A fun little predicament

Pre-College Topics High School Cafe
1

<p>I’m pretty sure someone else out there has experienced or is experiencing the same problem that I’m in right now, so any suggestion or help would be greatly appreciated, so here we go. </p>

<p>Currently, I’m a junior in a meh school (not competitive/boarding, not ghetto), planning on majoring in Electrical Engineering/Computer Science. There are about 10-20 total APs offered there. Of those, I’m planning on taking/already took 6, which is not a lot, but it’s all that’s actually possible. My GPA’s also meh, around 3.6-3.8 un-weighted, 4.0-4.2 weighted. I have a 2250 on my SAT (CR/M/W: 720/800/730), so that’s alright-ish; I still might retake it. Although the greatest problem that I have is on ECs, I have no consistent sports (lazy as hell), 2 or 3 consistent clubs: Interact (volunteering), Language, and Math Team, and outside of school the only real thing I have are A+ and N+ CompTIA certs (pretty sure those are insignificant, I might just get a S+ and something Cisco over the summer). I’m somewhat doubting the possibility of making it into my fallback schools, Rutgers/Boston University/Penn State, considering the lack of ECs and the fact that I’m an ORM or regular (not really sure; just definitely not URM). I’m planning on applying to SAAST @ UPenn, but I really don’t think I will get in considering the fact that it’s April and it’s probably filled up. </p>

<p>So, does anyone have any suggestions what I should right now? Also, any experience with the summer programs would help. Thanks a bunch.</p>

2

<p>You’ll be fine for Penn State. </p>

3

<p>Thanks, I should also add that the only reason I had those fallbacks was for a possibility of transfer or a possibility of a scholarship in order to keep student debts low.</p>

4

<p>You have a good chance of getting a full ride from Rutgers</p>

5

<p>Your stats are great for the schools you are applying to. Don’t feel like you have to spread yourself out and participate in a bunch of ECs. Find something you are interested in (a political campaign, for example) and volunteer/ dedicate your time to it.</p>

6

<p>You could always try to get an internship at a local business over the summer. </p>

7

<p>Thanks for the advice; also, those colleges are strictly fallbacks, other colleges are preferred e.g. CMU, UMich, and the other reaches, which is why I felt ECs are important.
I really wasn’t able to find any relevant internships/opportunities around my area via online and looking around, which is why I opted for a summer program. Does anyone have any tips for finding those?</p>