What Should I Do Next! - Sophomore!

Applying to College
1

<p>Hi everyone,</p>

<p>I had a similar thread already, but I only received financial advice. </p>

<p>So far, it seems as my high school success will not be enough. My school has very limited experience sending students to prestigious schools, like any of the Ivys. Can anyone give me a little help? What can I be doing? I just need some guidance on what to do next.</p>

<p>I'm a sophomore at a relatively small school in southern Minnesota, and I would like to get into the absolute best university I can. However, admission rates seem extremely rough, and I don't know what to do.</p>

<p>I am doing all of the obvious things that I can. I have a weighted 4.1, I'm getting an A in my AP US History class, and I have a rigorous schedule, with other advanced classes. I'm in extra curricular activities constantly, like DECA, Key Club, the Speech team, varsity tennis, alpine skiing, and other little clubs like that. I have taken the PSAT and the PLAN tests, and I am planning to take the ACT and SAT this spring. On the PSAT I had a 53 on the reading, 64 on the math, and 49 on the writing. I understand that these scores are definitely way less than phenomenal, and I am hoping to improve these by taking APLC next year. Along with APLC, I am scheduled to have AP Physics and AP Art history. </p>

<p>This summer I plan to have two jobs, not including some internships at a local architecture firms and tutoring gifted and talented kids who want to skip a grade.</p>

<p>Also, I'm contacting my local rep. for the House of Representatives Page Program in D.C., and hopefully, I'll be accepted into ArcStart, a high school architecture summer program at the U of Mich. </p>

<p>Advice? I'll take ALL advice you can possibly think of!</p>

<p>Thanks everyone.</p>

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<p>You’re doing great so far! I would only add that you really need to prep for the PSAT this summer and again for the actual SAT. Focus on getting those scores up. Decide on what kind of schools you are aiming for and buy the book The Best 373 Colleges --use it to see what kind of scores you will need. Otherwise, keep it up! You’re doing great.</p>

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<p>Relax and enjoy your high school career. You are doing great, but don’t over do it. Don’t conform to what you think high tier colleges want you to be, rather spend your time doing things that you want to do. If you truly enjoy having that many things on your plate, then keep on trucking!</p>

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<p>Thanks guys! I really appreciate it.</p>

<p>Any more ideas out there?</p>

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<p>Don’t spread yourself too thin. It’s better to invest in two or three activities that you really care about and differentiate yourself through your commitment and achievement in those areas, than to be ‘in extra curricular activities constantly.’ That doesn’t mean everything you do has to be at the highest level - you can belong to something just for fun - but find a focus (or two).</p>

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<p>Focus on not burning out and always keep everything in moderation, colleges would rather you be good in one area than average in multiple areas.</p>

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<p>Is that the only area I really should improve? Specifying my interests?</p>

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<p>Not sure what ‘specifying your interests’ means to you - What we mean is raising your level of engagement in an activity or two to achieve something that could not be accomplished without significant initiative, creativity, passion, intelligence, time, etc…Tutoring is okay, and many, many kids do it. It shows engagement in the community, which is nice. But taking it to the next level would be analyzing the tutoring program to see if the outcomes were measurable, doing the statistical analysis, and identifying which tutoring strategies worked best with which kids so that the program could be fine-tuned next year. Then help implement those changes. (This is just an example and the only person who would do it was someone who really cared about this population, or about teaching, or about research). It is not possible to engage in a ton of ECs and, at the same time, make this kind of contribution to all of them. Pick what you care about and plunge in! If architecture is your passion, what can you do besides that summer program to get more engaged? Work construction over the summer? Try to design and build something yourself? Take drafting lessons at the CC? This is where kids with creativity and initiative make themselves stand out from all the others.</p>

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<p>For example, becoming president of the student council? Placing in nationals for DECA?
I have a few internships set up at architectural firms.</p>

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<p>

Sounds like you are quite a dedicated student ;)</p>

<p>One thing you should be aware of is “member of this, minor officer in that” is not what the most selective schools are looking for. Here’s what Stanford, to give an example of a highly competitive school, says about ECs

</p>

<p>As you might imagine, the question about impressive ECs comes up regularly on these forums. There is a thread with comments by NSM, a Ivy alum interviewer, about what constitutes impressive ECs. The post is at <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/210497-those-ecs-weak-so-what-s-good.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/210497-those-ecs-weak-so-what-s-good.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>2 very interesting articles about ECs that stand out and how to get them (same author, different examples) are at [How</a> to Be Impressive](<a href=“http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/05/28/the-art-of-activity-innovation-how-to-be-impressive-without-an-impressive-amount-of-work/]How”>The Art of Activity Innovation: How to Be Impressive Without an Impressive Amount of Work - Cal Newport) and [Save</a> This Grind?](<a href=“http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/09/12/case-study-how-could-we-save-this-ridiculously-overloaded-grind/]Save”>Case Study: How Could We Save This Ridiculously Overloaded Grind? - Cal Newport) While I don’t agree with everything in those articles, take a look and I think you’ll get some ideas.</p>

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<p>Great Mike!
As a sophomore, it’s somewhat difficult to gain a respected position in a certain extra curricular, but I sure hope to gain offices in student council, DECA, NHS, and Key Club! Who knows, some more may come along, too.</p>

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<p>Like what others said:

  1. Get those standardized testing grades up. I don’t want to sound too mean, but those PSAT scores are way below what Ivies would look for.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Dig deeper into extracurriculars. Beyond just participation, put yourself in position by outworking other sophomores so you’ll be able to get a leadership role by your junior/senior years.</p></li>
<li><p>Specify a bit more. Find just a few things to really put your effort into and really become exceptional at - do something that not many people can, whether it’s taking on a big community service project, placing very well at some national competition, etc.</p></li>
</ol>

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<p>Didn’t sound mean, I love criticism! I also took the PLAN (practice ACT) and I really believe the scores will be a much greater on that. </p>

<p>Thanks for the input!</p>