<p>you sound like you go to school in our county AJ 39!! it is painful to see the kids in nearby counties have lots of competitive academics etc… what year are you??</p>
<p>I’m entering my Junior year. It really is painful to hear cousins and the people on this site talking about all of the wonderful opportunities, clubs, teachers, courses they can take, and the fact they can dual-enroll at a college that isn’t a community college. It’s even more painful to hear the very same people complaining about the people who take full advantage of those opportunities! I see the schedules of Freshmen/Sophomores taking Calc BC, MultiVar Calc, and other college-level courses, when my school doesn’t even offer BC Calc - and you can only take AB your Senior year (you can’t skip precalc?!?). The disparity between the upper-tier schools and lower-tier schools has always been large, but I never realized quite how big the difference is between a lower-middle and an upper-middle tier high school was until I discovered CC. </p>
<p>Seriously, some kids don’t realize how lucky they are.</p>
<p>Aj, my school is basically like yours lol. Hell, I get the feeling that college preparation is an afterthought to the staff here. My school has no qualms about reducing its resources to give a “generalized” education to college-bound students. If a student here wants to go to college, they would have to go out of their way to talk to their counselor several times a year and most likely take some messed up schedule (2 or 3 natural science courses in one year) just to be fully prepared for college.</p>
<p>I’m sure that colleges know the difference between various schools when looking between them. For instance, your school is supposed to send a data sheet to show the strengths of your school. However, I read that students at harder schools, especially magnet schools, often get unfairly penalized when applying. </p>
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<p>Seriously, you need to get a hold of yourself.</p>
<p>I think this is an exaggeration. Most students definitely don’t have those things. Not even me, when I go to a Newsweek top 100 school. (It’s actually exactly #100…) NO ONE that I know in real life has taken a college-level math course besides Stats AP. There hasn’t even been one to take Calc AB. </p>
<p>As for dual-enrolling in a non-community college, I’m not sure if that opportunity is available to me. None of my counselors have said anything about it, so I am going to community college just like everyone else!</p>
<p>You’re comparing yourself to a pretty unrealistic group of people here. Doing well with limited resources is just as good for admissions. And there will be a lot of people envying your financial aid package too!</p>
<p>This is such an interesting thread! It would really be fascinating to know how adcoms compare students.</p>
<p>OP, we are somewhere near your neck of the woods. Our local high school’s (it’s now 4 small schools in one large high school in an attempt to improve the education) average SAT score for the 4 schools is 1309. The API scores for the 4 schools are 646, 714,749, and 804 (up from 755 the year before)</p>
<p>I have heard of exactly one student in our neighborhood who went to a UC school, and that was UCLA, and one who is at SDSU. All the other kids we know are either working or going to community college.</p>
<p>We chose to homeschool. I’d be very curious as to how adcoms compare my son with other applicants. Is it by income? Neighborhood? Against other homeschoolers in our city? In our neighborhood? In our income level? Probably will never know. :-)</p>
<p>Hey Guys! I’m new to the site and hoping to get a baseline on my admissions prospects. My top choices are Penn and Georgetown. I’m only going to be a Junior this coming year, so my resume and numbers are incomplete, but I’ll fill them in and make note of it. I go to a public high school with a class size of around 350. Last year two students were admitted to Penn, but a third prominent student was denied in both Early and Regular decision. I plan to study along the lines of business/government/psychology/computer science/economics/political science/int affairs
Here’s a basic overview, and I apologize in advance if I haven’t organized my thread in the correct forum. </p>
<p>98 average. (Translates to 4.0 on my school’s scale)
Prospectively ranked no lower than 15/360
My school limits APs, so I currently only have one score in hand, but at the end of the year will have 5, and by Senior Year have 8. I’m a solid test taker, and expect to earn scores of 5.
APUSH 5
I’ve currently taken one SAT Subject Test, a 760 in American History. My other will be English, (780+), and Math 2 (760+)
My SAT goal comes around 2250, with a 1500, Reading/Math. (I know it’s ambitious, but I am more than confident in my ability to attain this.)</p>
<p>Resume
Rigorous College Preparatory Program
8 AP Exams
1500+ SAT Math/Reading
Advanced Regents Diploma
National AP Scholar
My high School’s Scholar Certificate
Student Council member from 5th grade on
Junior Class VP- led the implementation of my school’s social media strategy, along with the institution of a new JSA Chapter at my High School
Student Government President
National Honor Society Member
Tutored Underclassmen
Scholar Athlete 4 Years, varied accomplishments in Golf
Mock Trial Lawyer
Wrote for the School Newspaper
Published in the National Anthology of Poetry by Young Americans at age 12,
7 year Boy Scout: Multiple Merit Badges and Rank Advancements
Attended NYSSMA Music Festival Multiple Times on Saxophone, Receiving Excellent Scores, Play the Guitar as Well
2 Years of Long-Jumping on Track Team
Part-Time Work Experience
Volunteer Work
Taught Religious Education
120 hours of Refereeing Youth Basketball Games
Ran Junior Class Concession Stand, record fundraising levels
Notre Dame Global Issues Seminar
American Legion Boy’s State, and Boy’s Nation
Diverse Interests
Honor Roll every semester</p>
<p>I’ll hopefully add in some accomplishments and awards along the way. Do I have a reasonable shot at my two top choices? And thanks for the time.</p>
<p>Anyone have any opinions on a freshman taking AP Calc BC and AP biology and AP chemistry?</p>
<p>It does. For example, if you go to Exeter, even if you’re outside the Top 25% of your class you have a shot at Ivies. However, if you’re the valedictorian of a school where the average SAT is 970 out of 2400, and you got an 1100, then of course they will know that your title is meaningless.</p>
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<p>Good. I wish I had been allowed to do this (could only take AP Calc AB in school; was going to take the BC AP test and the Biology AP test that year but cancelled Biology score and took BC the next year)</p>
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<p>This, this.</p>
<p>“I dont think school competitiveness can hurt you if you go to one that isnt, but it can help you if you go to one that is.”</p>
<p>Not necessarily. If you go to a top school and you’re in the 30th percentile, you could be screwed because you just won’t stick out among other applicants. Thats especially true if it’s a large school. In fact, a recent study found that students who attend NYC selective high schools (Stuy, Bronx Sci, and Brooklyn Tech, which are some of the most selective and prestigious public schools in the nation) sometimes fare worse in admissions than if they had gone to more typical publics because it’s so difficult to stand out.</p>
<p>The thing is, Stuy sends a lot of kids to the Ivies (especially Columbia and Yale) each year, but it also has 800 students. Some of them are going to lost in the jumble.</p>
<p>It’s funny to hear what other students have to say about Palos Verdes Peninsula…are we the gods of the south or something? I find it somewhat intimidating when I hear people calling us one of the ultimate Ivy League feeder schools…as if most of us will be attending one. A lot of people seem to believe that we’re all perfect, 4.0 GPA, all AP class taking, 2000+ SAT scoring robots. Granted…many students are; however, they are at the very top, and most of us are in awe of their academic prowess. The truth is, the average Peninsula student does not have a perfect GPA or SAT score. Most people I know (smart students) have taken about 3-4 AP classes by the end of junior year and are hoping to break 2000 on the SAT this October (not their first try). We’re so overly competitive that it’s ridiculous sometimes: we’re not satisfied with what would be considered good scores by most (because someone’s always doing better) and our GPA’s seem low compared to students from other schools because (supposedly) our classes are a lot harder than most. I have no idea if going to such a competitive high school helps or hurts us students who are neither the best nor the worst. Most of us are stuck in the middle, wondering if we’re good enough to get into our dream school (which for me…is not an Ivy League). So many students here have such high class rankings, so I’m glad that Peninsula doesn’t officially rank its students (we’d probably all be crying then).</p>
<p>Sorry…that was like…an entire rant. I guess you can say we write too much also. :)</p>
<p>(If this sounded hostile in any way, I apologize. It’s just meant to be informative).</p>
<p>After looking at CheesePuffPoppin’s newsletters, one school stands out: Harvard-Westlake. 10 students in to Harvard? Definition of a feeder.</p>
<p>It affects only about 7% of your application.</p>
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<p>Harvard isn’t in their name for nothing, apparently hahaha.</p>
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<p>A very unusual student, who will likely be taking most community college courses in a year or two (and will run out of math at the community college by junior year).</p>
<p>^There’s also the option of EPGY, which offers Multivariable Calculus (for some reason split into two; however your HS might have it), Linear Algebra (fewer HS have this, but maybe your school does), Differential Equations (few HS have this too; this is split into Ordinary + Partial on EPGY), and some more advanced ones, as well as Number Theory and Logic and possibly a few others that aren’t on the main branch so don’t require prerequisites beyond precalculus, I believe. Of course, you could take AP Stats at your HS too, but I’d recommend an EPGY / community college course alongside AP stats. There are certainly many options for those who finish AP Calc BC freshman year (although EPGY is unfortunately very expensive, though there is financial assistance available for some). There are advanced science courses at EPGY too, although you still might have Physics B/C and APES available at your HS, and maybe others.</p>
<p><em>Disclaimer</em> I don’t go to Harvard-Westlake.</p>
<p>Why do you guys have to hate on Harvard-Westlake so much? Just look at other schools like Exeter or Andover or TJHSST or somewhere. Besides, so many kids get into good schools for specific reasons. True, there are some legacies and a slight boost in admissions, but most of the kids who go to HW are there for a reason. HW is number 12 on Forbes for a reason (I think the East Coast schools are 1 or 2 or something and TJHSST is like the best school in the nation). They’re extremely good at academics, research, sports, music, performing arts, and whatnot. I’ve read that like at least 1/4 of their students go to Ivies + Stanford + MIT, but I think most of them deserve it. I mean, come on, their average SAT score is like a 2100!</p>
<p><em>Disclaimer</em> I don’t go to Harvard-Westlake.</p>
<p>^ I go to North Hollywood High School.</p>
<p>“Anyone have any opinions on a freshman taking AP Calc BC and AP biology and AP chemistry?” </p>
<p>I’ll miss this kid</p>
<p>i like pie</p>