<p>Hi (Please move if this is in wrong section)</p>
<p>My goals aren’t as high as Hsrvard because I dont think I can get in but Can you guys tell me what to do because Im semiclueless on how to get to the best college I can with my current situation:</p>
<p>So I got
probably around 3.6-7 GPA by end of junior year. Taking 4-5 APs senior year. Took several G/T, and AP but lots of honors classes as well.
And, uh, I’ve played piano for 8 years.
The only sports Ive done in High school are outdoor track and indoor track THIS year.
And I’m gonna take SAT soon and am taking SAT II Math and English this May.</p>
<p>So can you tell me everything humanly possible for me to do to maximize my chances as much as possible to the best college I can get into with the crappy stuff I have so far?</p>
<p>I think that it’s important to have a serious interest in academics, first of all. Take school seriously and do your best to improve your grades. A lot of high school students don’t take schooling seriously. Think of a successful boys’ baseball (or basketball, tennis, etc.) team. The atmosphere has a special seriousness to it. The boys are not contented but anxious. All of them are concentrated one one object. There’s little aimlessness. The game is serious business. It engages the minds of all the players and coaches. Training is serious. That is how you should take your academics.</p>
<p>I’m tired of desperate sounding posts from students with the stats to get into the large majority of colleges in the country. Students smart enough to be able to carry sky high gpas should also be smart enough to figure out that most colleges gladly would accept them.</p>
<p>I suspect that NSM is sniffing out the real situation and that “failed school” is a ridiculous exaggeration.</p>
<p>If you were booted out of school b/c of academics or something, please repost the details. If you seriously achieved “only” (being sarcastic) a 3.7GPA and need help looking for good college matches, then I’m 100% with NSM. My eyes are rolling.</p>
<p>you have a serious perspective problem if you think you’re some kind of victim or something.</p>
<p>Your 3.7 will keep you out of a top 20 university, sorry to say, even with the G/T and AP classes in the past and some rigor in your classes now. Try to get a scholarship to a state university, they should be available to you if you start looking.</p>
<p>I agree with the others. Harvard is almost out of the question for you. However, don’t let us stop you from applying there if you must know whether you can get in. Just make sure not to rely on the acceptance and have plenty of safeties both acceptance-wise and financially.</p>
<p>OP: NSM and I say that for a person to say they “failed” to attain Harvard is like saying I “failed” because I didn’t win the Masters this weekend. From what you’ve stated, you seem to have the tools for a very successful collegiate career – just like I have the tools to enjoy myself playing golf. However, one must have realistic and attainable goals. </p>
<p>What to do now? Well pursuing academic achievement is a given – but also to sit down with your guidance counselor and talk frankly about what you’re hoping for in a college – not just an “Ivy” moniker. I’ve been there, done that. Then go for it. Don’t end up bitter like the recent poster who slams the admissions system b/c he can’t afford some “name” schools despite all his hard work.</p>
<p>To have failed, I would expect to see one or more Fs on your HS transcript. I would expect to see a GPA of less than 2.0. You haven’t failed. You just haven’t done quite as well as you’d like to.</p>
<p>So:
Do your homework.
On time.
Do the reading.
On time.
Ask questions when you don’t understand things.
If your teachers offer help before or after school or during lunch, go ask them about the things that you don’t get.</p>
<p>And, since you have some G/T classes, but you are only pulling a B+ average, go talk to guidance about being evaluated for a thus-far undiagnosed learning disability. I know plenty of folks who are G/T, but who didn’t find out that they are also Dyslexic or ADD or have Executive Function problems or whatever until they were in college - one wasn’t diagnosed until she was half-way through her Ph.D.</p>
<p>"exactly my point, which is why i failed (and not only Harvard). I don’t see how you can say I didnt failed.</p>
<p>So my initial question, what can I do to maximize my chances now (what can I do to do better now)?"</p>
<p>With a 3.1 unweighted, there’s nothing you can do to maximize your chances to a place like Harvard unless you have the ability to obtain parents who’d make 7 figure donations to the school of your choice or you can parlay your athletic skills into becoming a nationally-ranked basketball or football player.</p>
<p>If you are identified with a learning disability, your HS should put you under the guidance of competent teachers from the Special Ed./Resource program who will help you figure out the best way to work with the brain that you have. Maybe you need more time on tests. Maybe you need help developing your organizational skills. Maybe (especially in the case of ADD) your ability to concentrate on schoolwork will be improved with the correct medications. Basically, you will get a bit more individualized attention to help you figure out how to do your own best work.</p>
<p>It will not get you into a “better” college. It may get you a better life.</p>
<p>Um you didn’t fail … and unless you’re a top athlete that Harvard wants to recruit, or a triple legacy or something, you should probably look at your state school.</p>
<p>To get to a top 50 liberal arts or national university – something that is a possibility for you-- get the highest grades (including during senior year) and highest scores possible. Many students who achieve high test scores do so as a result of studying – either on their own including with the help of free on-line sites and test books that you can purchase – or through the help of tutors or test prep courses.</p>