Don’t worry I have a list already including safeties… I really do want advice on this specific goal right now. I don’t understand, you are asking me to focus on looking up universities instead of focusing on the stuff I want to work on now? I think if I focus on things I’m working towards I could have more flexibility choosing when it comes time.
Ok I will learn more about this myself
Here is a place to get your research started, and yes, it’s your responsibility to understand the rules: Optional Practical Training (OPT) for F-1 Students | USCIS
Again, the OPT program might not even exist by the time you graduate. Currently, if you major in something that qualifies for the 24 month extension AND find a corporate sponsor for a job, you can stay in the US a maximum of three years after getting your bachelor’s.
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There could be D3 opportunities that may interest you.
Recruiting takes time and focused effort for all but world class athletes. An opportunity is unlikely to fall in your lap.
If you want to be recruited, you must reach out to coaches…D1 and D2 coaches can speak with rising juniors as of June 15, this coming Monday. D3 coaches can speak with you now.
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Don’t try harder. I know it sounds illogical but if anything try LESS hard. 5 academic courses and one “unconventional” class you’d genuinely enjoy (Culinary Arts, Shop/build something, Metalworking, Theater tech..) to help you stand out, for instance.
Is D3 tennis (NESCAC) sth you’d consider?
Your ECs are excellent. I agree you absolutely don’t need more but need to “dig deeper”, push a couple of them to the next level.
Your BIG task this summer is going to try and identify colleges “like Stanford” (whatever that means for you) and “like Wharton” (for you) that have 10-20%, 20-30%, and 30%+ acceptance rates. This is going to be really hard but will force you to think of each college’s innate characteristics and will help you down the line.
You could see if these colleges offer a Physics major with unrestricted to a business minor.
OPT: 12 months minus any off campus internship time, after college graduation --UNLESS you have a STEM designation (27 months minus internship time). The problem is that obviously right now everything is done administratively to make that really difficult. Hopefully things will be better six years from now.
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Yes! I have been looking at D3s and talked with coaches but it’ll be hard to focus on everything else while balancing recruitment. I will do what I have to do though.
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Have you taken ALL of the prerequisites for calculus? How did you do in them? Do you feel strong and confident about your understanding of ALL of the prerequisites for calculus?
Calculus is a subject that depends a LOT on its prerequisites. Also, for anyone who is strong enough in math that taking calculus in your junior year is a realistic option, calculus is a subject that you are likely to use a LOT in the future. Calculus is useful in some more advanced math classes. Calculus is useful in a lot of physics classes. I have heard that calculus is also useful in a number of other classes, such as in engineering and in economics. Apparently it is also used by some people in other areas such as understanding the spread of infectious disease. I personally have used calculus on the job multiple times. This is something that is worth investing the time to learn well. However, learning calculus very well means first learning the prerequisites very well.
Regarding taking calculus and statistics at the same time junior year, two things come to mind. One is how much do you like mathematics? The other is what math class or classes do you intend to take senior year? It is probably better to take at least one math class each year. Would you expect to take linear algebra senior year, or perhaps differential equations (or both)? Linear algebra is something that also can be useful in a range of areas, including (just as a few examples) more advanced math classes, and physics, and acoustics, and econometrics (ie, quantitative economics).
And of course these more advanced math classes are something that you can learn after you get to university. You do not need to do all of this in high school.
Not the same poster, but I would suggest you should in fact schedule a significant amount of time and energy for the college investigation process. Like in my S24’s feederish HS, it was sometimes suggested this could, at least during peak periods, require as much time and energy as a course or major school activity. So the kids were advised to make sure they had that time and energy available.
I note part of why it can take so much time and energy is because you likely have a lot of potentially great choices, which you then have to narrow down to a reasonable list. Like, choosing just 2-3 Likelies and 2-3 Targets may require you to investigate dozens of options along the way.
However, there is a not so secret bonus to all this: as you are doing this, you are basically educating yourself on the complexities of the US higher education system, all the different paths people can take through it, pros and cons of choosing different places to start your path, the value associated with being able to change paths without transferring, the interactions between non-academic experiences and academic success, and so on.
OK, so by the end of this sort of robust investigatory process, not only are you able to come up with a great college application list, you have armed yourself to better evaluate the offers you get. And you have further prepared yourself for at least better understanding the opportunities and challenges during college.
So yes, I think it is well worth your time to take all this very seriously. Not obsessively, like if you are spending ALL your free time thinking about colleges, that’s not a great idea. But this concept of making room for this to be a major activity category for you, at least during the predictable peak periods, is not a bad one.
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Yea I took Pre Calc Honors and got 99
Senior year ill take CL phy and calc
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A 99 in precalculus is a very good sign. Does this imply that you also did well in algebra (which precalculus depends upon)? Also, have you had trigonometry and geometry?
If you did well in all of these, then taking calculus as a junior should be fine.
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The OP is at a BS. They tend to manage course enrollment pretty carefully, so if OP is enrolled, he is presumably prepared.
OP: Agree with @ChoatieMom that the CC you are assigned will be best able to help you position yourself for the most suitable schools.
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Yes.
Yea I’ have done bunch of research on different schools already. I have been learning about this education system since before freshman year! I will definitely take my time to go visit this year and learn more about each college specifically as well.. For example, I’m thinking of Georgetown, Babson, Fordham, UMiami, Indiana, SMU, NYU, Ivys, UNC, USC WBB, UC Berk, etc..
I just want more advice in terms of ECs and Honors Section right now or ideas of going more in depth on different things, or how to word those sections.…
And I want to practice writing essays, or like get to know myself more to prepare myself for that as well.
Please spend as much time on your safety/highly likely schools than you do on reaches. Fordham and Kelley on this list are relatively more likely, just make sure you actually want to attend your more likely schools. I defer to your HS counselor for college categorization.
In addition to the colleges on your list, as I suggested above, take time to research majors and the majors that can lead to a type of business career that you want. Just to take one example, many LACs do quite well in business placement even though they don’t have a business major. Econ, math, data science/analytics, English, neuroscience majors, just to name a few, can get jobs in the business world. And I mention LACs specifically, because of the potential tennis recruitment angle.
Lastly, if at any point you would like assistance with tennis recruiting, please ask.
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9 posts were split to a new thread: Getting recruited for tennis as an international student
This caught my attention. Make sure you are taking the time to really listen to what the CC is telling you. From an East Coast Boarding school, the CC will know where you stack up relative to your classmates. Your grades may not be the range they need to be based on your school’s recent placement to have a chance at those two schools. Yes, boarding schools send more than regular privates to Stanford and UPenn but with no hooks you have to be near the top as far as rigor and grades. Whether near the top mans top 5% or top 20% depends on the boarding school. Your CC will know if you are in a realistic range.
EDIT: I first posted concerns about Calc as a senior but now I see you are a rising junior. That should be max at every boarding school. My mistake.
I understand why you are targeting these two colleges: both schools have impressive ties to startups, industry funding for all majors not just Econ. However, there are many more schools out there with graduates who do very well in the business world after college, whether that is with a bachelors in Econ or a business degree from a school that has undergrad business, OR a engineering majors, english majors, physics majors and more, especially from T20 type schools. The major itself does not matter as much as high schoolers think it does.
You may need to pause and ask your CC to be brutally honest with you on your chances. They will know. They may be encouraging you to look at other schools still in the T20ish range yet not top-top, and they may know your best bet is to find one you like best and ED. Listen to and trust their advice.
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Yes, they have shown me the statistics and chances, I’m most likely the top 1-5%. Our school isn’t a feeder though, but top students are still likely to go to schools like Stanford and UPenn.
I understand, will be thinking about this. How about policies and international business or relations?
Will Do! I’ll set up another meeting to talk to them.
MOD NOTE:
I have created a new thread about athletic recruiting. For advice about the OPs interest in being recruited for tennis, please use the new thread. Getting recruited for tennis as an international student
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There is literally nothing we can tell you at this point which would be helpful.
If I told you that the best “finger on the scale” for your target schools is to play the cello, are you really going to start cello lessons and get to a point of mastery by the time you need to start your applications?
My advice- as I said upthread- is to make sure you have a list of targets, sure thing type colleges in addition to your reaches. And practice “Active listening” with your college counselor. When you hear “your profile looks solid for Babson”, that doesn’t mean he or she isn’t paying attention to your wants and needs. It means that they already know who in the class is applying to the colleges on your wish list, and they are gently redirecting you towards some realistic options in addition to your own, self-determined “I need to go here” list.
You sound terrific. So spend time being your terrific self- just the way you are, and forget about trying to create the perfect college applicant at this stage of the game. If you haven’t won any national awards- well, then you haven’t. If you won’t be recruited by the Bolshoi to dance Swan Lake, then that ship has sailed.
There are several dozen colleges where you can make your dreams come true- just the way you are.
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For ECs, just do what is right for you. What is right for you, what was right for me, and what was right for some other student, may be entirely different things. Again, remember that the longest list of ECs does not win. Instead, focus on what you want to do and do it well.
When it comes to writing essays, be genuine. Again be yourself. It is likely to help if you have researched the universities that you are applying to. If you know what makes each school unique, and if you can honestly answer the question “Why is this college or university a good fit for you” that is likely to come across one way or another in your essays.
And my impression from this thread is that you write quite well.
Remember that there are hundreds of very good colleges and universities in the US, and just as many elsewhere. You need to find safeties to apply to. Depending upon how well you like your safeties, it is likely that you may also want to apply to match schools in addition to reaches. You safeties might be in the US, or might be in your home country, or might be somewhere else (such as in Canada, where admissions tends to be a bit more predictable for strong students).
And I also agree with others that it sounds like you are doing very well.
I do not have advice for you about presenting yourself to colleges, but I do have advice about reading and writing. One thing you can do before college is build up your reading stamina by reading whole books… any books that you like, but of course it’s also good to read books where you feel you are stretching your mind a bit. We all spend so much time reading short summaries of things on screens, and this can affect our ability to focus on extended storylines, or complex logical arguments. Reading also helps to improve writing. Have a great summer! 
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