Early graduates are just as important as URMs and legacies.

Applying to College
21

<p>I don’t know how to deal with this :frowning: I can’t believe I’m so stressed already. I can’t believe I care so much. God forbid that my grades start to decline because I’m thinking too much about college! It’s a destructive irony. </p>

<p>What is being said here is making me reconsider everything. But I already feel depressed and worthless for the C+ I made in Geometry, I feel like I lost my chance already. </p>

<p>I don’t know if I want to continue Orchestra. I don’t like it, but it could be a solid EC. </p>

<p>I’m so confused, there are a million things running through my head right now. I need a plan. Me without a plan is like (insert vibrant simile here). </p>

<p>Someone please tell me what to do.</p>

<p>Then again, even with taking APs and having tons of ECs, you are still most likely going to be rejected from the top schools. Any difference from the crowd at all will bring extra attention and set you apart.</p>

<p>There are two different sides of me conflicting at the moment, I don’t know what to do.</p>

22

<p>First, drop orchestra. Find something you like.</p>

<p>Your best bet is to just graduate in four years. It will be easier and it gives you a chance to take a wider variety of classes. Take courses in fields that you’re interested and try to challenge yourself. Taking each year one step at a time is probably the best way to plan through high school.</p>

<p>I’ll PM something else I know on the subject.</p>

23

<p>If you are that confused . Stay the 4 years. and calm down. School should be academic, stressful, but still fun. It’s not just about the admission to a good schools, but the experiences that accompany your road during high school. Enjoy :)</p>

24

<p>^ wahine1314, what are your stats and where did you get in?</p>

25

<p>First thing: calm down. You are a freshman in high school.</p>

<p>Typical college bound HS sophomore schedule here is:</p>

<p>-English 10 (or honors English 10)</p>

<p>-AP World History</p>

<p>-Biology (for the higher achieving science kids who began taking high school science in 8th grade, they may take AP Chem. in 10th grade)</p>

<p>-Math (not sure how your school works the math program. Around here, one would take a sequence that puts them into Pre-Calc by 11th grade followed by either AP Calc. or AP Statistics for 12th grade.</p>

<p>-Foreign Language Level III (in our school, high school foreign language level one begins in 8th grade)</p>

<p>-Art or Music (many kids in our district take 4 years of either art or music)</p>

<p>-P.E.–mandatory in our district</p>

<p>-Health (mandatory in our district. Students in our district need to become CPR Certified as well as certified in the use of portable defibrillators.) If your school doesn’t require Health, then add an elective. If you don’t have to take Health, then add an elective.</p>

<p>Slow down and concentrate on high school first (not college). Meet with your high school guidance counselor. Ask to see examples of the schedules of what other high achieving college bound students are taking. Explain your current college goals with the counselor.</p>

<p>One last bit of advice: Be open minded. Explore a variety of elective courses. Don’t do things because you think it will look good to colleges. Rather, do things that you find engaging, fun, and interesting. It’s not the number of EC’s that enhance a college application. It’s the passion, interest, and moving up within the club/team (leadership) in a smaller number of EC’s that are of interest to college admissions.</p>

<p>Don’t worry about one C in a math class. Colleges will focus on an upward trend.</p>

26

<p>Now that I think I am going to change my whole schedule for a regular graduation, my summer is open. Other than studying for the PSAT, what can I do? Are there any programs to which I can still apply? Anything at all?</p>

27

<p>^ Look for a job, volunteer, travel. Just do something rather than relax all summer, however tempting that is.</p>

28

<p>The UPenn Biomedical Research 4-week academy is still accepting applications. Biology is my favorite subject and it sounds interesting. However, I don’t think I could get in because I didn’t have many EC’s in Freshman year and my C+ in Geometry for the first semester would probably be an automatic no. Should I still apply? Is such a summer program worth it? Are there any other comparable programs?</p>

29

<p>Columbia also has a program. Is there any list anywhere that I can look at of summer programs?</p>

30

<p>A part-time summer job would be great. It doesn’t have to be anything special (ice cream shop, retail store, counselor at a summer camp). You’ll learn valuable skills (responsibility, communication skills, learning to take direction from a boss, dealing with weird customers, etc.). If you can’t find a job, maybe you can volunteer a few hours a week. If med. school is your dream, consider volunteering at your local hospital or even at a nursing home. </p>

<p>Make sure to allow for free time to hang out with friends, swim, go to movies, read for enjoyment, follow a passion (for instance: start a band with friends, begin a photo journal if you’re into photography, train for a 5K run, etc.). Have fun.</p>

<p>Also, it’s important to remember that attending summer programs at colleges does not help in the admissions process. If you want to attend a program, do it because you really think you will enjoy the experience. In other words, do it for the personal experience, but don’t do it because you mistakingly believe that it will help in the admissions process.</p>

31

<p>I am too young for a job. The UPenn program caught my eye because biomedical research was in the title (however nerdy that may sound). It sounds fun, especially since it does not count for any grades. I am not so sure that all of the others would be there by their own choice however. It could be that parents force their kids to do these things over summer. I don’t know. </p>

<p>Anyways, what programs are known, and allow rising sophomores?</p>

32

<p>1900’s SAT
3.9 GPA unweighted
5 APS
Good continuous/strong EC’s</p>

<p>Got into my first choice, UCLA, because i wanted to stay in CA: didn’t apply to anything else out of CA. However did apply to Tulane, and University of the Pacific because of their free application with 10-15K/yr scholarships.</p>

33

<p>I’ve been doing some more research on the subject. One source wrote,</p>

<p>“Some students also opt to graduate early for the advantages they will have in their college application process. According to Next Step Magazine, ‘Although graduating early requires extra cooperation with your guidance counselor, and often a heavier course load during your remaining time at high school, it says something to college admissions officers about your dedication to your studies.’”</p>

<p>Advantages of early graduation: very, very small amount of applicants graduate early so I will be set apart from the crowd; demonstrates dedication to studies and intellectual and emotional maturity; no burnout resulting from senior year; the chances to get into places like HYPSM weren’t high to begin with; nobody is going to ask you your age in college; on the Harvard admission guide, they wrote that it doesn’t matter whether or not you took Calculus, but how well you grasp concepts such as graphs and word problems</p>

<p>Advantages of regular graduation: Will be one of the very few or the only person in my high school to get to German 5; will have open summer(s) to have a job, do internships, volunteer, do summer programs; will have more time to develop ECs; will have more time to raise GPA that was lowered by C+ in first semester Geometry; will have a higher chance of becoming a Tennis recruit; will be able to take all classes most rigorous possible; college application will be less rushed; Yale’s expansion will be complete and will mean a marginally higher chance of getting into Yale</p>

<p>Disadvantages of Early Graduation: If you are not brilliant, you will be rejected; it will be harder to make high grades because of many tough courses at once; no summers will be open for summer programs; will not be able to get a job because of age; not as many AP tests as if you go the regular route; Yale’s expansion will not be complete; rushed college application process</p>

<p>Disadvantages of Regular Graduation: You are no different from everyone else; will burn out after senior year; you are once again on a comparison level with your grade-level peers, reminded of how you are no valedictorian, reminded of your slim chances</p>

<p>Imagine you are me, see this from my perspective, and try to help me decide based on what I have concluded thus far.</p>

34

<p>Would it be very unwise to ask the advice of, say, the Harvard admissions office on this situation? Would I be tracked down and blacklisted from admission to Harvard permanently? Is it a reasonable question to ask? If I do ask, I will present them with two scenarios and ask which candidate would be preferred.</p>

35

<p>Advantages of regular graduation trumps your other arguments for graduating early.</p>

<p>Again, graduating early is only seen as an advantage for students that have exhausted the most rigorous curriculum offered by their high school.</p>

<p>I’m going to tell you right now that chances are slim for acceptance to HYPS for even the brightest students in the country. Our local valedictorian of 2 years ago (100+GPA, Intel Semi-Finalist, Varsity Athlete, 9 AP Classes, attended summer research program at Brown, school band member, in the school play every year, many hours of community service, many leadership positions) was rejected from Brown. She did everything right—great student, athlete, musician, gave back to the community, did research during the summers, Intel semi-finalist, numerous AP’s, perfect GPA, strong SAT scores, a great all-around kid—but still didn’t get accepted into Brown.</p>

<p>It’s great to shoot high in the application process but it’s more important to remain realistic.</p>

<p>“…often a heavier course load during your remaining time at high school, it says something to college admissions officers about your dedication to your studies.”
^but you see, you will not be taking the heaviest course load. You will be taking PRE-AP classes which are not at the level of AP courses. Harvard is looking for much more than the Pre-Ap level.</p>

<p>“Would it be very unwise to ask the advice of, say, the Harvard admissions office on this situation?”
^It’s way too early for you to contact Harvard or any other college. You haven’t even taken your PSAT or one AP class yet. Wait until the summer before your Junior Year and during your Junior Year to seriously begin looking into colleges. You don’t have info yet to even begin making a college wish list. You need to have a clue as to your SAT/ACT scores and your GPA over a longer timeframe to see where you stand compared to specific college’s Common Data Set.</p>

36

<p>nysmile,</p>

<p>I appreciate your help. However, you took that quote out of context and I am still unsure whether you understand the honors system here. </p>

<p>The quote: heavier course load was not referring to AP or Pre-AP, rather amount of classes. When graduating early, you need to cram more classes into less time, which equals the aforementioned heavy course load. </p>

<p>Pre-AP/AP: All of my classes will not be Pre-AP, the will become AP whenever the title of the course changes. The only classes that I will take that will not be advanced will be those taken over the summer, which I believe will only be Government and Economics, World History, and English 4. Everything else will be Pre-AP/AP. I will be able to take the AP test for a science of my choice, English, German, Computer Science, and more. I really wouldn’t miss out on as many APs as you think I would because the only non-APs I will be taking are summer classes, and I will only have 2 summers.</p>

<p>About your valedictorian: You failed to mention the part where she got into every single other school better than Brown to which she applied.</p>

37

<p>SheenR: Your approach is destined to fail. You seem to be looking for what to do rather than what to become.</p>

<p>I went to an urban school district where I met my minimal HS grad requirements by the end of my sophomore year. By state law, I think I was required to stay in school until age 16. Did I opt out? Of course not. Neither did any of the others at my rigorous magnet HS. My HS had tremendous AP offerings and a lot of us dove headlong into them – mostly because they really grabbed us, not because they were tools to craft ourselves as great candidates for top schools. </p>

<p>What I see in this thread is your failing to recognize the correlation of early graduates who happen to get into selective colleges and the path and options open to many people (such as 80% of the kids in my HS who could have graduated early). Like nysmile as repeatedly said, the early graduates who were accepted to the top schools were truly *prodigies *-- kids whose folks drove them to the local college for advanced math and science classes b/c there was nothing left in HS for them to take – kids who were already winning national competitions. Prodigies. For these stellar few, leaving HS early was a logical step. They were recognized by top schools not because of early graduation but because they were prodigies who happened to graduate early. Some prodigies graduate in 4 years and are still coveted by top colleges. </p>

<p>So you see, it’s not graduating early – it’s being a prodigy.</p>

<p>From what I can tell, you aren’t. This isn’t meant to be an insult. I’m certainly not one, nor my kids. But I still got into all my colleges, eventually matriculating at an HYP.</p>

<p>Take the advice about sitting down w/a counselor and discussing your plan of action and your goals (top college, med school afterwards). Believe it or not, your counselor has probably successfully gotten kids onto that route before.</p>

<p>Best of luck to you.</p>

38

<p>“About your valedictorian: You failed to mention the part where she got into every single other school better than Brown to which she applied.”
^WRONG AGAIN. </p>

<p>You’ve gotten very good advice yet you still believe that as a 15 year old, you know better than the adults here who have been through the college process multiple times. Adults are here to help and we are more than happy to pass on the knowledge that we’ve accumulated over the years. However, in your case, it appears to be a waste of time for us to continue to help.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

<p>Last bit of advice:
go the link below and take a look at the stats/EC’s/awards of students applying to Harvard.
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/894548-official-harvard-university-rd-decisions-class-2014-a.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/894548-official-harvard-university-rd-decisions-class-2014-a.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

39

<p>SheenR-
The stress level you have related here is a possible indicator that a four year program may be the best route for you. Write down your proposed classes and goals on a four year schedule, understanding that these may change. We had no intentions of my S graduating early but did this in his freshman year to make sure he wouldn’t miss a requirement (his school is a bit fluky as it’s IT and had just changed the grad requirements). His schedule did change between his freshman year and senior year, but it was so much easier to do that sr. schedule knowing he had all the prereq’s for target classes.</p>

<p>Schools want to see you use your time usefully during the summer, but you don’t have to spend a month at Governer’s School to achieve this. You need to breath. If you are too young to get a work permit, look for volunteer work that interests you. The beauty of this is that it offers you flexibility that a job often doesn’t. Check with your local library for summer reading programs for young students. They always need help. Look into your local YMCA or community center and see if you can offer to work with students in day care on art projects each week. Often they are understaffed an the students don’t get the attention they would love. Look for an area YOU like and go from there. It is less likely to be stressful. If you are involved in a youth group often they participate in service trips in the summer months or offer camps for younger kids.</p>

<p>I would offer your best goal this summer is to reflect on a four year plan, and to de-charge while staying busy.</p>

<p>Peace.</p>

40

<p>SheenR, I’m with all the other parents who say that graduating early is NOT something that will excite the schools. Particularly if you are interested in the tippy-top schools, 90% or more of the students there could have chosen to rush through in three years - doing so will show dedication and/or impatience, but not necessarily good judgment. As I understand it, maturity (often shown by good judgment) is one of the concerns schools have with younger students!!</p>

<p>You wrote

This is true. But lacking the additional APs and activities gained by a fourth year will set you apart in a bad way, to match the **potential **good set-apart of graduating early. Please reread Post 37 by T26E4.</p>

<p>Chill, find a volunteer job this summer, and good luck. :)</p>