Where to begin?

Pre-College Topics High School Life
1

I am currently a sophomore in high school and I have recently started looking into colleges. It seems very overwhelming and I’m not quite sure where to begin. I’m looking to see if anyone has any suggestions on how to being the searching process.

I feel like I may be on the right track, but I am open to any suggestions! :slight_smile:

  • private Catholic high school
  • 4.0 unweighted GPA (through the end of sophomore year)
  • Class rank: 1/168
  • ACT: 27 (I have taken it one time. I didn’t do any preparation for it, but I am planning to study and take a few classes to prep for it over the summer. I have two years to raise my score, so I am shooting for a 32.)
  • I have taken the most challenging courses offered to me, however my school doesn’t offer any AP classes until junior year. I am signed up for 3 AP classes next year and I plan to take several more senior year.
    ECs:
  • student council (hoping for president senior year!)
  • mock trial
  • International Club (we help to organize community service projects through this club, many benefitting the poor Hispanic community in our area.)
  • Pro-life group
  • Young Republicans
  • I had to quit playing volleyball after an injury, so I am now a volleyball manager
  • Zonta club (women’s empowerment and service projects)

I work 20 hours a week at a car dealership as a receptionist and doing office work. I will continue to work there this summer.
I have about 300 hours of volunteer work at a local school for special needs children. I also tutor special needs kids at my former grade school. During the summer, I volunteer for Miracle League Baseball, which is a baseball program for kids with disabilities, kind of like Special Olympics.
I am also going to volunteer at a hospital this summer, not sure exactly what I’ll be doing yet. I’m looking to go into the medical field, so any suggestions about what I should be doing here?

I’m open to any suggestions as to what I should be doing over the next two years as I begin the college search process. Other than just making a long list of possible colleges and visiting the ones I can, how do I go about this??? Thanks so much for any advice!

2

Definitely check out Notre Dame.
I think Georgetown’s Catholic too but I’m not sure.

Look at the college search tool on CC. It’s useful. Also, niche.com is helpful.

3
  1. Start by looking at College Board's website. They have good advice for applicants and have a really handy [college search tool](https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/college-search) that can get you started with finding schools that might interest you.
  2. Have a good talk with your parents about what kind of college you'll be able to afford. I've seen way too many posts on CC about kids who didn't have a frank talk with their parents about money and end up having to choose the cheapest school, even if they don't like it. Figure out how much they'll be able to pay each year/what they'll be willing to pay.
  3. On that note, even if they're willing to pay for a really expensive college, definitely plan to apply for at least a few financial safeties that will give you a lot of money. See the list of colleges that give out [automatic full tuition](http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html#latest). Also check out the list of [competitive merit scholarship colleges](http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1461983-competitive-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html#latest).