<p>Okay. College is coming up and I'm getting really scared. I treated school as a joke. I never did ANY of my homework. However my test scores were always really good, as in high A's. But my final grades were always B's or even a C here or there cause I had a million missing assignments. I'm in all AP and Honors classes.
I do several extra curricular activities, ranging from music, theatre, to athletics and even volunteer programs. I have over 100 hours of community service.
My gpa(I don't know if it's weighted or unweighted, and when I asked my counselor he said "this is the gpa I send colleges." he sucks at his job) is 3.454.
My class rank is "65th to the 69th percentile band" I have no idea what this means. Isn't like I'm better than or just as good as 69% and worse than 31%?</p>
<p>I really enjoy science, particularly physics and chemistry. So I either want to go into nuclear engineering/chemistry, theoretical physics, or astrophysics, maybe even quantum physics. But if those prove to impossible due to my horrible academic performance in high school, I'd pursue history, politics, or philosophy.</p>
<p>My projected ACT score is a 31, due to a practice test I took, and I'm assuming i'll do well on my SAt tests..</p>
<p>Aw man you haven’t taken a standardized test yet? Aaah, please prepare for your December one. 3.454 is most likely UW. Your percentile most likely means that your GPA is higher than 65-69% of your peers. I’d look into U Wisconsin-Madison (nationally recognized for physics department), University of Washington, Penn State, and Ohio State U (all of these are very, very reputable for their physics departments). Good luck!</p>
<p>Lawrence might be feasible if you do indeed get a 31 on your ACT and the GPA you have given is unweighted. They are strong in physics. It is hard to recommend schools without knowing your financial situation and where you live, though.</p>
<p>Are you a junior or a senior?
What’s in-state for you?
What’s your EFC? (or how much can your parents spend each year -will you need financial aid, merit aid, can they cover it all?)</p>
<p>Find different colleges near your home - a big state school, a local public university (usually as “Central”, “West”, “State” or a city in its name: Wisconsin Eau Claire, Minnesota State Mankato, University of West Florida, University of Central Arkansas, Northern Arizona State…), a private university, a LAC, and take notes about what you like best. Do you want a big D1 spectator sports scene, or rather a school where everyone’s outdoorsy or athletic and into intramurals, or rather a school were sports aren’t emphasized? Would you like a school that’s intensely intellectual or preprofessional (focused on your future career)? Do you like small, interactive classes, or large lectures where you can hide and which you can occasionally skip? etc.
Borrow a Fiske Guide, a Princeton Review’s Best Colleges, an Insider Guide. Look at the schools near your home that they describe, pick out the ones that seem interesting, go visit (don’t forget to register in advance and/or to sign up at the admissions office).</p>
<p>Be careful about universities such as UWisconsin, Ohio State, Penn state, or UWA: if they’re out of state, they’ll be horribly expensive and financial aid will be reserved to in-state applicants (whose parents have paid their taxes to the State for years).
To get into Penn state with a 3.5, you’d need 2000, with a 3.4 a minimum of 2100.
^I second Lawrence for physics. Top 10 PHD producers in Physics but accessible to a student with a 3.4-3.5 and a 30+ ACT. And since it’s private, you don’t have to worry about OOS fees, plus if it’s out of state for you, since you’d bring geographical diversity, it’d be a plus in your favor.</p>
<p>I think one of your problems is going to be teacher recommendations, because if you treated school as a joke that could be a problem for them. After all, no school wants to take in a kid who might flunk out because of a lack of effort. If you’re a junior, I’d recommend getting on top of the homework situation and definitely ask teachers in the classes you tried hardest in, not necessarily got the best test scores in, for teacher recs come senior year. It sounds like you could use a perspective that shows you as someone willing to work at something you’re passionate about.</p>
<p>I’m not eligible for financial aid, my family is, luckily, doing very well.
In state or out of state doesn’t matter.
I’m not sure of what I like in a school ye. I just want names of schools I have a good chance of being accepted into so I’m not aiming too low-like a community college, or too high like an ivy league.
My dream school, is actually Berkeley. However, my laziness has prevented me form ever hoping to attend there. So… Oops.</p>
<p>There are a few classes I work my butt off in, and do really well in. Such as any social studies, or science class.
All of those teachers love me.
So does my foreign language teacher. I’m not worried about recommendations!</p>