What schools are realistic for me?

College Search & Selection
1

Hi!

I am a 9th grade at a private co-ed school in New Jersey. I have attended the school since 6th grade. I am just wondering what colleges you think that I should be considering based on my resumé.

I do not take any honors courses, but my GPA is a 3.33. I am definitely planning on taking more advanced courses next year. I have never taken the SATs or PSATs or SSATs, but I do tend to score pretty well on standardized tests.

I would say that I am a pretty ordinary kid for the most part. I am an avid volunteer. I won a presidential award last year for volunteering for 250+ hours in a nursing home. I am also a Girl Scout (have been for almost 10 years) and I have my Bronze and Silver awards and I am working toward getting my Gold. Also in the volunteering department, I am in a club at my school that provides food to the homeless of New York City (through the Bridges Outreach program). I am also a staff-writer for my schools newspaper and a writer for my school’s arts newsletter, which I am hoping to one day be the editor-in-chief of. I also do ModelUN and attend the conferences at various Ivy League schools. I am also involved in theatre (hence the arts newsletter) and in 7th grade did an amazing production of Macbeth with my grade and in 8th grade I was in a show with 16 other students of 60 that auditioned and we wrote the show ourselves, another amazing show and experience. I wouldn’t say that I am going to be in every show that my school has, but I would enjoy being in some more shows in high school, too. Also, in 6-8th grade I was in Concert Choir at my school and in 8th grade I was the co-leader of an extremely selective Girls’ Choir, which I led to first place at a competition with 8 other schools at Six Flags Great Adventure. I am hoping to sing in high school, but honestly I am not that good! I also tour prospective students and their parents around my school and the students shadow me.

I am totally a people pleaser and parents and teachers tend to love me. I would say that I will probably do very well on all of my college interviews.

I am sort of at a crossroads about what I want to major in. I have said for about the past year that I want to be an orthodontist, but then when I got to high school and began writing for all of these newspapers at my school, I sort of fell in love with it. Also, since I speak incredibly well in front of an audience, I think that journalism would be a good choice for me, but also at the same time, I would love to write for the Times. I have also always had this idea that I want to be a CEO of some big makeup company. I think that ideally I would like to find a way to combine all of these things that I love together, but I’m not really sure if I could do that.

Lastly, I am not super picky about my schools, I just want to go to the best school that I get into and I am wondering what you think that school is going to be for me with my resumé as it is now and if I added to it a bit and improved my grades.

2

You’re a 9th grader. It’s likely your intended major will change many times before you go to college. At this point just pick challenging classes that interest you and do well in them. Also, know that GPA and scores are far more important for college admission than ECs. Focus your time accordingly.

3

It’s really impossible to say what schools are realistic for you in 9th grade. The most important thing you can do right now is focus on bringing up your GPA. Talk to your guidance counselor about course load and take the most challenging classes that you think you can handle and focus on your grades. Even if it means dialing back on some of your extracurriculars a little, really focus on bringing your grades up. Try to focus on your grades and the extracurriculars that mean the most to you, and then put college off until you’re a little older and have actually taken the SAT/ACT and have a clearer idea of what schools are realistic for you. Good luck! :slight_smile:

4

Your ECs sound fun & engaging. If I were you, I’d focus on getting your GPA up. That will open up more school choices for you – colleges look at GPA and test scores first. It can also position you for schools that give better financial aid if you need it, or for merit scholarships at schools where your stats are on the higher end.

5

Agree with above. Good for you for thinking about your future at this stage. Don’t let your extracurricular activites get in the way of getting good grades. That really should always be your priority. It’s best to be involved in a couple of things you really enjoy, not dozens. Or get a job in the summer, do some meaningful volunteer work. Those are both good ways to make your college application stand out. Don’t try to take so many hard classes that your stress levels go through the roof. Do what you can cope with, and do your best at it.
Too early for you to do much now, other than get good grades, and yes, you can start researching to see what colleges appeal to you. I think one of the hardest things to do for my daughter was to whittle down a list of 50 colleges initially, to the twelve she is now applying to. You are young and you might change your mind a hundred times between now and your senior year, so keep a running list of interetsing colleges, always bearing in mind you need some safety colleges, and revisit the list, or add to it as you go through high school. You might be thinking now that you want a big university with lots of sports action and Greek life, but in a year that might sound terrible, or vice versa. Also, ask you parents for input, they know you better than you think they do:-) Good luck!

6

It’s difficult to suggest scores without test scores. You have a lot of time to improve your GPA, so focus on that. You have good ECs!