Advice for a current sophomore?

PoliSci79
Wed, 17 Feb 2016 01:31:42 +0000

Hello!

I often see juniors or seniors asking how they are as an applicant when it’s more or less too late to improve their applications, so I thought I would ask for advice while I’m still a sophomore.

Test Scores: Have not taken SAT I or ACT yet, comfortable I’ll be average at worst. Intending to take Literature and U.S History for SAT II and I’m fairly comfortable based on practice tests. I’ll be taking 11-12 AP exams unless I cut it down like an intelligent person, probably including a self-study of Comparative Government as I’m interested in the topic but my school does not offer it.

GPA: 3.9 UW, I assume I will stay around this range UW.

Extracurricular Activities:
YMCA Youth and Government (President/Delegation Leader, if you’re familiar with the Pennsylvania program I’m my delegation’s Blue Senator, I intend to run for committee chair next year and maybe for one of the PO positions)
Gender and Sexuality Alliance (President and Co-Founder/Founder, as a freshmen I presented for my schools entire guidance department on how to assist LGBTQ+ students and this year I am working to present for teachers at my school)
Student Newspaper (Student News Editor, we don’t actually have a student editor in chief so this is the highest leadership position avaliable. Am intending to apply for Features Editor next year as I think it might strengthen my application to edit different sections)
Poetry Out Loud (Regional Competitor and first student in the state to participate from a cyber school)
Appalachia Service Project (Summer service project done through youth group to assist with home improvement in the Appalachian region)
These are probably the strongest EC’s, some additional things I can include are youth group, peer tutoring, and debate club. I’m intending to volunteer with Equality Pennsylvania and Philadelphia Pride as soon as possible but it’s still up in the air. I was also considering trying to start a Feminist Club. I’m in a career readiness program at my school that will require me to do an internship within the next year however I’m still looking around.

Honors and Awards:
French Honor Society (Confirmed)
National Honor Society (Applied, comfortable I’ll get in)
National Science Honor Society (Will apply when applications are announced, Honors Biology teacher comfortable I will get in)
National English Honor Society (Contacted teacher about starting next year, she said she would submit a proposal and I’m comfortable I will get in)
Poetry Out Loud (School champion and regional competitor)
AP Scholar (Comfortable I will get by end of junior year)

I know my extracurricular activities aren’t AMAZING but I’m really passionate about all of them. I also know my honors/awards are really really basic.

Am intending to attempt dual enrollment next year. May try and participate in the student government and other programs at the community college if allowed.

My top five schools are all long shots (University of California: Berkeley, Stanford, Columbia, Yale, Brown) but I have some lower reaches and match/safety schools (Dickinson [Legacy], American University [4th Generation Legacy; Father, grandmother, and great-grandmother attended for graduate school], Pennsylvania State University [Safety since if I don’t qualify for main campus I’ll be put on a local campus], Emory University, Marymount University, New York University)

My intended major is Political Science and Women/Gender’s Studies.

So, thoughts? Comments? Concerns? I guess be brutalish but please don’t crush me and all my hopes and dreams.

Thank you for your time.