<p>I know that I’m a sophomore and it’s probably too early to be thinking about college and stuff, but whatever.</p>
<p>So, I was wondering what colleges will be a good fit for the future me. </p>
<p>Some information about myself: I go to a super-competitive public school, and I’d prefer that the atmosphere of my prospective college isn’t so competitive (I’ll still go to Berkeley if I get into Berkeley without a sizeable scholarship at another school I want to go to, but the atmosphere is what I’m not sure about). </p>
<p>I’m interested in about a gazillion different things: writing, political science, physics, chemical engineering, astronomy, computer science… There’s probably a shorter list of things I don’t like. Although I’m almost definitely going to major in something science-related, I might decide to double-major or minor in something (I’ll already have around 15-20 community college credits by the time I go to college as well as around 8-9 AP tests, so I’ll have extra space in my schedule), so I’d like the college to be strong in almost every field (however, if it has to be strong in one area, I’d prefer the sciences). </p>
<p>I also prefer schools in California, although if there’s a REACH that is a good fit for me and I got in, then I’d go there. In addition, I’d prefer schools with less of a party/drinking/drugs scene (for example, even though UCSB has a really good physics program, the party scene would make me uncomfortable). I go to a school where I don’t get much exposure to that stuff, and I’d prefer that it stayed that way. </p>
<p>I know that this is really specific and I’m being really picky, but I was wondering if there were any colleges that fit most or all of these criterion. Thanks!</p>
<p>First you should find out from your parents, how much can they afford?? This will make a difference for public vs. private.
Second, are you in-state for California?
Third, CC’s need to know your Stats and since you are a sophomore, that will not be possible until end of Junior year. Your Stats would also help determine chances for merit and/or financial aid.</p>
<p>You have already excluded one school (UCSB) and included school (UCB) on your list.<br>
The best thing you could do is start visiting several different types of schools, example UCB (Urban), Stanford (Private), UC Davis (Rural) and get an idea of class size and environment. This will help you narrow down some choices. Continue to do well and school, prepare for the SAT/ACT. Also get involved in your school with clubs (leadership) and community. </p>
<p>^^^what she said. really, try to find the kind of school you’ll like. </p>
<p>I’ve visited UCB, Santa Clara University, UC Davis, UCSD, and Stanford for things (I am in-state for California, so I’ve done various programs at different universities, and my sister was choosing between UC Davis and UCSD for her undergrad program a while ago). Honestly, I don’t care much about the setting; the only reason I’d want a college town is for good food (Berkeley’s food is heavenly). I liked both Davis’s campus and Berkeley’s campus, although Berkeley’s is somewhat cramped. </p>
<p>Stanford’s been my dream school for ages (like, since I was eight), but I’m not even going to imagine going there at the moment (because, well, it’s Stanford). </p>
<p>As for my stats, my current ones are a 3.9 GPA, almost-hardest course selection possible (I won’t be taking one possible AP junior year; otherwise, my schedule will be full of difficult courses), I go to a highly-competitive public school in the Bay Area, I’ll be on Science Bowl and Science Olympiad starting this year, as well as having participated in MUN, NHD, and various other school clubs. I’m the editor of a literary magazine at the local junior high school. I’m planning on taking the ACT in December, and I generally score around a 33-34 on practice tests. My school doesn’t rank at all, because 1) They don’t weight GPAs, and 2) We already have like 30 people per class with a perfect GPA. My only Bs so far (and hopefully it stays that way; I plan on being much more proactive in school this year) were in both semesters of Honors English last year and the first semester of Honors Algebra II (although math is actually one of my strong suits). My CC GPA at the moment is a 4.0 (I’ve taken one course so far, I’m concurrently enrolled in one at the moment, and I’ll be concurrently enrolled in two senior year; I may take other courses at the college as well). That’s a general idea of my stats, anyways. I’ve got my course selection for the rest of high school pretty much planned out (although I’m having a bit of trouble organizing it into a doable schedule–I want to do Chem and Physics junior year, but I’ve heard that that’s impossibly difficult at my school), and it’s all APs and honors (except for one course that I’m willingly taking CP) and the Journalism track (which is basically equivalent to an honors course if you get in, as it’s the school newspaper, which is pretty famous in our area). I’ll be taking between 10-12 AP courses total, and self-studying several more. </p>
<p>You’ve an impressive resumé and a lot of ambition. I think you can build a tentative college list from the specifics you have here as long as you leave the door open because you will change over the next two years and you will change your mind about the kinds of colleges that don’t interest you.</p>
<p>Since you’re a sophomore and change is likely, you can be the one who creates the proto-list and brings it back to us. You may not get a lot of response from us because there are high school seniors with more immediate needs. But as an academic exercise, sure. </p>
<p>•Run the SuperMatch in the column on the left side of the page. Play around with the features to fine tune your search.
•Get the Fiske Guide and educate yourself about the colleges you might be interested in; read up on how to get into elite schools.
•Run the net price calculators to get a sense of what colleges would offer you need-based aid and how much. Talk to your parents about what they can afford to contribute.
•Educate yourself about different majors. College Board has info on this. You have broad interests now and if that remains the case senior year what colleges have strengths in many of your interests. Read down into the curricula at each department to determine how often upper-division courses are taught. find out how many students are doing in-school and summer research and internships in that dept. Find out who the beloved profs are in each dept.
•Continue practicing for the standardized tests.
•Practice your essay writing using real essay topics. If possible, hire someone to advise you on essay writing.
•Research colleges with merit-based aid. </p>
<p>You’re still in high school, so be sure to have fun, too, and enjoy your life and friends. Get involved with extracurricular activities. These are particularly important if you want to go to Stanford or an ivy because it’s the ECs that separate the accepted from the other 4.0/34s. Try to get leadership positions; if not vice president of student government, then captain of the state-champion science olympiad team. Pick one thing and excel at it rather than many activities. Spend time getting to know your guidance counselor and teachers; you’ll need strong letters of rec. The letter writers need to know you on a personal level so that they can provide concrete details.</p>
<p>This is a start.</p>
<p>Thank you! I actually know my GC very well, as she’s my coach for Colorguard (a huge plus). I’ve been keeping in contact with (most) of my teachers; most of my teachers from last year knew me pretty well, although only time can tell this year. I’m aiming for a MUN officer position, and maybe ones with the Political Science club (it just formed) and the Biotech club. If I get onto the A or B team for Science Bowl, I might have a chance at captainship senior year; but I don’t know which team I’ll get onto. I legitimately enjoy all my ECs, and I hang out with most of my friends through them and at lunch (none of us have any time otherwise; occasionally we’ll go to the movies, but that’s like, once a month). I definitely want to do COSMOS this summer and a research program before senior year, although I have backup options.</p>
<p>It sounds like you’re maintaining a healthy balance. Continue to do so. Work on some of those activities I listed.</p>