Am I completely hopeless?

Okay, pardon the dramatics. It’s just easier to get someone’s attention with a horribly bait-y title.

Anyways, I’ve been scouting out this site when I need advice about my actions, and I figured it would be time to ask a question myself.

So let’s put that “Completely hopeless” thing into context. I kinda have some pretty big dreams about my ideal colleges, which usually hover around MIT, Stanford, and Carnegie Mellon (sorry to the Ivies, but as far as computer science goes…), So I’ve always tried to hold myself to a relatively high standard of what I should do. So just keep those three in mind as I delve into my whole academic career.

I’m currently a junior, so I’ll be discussing just about everything I’ve partaken in inside and outside of school, the classes I took, and the general round-up.

So as a freshman, I took Biology Honors, English 1, French 2, Geometry, Intro to Engineering Design, Phys. Ed, Technology Topics, and World History. Grade-wise, my lowest overall grade was a B in Phys. Ed (I don’t consider myself very physically educated regardless,) And in generalI I averaged around an A-. As far as extracurriculars, I joined the Robotics Team, and we took our robot to a few competitions. I also partook in a rowing program sponsored by Yale, which as of now I’ve been doing for close to 6 years.

Then came sophomore year. Here I took Algebra 2 Honors, Band 2, Chemistry Honors, Computer Science and Software Engineering, English 2, French 3, Principles of Engineering, and US History 1. I also took a full college class at the University of New Haven, Computers and Their Applications. Lowest average grade was Algebra 2 Honors, at about an 85. Just like last year I was on the Robotics Team and joined my student government as Vice President.

So let’s talk about where I am now. I’m currently taking AP Computer Science Principles, AP Literature, AP United States History, Civics (half-year,) International Issues (other half-year,) Digital Media and Movie Making, eCommerce, Physics Honors, and Pre-Calc Honors. I also finished another class at the University of New Haven, Human Communication, and I’m applying for the spring semester if I can take the next level computer science course. I’m also taking a Japanese class sponsored by and taking place at Yale (I get credit for every college class I take, including this,) in addition to, once more, Robotics, Student Government, and Debate club this year.

Aaaand just to wrap things up, my most recent PSAT score was a 1260. That’s as of… 2 hours ago as of writing this. I’m planning to take my SAT this year and the Mathematics 2 and Physics Subject Tests somewhere down the line.

And as of right now, my unweighted GPA has never dipped below a 3.75, and my weighted GPA never below 3.92 (those are about the current averages, too, excluding junior year classes.)

So, excluding anything that happens in my senior year, that’s the gist of it. Sorry for this wall of text, but information is power. So I suppose the question stands… am I just totally helpless?

Thanks for dealing with my wall of text so far and any help you might provide. It would mean a ton.

The big problem I see is your test scores. You need to prep INTENSIVELY so that, by the Spring, you consistently score in the 1400’s on your practice tests. You also need to prepare for subject tests (Math2, Physics, and one from English literature, French, or US History). Typically those would be taken at the end of the school year, so either May or June, whichever is closest to the end of the year for you, and the other month you’d take the Reasoning SAT Test.

Another issue is level reached in your EC’s. You need to really get invested, push one of these to the state or even national level - either debate or robotics, whichever one has most potential for you.

Finally, it depends whether you live in inner city New Haven, or in the college-related areas and attend a high performing school.

Okay, thank you!

Oh, and to answer that last question, I actually live within the New Haven county, not the city itself. I attend a magnet school where about anyone in the county can attend can get in. It’s a fairly well performing school, too.