Give me some advice, please.

glassesarechic
Sun, 14 Nov 2010 08:40:28 +0000

The most important thing for a rising freshman to remember is that the transcript is the single most important part of your application. ECs should (almost) always take a backseat to schoolwork.

A few tips:

-Take your SAT IIs as you finish the corresponding classes (except the languages–wait until as late as possible to take those).

-Read Cal Newport’s How to Become a High School Superstar and check out his blog at Study Hacks - Decoding Patterns of Success - Cal Newport for a medley of study tips and life advice.

-Take advantage of freshman year to join clubs just for the heck of it. Don’t feel an obligation to continue with them for the rest of high school–extracurriculars are just that, extra, and they should be fun. Remember, too, that extracurriculars need not be your typical high school clubs, sports, or instruments. Colleges are looking for a diverse class, but this does not mean that your resume needs to be diverse. Focus on being interesting and getting good at one or two things.

-Summers, whether you attend a summer program or not, are a great time to do ECs that the school year might not afford you the time to do. Whether you spend that time organizing a fundraiser, writing a series of poems for submission to contests during the school year, or putting the finishing touches on an Intel project is up (etc) is up to you.

A few links:

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/82799-how-impress-adcoms-your-extracurriculars.html

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/210497-those-ecs-weak-so-whats-good.html

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/summer-programs/343495-summer-programs-look-good-college-applications.html

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/955109-silverturtles-guide-sat-admissions-success.html?highlight=silverturtle+sat+advice

Best of luck!