me that I’m going to be applying to college very soon. I don’t want to apply somewhere if someone who knows more about this than I thinks that I won’t get in, so I just want to know if it’s even worth a shot.
I have a GPA of 4.29 and am ranked 2/170, but I am confident after this past year that I will be rank 1. I have taken all honors classes throughout my high school career. I have had top grades in all my science courses, which is what I plan to major in. I have never had a B in any class in my life. Science-wise, I have taken biology, chemistry, physics, and anatomy & physiology, and I plan on taking Chem 2 this year. In math I have taken algebra 1, geometry(I had the highest grade in this class, which was a 101), algebra 2 with trig, and precalculus, and I will be taking AP calc AB this year. I’ve taken all the standard English and history classes also, so nothing special about those. Again, these are the most rigorous courses offered at my school. Throughout the years the electives that were not required that I have taken are Spanish 1&2, first aid and cpr training, IT Fundamentals, IT support and services, Computer science principles, AP Computer science, and AP psychology.
I made a 3 on each AP exam, which I know looks bad, but one was an online course in which I barely had a teacher which made it difficult, and on the other I had a real life teacher, but she never once explained one concept of computer science to us.
I have not taken the SAT or any subject tests.
On the act I have a 34 and I made that my third try. 34 in English, 32 math, 35 reading, and 33 science. I took the writing on a separate test on which I scored a 30 and the writing score was 6 out of 12.
I plan on taking the ACT with writing again at the soonest date. I also am planning on taking SAT subject tests in two sciences, but I am not sure which yet.
Extracurriculars:
Computer science club president/founder
Physics club president
Yearbook editor(highest position in yearbook club)
Interact club
Pine City Ambassadors, a selective teen leadership group in my community
Varsity volleyball captain, former junior varsity captain
Tennis team, best doubles award
Golf team, women’s medalist in multiple tournaments
Student government association
National honor society
Precalculus tutor
Middle school robotics club volunteer
Praise band lead singer/guitarist at my local church
I do lots of volunteer work through my church, interact club, and pine city ambassadors. I also have gone on multiple mission trips.
Awards other than those listed with extracurriculars:
Highest average award in geometry, physics, and anatomy with physiology
3rd place in the state of Alabama Microsoft excel certification exam scores
I live in an extremely small, rural town in southern Alabama. My school does not have much to offer and I am taking the most rigorous classes available to me and utilizing all the resources available to me.
I also won a county wide competition called Distinguished Young Women. It’s a scholarship competition and I won in areas of scholastics, interview, talent, self expression, and overall Distinguished Young Woman of my county. I will now go to the state competition in January to compete for The distinguished Young Woman of Alabama. I don’t know if this sets me apart at all, but it’s a very big deal to most lower level colleges in terms of scholarships.
I have amazing relationships with my teachers and all the school staff so recommendation letters will be no issue.
My parents are divorced and my mother has 5 children, if that makes a difference. My life has been very interesting so an essay should not be a problem.
I plan on beginning a recycling initiative at my school that will hopefully expand throughout my community.
I would so much appreciate any opinion on this topic. I am so stressed at this point and I know I should have been thinking about all this sooner but I never had my sights set on a school like these until recently. Any comment would be so appreciated. Thank you!