mcharlesblock

Hi there,

I'm a freshman in high school, though I am really wondering about college, and want to find out where I can improve.

When I do apply to college, I suspect that I will be interested in applying to MIT, Harvard, Tufts, and BU--ultimately I do want to be in the Boston area, though NYC is not completely out of the picture (so maybe NYU, Columbia).

Now my school is weird. We have no APs, no IB, no class rank, they don't tell us our GPA--only letter grades. Nevertheless, my school is still top-notch, private, and Quaker. Since the class of 2003, we have sent 90 people to Ivy's (with an average graduating class of 100), 3 to MIT, 9 to Tufts, 9 to BU, and 10 to NYU (though this list goes on and on). So, my stats are as follows:

Freshman Year:
Foundations of Scientific Knowledge - B
Advanced Geometry - B
Spanish 1 - A
Literature & Composition - A
World History 1 - A

Extracurriculars:
3 School Plays
Drama Club
School Newspaper
Intern at Congressman's Office
Chorus

Sophomore year I am taking:
Chemistry (over the summer at a different school so I can take Philosophy)
World History II
Philosophy
Algebra II/Precalc (The Sophomore year advanced math class)
Literature & Composition II
Spanish II Advanced

I will also be adding Model U.N. and 3 more plays beginning Sophomore year.

Also, my teachers and parents agree that I will be able to easily get straight A's Sophomore year, notably because I am a whiz at Algebra-related subjects (though not Geometry) and also because Chem comes naturally to me. Overall, I have been taking the toughest courses my school offers.

I am especially interested and talented in history and politics, as I got permission to take a Senior history course (Philosophy) and have been completing additional research assignments assigned to me by my history teacher. So, yes, I will want to study political science in college!

So, I would like to ask, what will be my chances at the schools listed above? Where can I improve to increase my chances?

As a note, I have a big connection to MIT, legacy at Columbia, and my grandfather attended Harvard.

Savs

It's a little hard to tell without test scores, but I think if you continue on the way you have been doing so far and your scores are good (over 30/over 2000):

BU: match
NYU: match/low reach
MIT/Harvard: reach (but they are for everyone)

I'd suggest you keep up your grades and EC's and try to add in a few service hours.

Oh, and don't stress too much about college yet... you've got until your junior year to really freak out about it! For now, have fun!