I am a high school sophomore and I have just begun my college search. I want to know what colleges I should be touring and researching more. I go to a public high school in NJ. I have a 4.3891 gpa (I know it is weak, but that is bc I dropped so 2 honors after freshman year) I would like to study either chem or comp sci. I am a caucasian female. I took the psat without test prep this year and got an 1170.
Freshman year
Honors Bio: B+
Honors English: A-
Honors French: A-
Honors Geometry: B+
Honors Band: A
Honors World History: B+
Lunch
Gym: A
(I know freshman year is a little weak)
Sophomore year (my current grades as of MP2)
Honors Chem: A
Honors English: A-
APUSH 1: A-
Honors French: A-
Intro to Comp Sci: A
Gym:A
Algebra 2: A
Junior year plans:
Honors french
APUSH 2
AP Comp Sci A
Honors Physics
Honors english
precalc
gym
senior year plans
ap chem or bio
ap comp sci P
ap english
ap french
calc ab
extra curiculars:
varsity track and field
marching band
sunday school helper
skiing
christian youth group president
french club
arboretum volunteer
outside of school band
soccer referee (nationally certiifed grade 8)
I know I am not the strongest applicant that you have seen on here, but I appreciate the help!
You are a little early to be targeting specific schools but here are some ideas to start with…
–First off study hard for the standardized tests and try to improve your score. Right now it looks like your PSAT is not as strong as your classroom performance. If your standardized tests don’t improve (and they likely will with study) perhaps consider some test optional colleges. Here is a list of test optional colleges sorted by state. http://www.fairtest.org/university/optional/state
–Have a talk with your parents and determine any limitations they may have on your college choices (finances, geography, anything else). It is very important to do this early in the process.
–Get your hands on some good college guide books (ex. Fiske, Princeton Review, Insiders Guide) and start reading. Focus on schools that fall within your academic range and your parent’s guidelines. These books can often be found in your guidance office or a library.
–Think about what you want in a college. Some things to consider include (but are not limited to): size of school (ex. LAC, mid-size university, large university), location (both geographic as well as if you prefer a rural, suburban, urban area), are things like big time sports and/or Greek Life important to you, does the school have the major or the particular activities you want …etc
For now I would 1) study for the SAT/ACT and see if you can bring the score up and 2) get a better sense of what you want in a college, what limitations you may have etc. and then people can give you some meaningful suggestions.
By that source, you may be closer to the 85th percentile at this time (at the midpoint of the 80th percentile, 1130, and the 90th, 1210).
If you’d like some schools to research, look into St. Lawrence, Denison, Trinity (CT) and Wheaton (MA). By following USNWR links, such as that below, you can read about these colleges as well as their listed (usually more selective, and possibly also suitable) overlap schools:
Parental restrictions, especially budget, will guide your choices.
The higher your scores, the better your odds. In addtion, since you have good grades, good scores will help you get into honors colleges with scholarships, if you want to go OOS.
You can also look further away: private colleges 400 miles + away may offer preferential packaging. However some parents don’t want their kids to apply far away.
You can buy a Princeton Review’s Best Colleges book and start reading there. For more details on these, look into the Fiske Guide. Start reading, looking for several “safeties” you like. Finding safeties is the hardest part (finding Dream Schools is no work at al ).
Go visit colleges nearby - not necessarily because you want to attend, but because this way you’ll get an idea of what environment you like. You could visit TCNJ, Rutgers, Rowan, Drew, Baruch, Fordham, LaSalle, Haverford for instance - you’d have the state flagship, the state’s honors college, the state’s directional, an urban commuter school in a big city, an urban residential school in NYC, an urban residential school in Philadelphia, a suburban elite college.
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