Can I get into Cornell?

It is way too early to think about specific colleges (especially the hyper-competitive ones). You just have one full year’s GPA and you have no standardized testing. You also need to recognize that HS should be an experience in and of itself – a time of learning and growth and not just a 4 year college application prep experience.

It is good to take school seriously and know that college will be on your horizon, but it is too early to start planning for specific colleges. I would highly recommend that you get off of CC until your junior year.

For now you should focus on:
–Working hard, learning, and doing as well as you can in the most challenging curriculum you can manage.
–When the time comes study for standardized tests.
–Continue your involvement in activities you care about and work towards making meaningful contributions to those activities.
–Enjoying spending time with your family and friends.

The people I see who get hurt by the college admission process are the ones who focus on one or two hyper-competitive schools and then don’t get in. Instead, when the time comes asses your academic stats (including GPA, standardized tests, course rigor) as well as your financial needs and apply to a wide range of reach, match, and safety schools that appear affordable (you will have to run a net price calculator for each school you consider) and that you would be happy to attend. There are many wonderful schools out there where you can have a great 4 year experience and get where you want to go in life.

As an aside, I would not spend any time self-studying AP Psych. Better to focus your time and attention to classes you are taking and your ECs. If you are interested in psychology read some books on the topic.