Will I Get Into a Good University? (I am currently a Sophomore)

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hello,

Lately, I have been thinking about college and wondered if I am going to get into a decent college. I want to major in nursing and become a RN. I really want to attend a university on the east coast that is a few hours away from my home in New Jersey, such as Temple University or NYU, aka my dream school. I am currently a sophomore in high school in the middle of my last marking period and so far, I took two AP courses, as well as all honors courses availble to me. I plan on taking more! If I get similar grades like the grades I recieved in freshman and sophomore year and continue my extracirricular activities, what are my chances of getting into a good university? My guidance counselor says that I am doing extremely well, and I do not agree? Maybe not extremely well, but better than others. I already know I do not have a shot at Ivy Leagues (haha).

In freshman year, I got an A+ in band, A in gym, A in world literature (honors), A in french 2, A- in history (honors), B+ in geometry (honors), B+ in chemistry (honors), and B in physics (AP)

In sophomore year, I plan on getting an A+ in band, A+ in american literature I (honors), A in gym, A or A+ in french 3 (honors) A- in us history 1 (honors), A- in algebra 2 (honors), B in biology (honors), and a C+, B-, or B in chemistry (AP)

I did not pass the AP Physics exam, but I plan on passing the AP Chemistry exam with a 3.

For the next four years, I plan to continue being a volunteer at my local hospital (have been since freshman year), being a member of the marching band and becoming a historian, manager, or section leader by senior year, being a member of the academic decathlon team and recieving awards, judge on JV debate team (hopefully varsity soon), and being a player on the varsity tennis team.

I am a part of NEHS and WLHS and plan to be a part of NHS and Tri-MHS. Maybe NSHS and NMHS but I’m not really sure about that yet.

In my next two years of high school, I plan to be a part of the Big Brothers, Big Sisters Program, Quiz Bowl team (trivia club), varsity bowling team, Peer Transitions Program (role model for incoming freshmen), Action Team (volunteering club… hopefully I will serve as president, VP, treasurer, or historian by senior year), and Peer Tutoring Program.

Out of 329 people, I am currently #27 with a weighted GPA of 4.4 and an unweighted GPA of 3.6. I am in the top 10% of my grade.

On the new PSAT, I scored a 1040 (54 on critical reading and writing, 500 on math) and on the old PSAT I took in freshman year, I scored a 49 on math and writing and a 44 on reading. I plan to take the ACT and SAT in junior year. I am starting SAT prep classes in the summer.

Now that you know how I am academically, what are your tips to improve myself? Any answer is great! I can take constructive criticism. Thanks!

2

hey! so I’m also a soph and I guess I’ll just give you a few tips that top people at my school (which graduates at least 30 out of 70 students to top 20 schools like Ivy’s, U Chicago, MIT)…

  1. Get 5's on APs: Anything under a 4 may be a red flag for adcoms. They will think you're not prepared for college level courses or took the AP's too early (which may be your case. You doubled on science 2 years and that could've been too much. I doubled chem and physics but they were both non-AP level courses)

2: Try to get more A’s: A few B’s are fine, but for a top school like NYU, shoot for more A’s in easier classes and leave the B’s for APs. Having a lower GPA also shows lack of ability to handle college courseload.

  1. Study for the SAT: A 1040 PSAT is okay for sophomores (is the PSAT 10 on a different scale?), but it shows you need to practice. Since you live in NJ, the cutoff for National Merit will be around 1470-1490 out of 1520.
  2. Don't stress, it's only soph year! Don't push yourself TOO hard to breaking point. Get some sleep, develop your EC's, hang out with friends, study enough....

Good luck!

3

Hey! It’s nice having a fellow sophomore to talk to. :smiley:

Honestly, I do not think I am going to get a 5 on AP Chemistry (the exam is tomorrow, oh my god) but in the AP courses that I take in junior and senior year, I do plan to get 5’s. Also, I don’t think I’m going to get into NYU, that’s why it’s my dream school, but I see what you are saying. I plan on getting straight A’s for my remaining two years of high school so I will only have about 5 B’s on my transcript while the rest are A’s. Yes, the PSAT 10 is on a different scale! My school does not really take the time to review for the PSAT because they consider it as just a practice test for the real SAT that we don’t need to worry about, but since juniors can qualify for National Merit, I will definitely be practicing! I’m hoping taking SAT prep classes in the summer will help with that since the PSAT is similar to the SAT. I get that I stress too much a lot, but I don’t know. I can’t help it! I really feel like I’m going to end up at the community college nearby or just some college, but I really want to go to a university :-S

Thank you so much for the advice! Good luck to you too!

4

The commenter above is wrong. Maybe you would need a 5 at an Ivy, but a nursing degree from an Ivy is a waste. You’re better off at the schools listed below. A passing grade on an AP (3 and above) is viewed as good in a college’s eyes. A 5 will not get you out of the course equivalent in college as a nursing major, since schools typically won’t accept your scores in a science field. You seem like a good candidate at Temple, but you need to take standardized tests. I recommend taking the ACT and SAT as early as possible (I took my SAT in spring of my sophomore year so I had all summer to study) so you have time to study and prepare. Onto the schools. I assume you’re looking for your RN, then going to get your BSN. Look into Rutgers, Penn State, Pitt, Villanova, Boston College, Temple, NYU, La Salle, Stony Brook, UMass, UConn and Northeastern. All are great schools that you would fit pretty well. BC, Northeastern and NYU are reaches, but the rest are pretty easily obtainable. Best of luck, and let me know if you have any other questions.

5

Hey,

Thanks for the comment! My school actually pays for all juniors to take the SAT together in March, so that’s what I plan on doing! It seems like I’m going to be copying your actions because I am starting to study in the summer too! :)) I am considering Rutgers not just because its a good school, but because of in-state tuition (I am a NJ resident). I have had Penn State and Temple on my time for quite some time now. I literally just “discovered” UPitt, UMass, Villanova, La Salle and UConn as well. I agree that the reach schools you mentioned are reach schools, and maybe I’ll apply to at least Northeastern or NYU in senior year if I feel really confident. Thank you so much for the school suggestions!

6

The magic is all in the standardized tests. Not only is that almost as important as your grades, it will save you a FUCKTON of money when looking at colleges. I got a 31 on my ACT, and Ohio State is taking off 14k a year from my out of state tuition. If I had gotten one point higher, I would have gotten at least 20k off per year. Also, extracurriculars are extremely overrated. If you aren’t a 5 star football recruit, and as long as you don’t live under a rock, they could care less about your EC’s. But the magic resides in the SAT/ACT

7

Thanks! I’ll make sure to do extremely well. By the way, how do you like Ohio State? Should I consider applying there in senior year?

8

Also a sophomore, but one tip that is helping me that may help you is don’t just machine gun EC’s. Find a few that you are really passionate about, maybe even find one that will be the focus of your essays. Use the extra time to work hard in school and most importantly, have fun! We’re still kids for gods sake!

9

Hey, fellow soph!

That is true! Going into high school, I told myself that I would join literally all EC’s, but now I realized that I should do the ones I actually have an interest in doing. Hopefully all of this studying is worth it one day!

10

well, going to an Ivy for nursing isn’t a “waste” completely. however, the “tip” to get a 5 on APs applies for NYU as well. Even though NYU isn’t an “ivy”, it is still veryyy competitive. Look into accelerated nursing programs as well!

There’s no secret formula for admissions. Test scores are very important, but a 36 ACT or 2400 SAT alone (no EC’s, bad essays) will still get you rejected from a lot of top schools as adcoms won’t see any personality or “contribution” to campus.

AP Chem is super hard though…you’re already pretty ahead of the game in my opinion !