What can I do to be more competitive for college?

Applying to College
1

Hey guys I am currently a Georgian high school Sophomore! My dream school is uChicago but that dream seems to be perpetually getting more distant. I wanted to reach out to the CC community and ask for constructive criticism whether that means I need to be me more “real” with myself or take in some harsh advice :).

Here is an outline of my high school portfolio (for a lack of a better word) and I have been told many times that its too early to as a Sophomore to tell but please spare me that as its never too early to start preparing.

GPA (unweighted): 4.00
GPA (unweighted): I havent calculated it yet but I have received all As in the two AP classes I took Freshman Year and taking APWH/AP Bio right now).
Rank: 54/800 (Will improve but this is one of my main concerns as I do receive all As w/o the ten points for AP classes but I get low As…:/)
ECs:
-FBLA Vice President (Running this year for Regional Officer)
-FBLA Public Speaking 3rd Place Regionalist
-Debate Club Co-Founder/Competition Coordinator
-Mock Trial Founder/President
-Green (Environmental) Team President (Spearheading our schools first gardening and composting program)
-County (For confidentiality) Environmental Corporation Student Delegate (Picks two people from each school)
-Governor`s Honors Program (Finalist- Submitting application and taking interview soon)
-Student Council
-National English Honor Society
-School Leadership Team (Picks 10/800 people from each grade)
-Local refugee camp volunteer (70 hours from Freshman Year but will continue)

SAT: Taking this Januarys exam
-Consistently getting one or two wrong on the Math Portion through numerous practice tests
-Low 700s on CR/Writing

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC)
-Yale University: Moral Foundations of Politics with Professor Ian Shapiro
(Graduated with Distinction)
-Yale University: Financial Markets with Professor Robert Shiller
(Graduated with Distinction)
-Duke University: The Brain and Space (Neurosciences) with Dr. Jennifer M. Groh
-University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: Introduction to Environmental Law and Policy with Professor Donald Hornstein
(Graduated with Distinction)

Thanks in advance.

2

It seems to me that you are on the right track for being a strong candidate for top schools. That unweighted GPA is fantastic (if the 4.0 is unweighted- I was a little confused whether you meant weighted or unweighted).
Good ECs, and seems like you’re on track to do well with the SAT. If you’re taking APs think about taking SAT IIs in subjects you excel in.

3

Only advice: relax! Don’t stress so much about what little things you can do because you already have a very strong profile; enjoy the time you have in high school. With that being said, don’t become overly confident either because the admissions process is the twilight zone and there are never any certainties. Most importantly, during your senior year make sure you apply to a good amount of safety and match schools while also applying to a few reaches. But overall, you’re in a great position, keep doing what you’re doing, and don’t stress so much. Good luck!

4

Thank you for those who responded!

5

You can pay attention to where your high school’s seniors are applying and their results. Then next year do the same thing. If your high school has Naviance look at the data for schools you are interested in, including UChicago. With graduating class sizes of 800 at your school there should be some useful comparisons to your profile.

6

Don’t crash and burn. Not sure why you think getting into UC is more distant when you are only a Sophomore and already have a ton of stuff under your belt. UC wants intellectual people who think. Find ways to show you are a thinker and that will help I am sure. I think you are going a bit overboard with so many activities, but maybe that’s your thing. Remember that grades are most important, so don’t let all your activities interfere with getting good grades.