Help me standout? I need some guidance

Chance Me / Match Me
1

I’m a junior now, and I’ve never had much guidance (heck my state is ranked 50th in education!) and I really wish I started worrying about college earlier. Now I’ve realized that I really can’t compete on a national level, and I need some guidance to help me standout!

I know my chances are poor, but what advice/recommendations do you have to help me STANDOUT? What are my weakest points?

GPA: 4.0 Unweighted, 4.65 Weighted
Class rank: 6 of 450 (I have straight A’s and am taking a challenging course load but I don’t know how to raise this!)

APs: World History (4), Physics I, US history, Micro Econ, Macro Econ, Lang/Comp
Senior year APs: Calculus, US Gov, Stats, Lit, Environmental

SAT/ACT: Taking it in a month, we’ll see!

I go to a Career and Technical Academy (still public school) and my focus is Engineering and Design.

EC:
Key Club (4 years)

  • Club News editor, Historian, Technology Editor (10th)
    • Distinguished officer award on a District Level ?
  • Division Leadership Team (11th)
  • Division News Editor, Historian, Technology Editor (11th)
    • Distinguished award on a District level ?
  • 360+ hours serving/volunteering at walks, charities, my elementary school, the library,

Fine Arts Recognition (founded, 2 years) - goal was to promote/fund the fine arts in public education in my city!

  • President, founder
  • various fundraisers and events

Choreography Club (4 years)

  • Historian (10th)
  • VP (11th)

Film Makers Club (4 years)

2 years of Spanish…

There’s a lot of volunteering projects I’ve done (small scale, local) can I use that to any advantage? Or are colleges only interested in what they can read on paper?

I started a petition and helped fund and approve a Philosophy Class at my school… does that show initiative?

I want to show my love of journalism, design, photography, and volunteering. HELP. I’m so lost, and I need some guidance. What can I do now?

2

You’re a solid student. There’s nothing genuine you can do to stand out. Just get good test scores and write a good essay. If you love writing, that should be easy for you. :slight_smile: You can show your passion for those things by participating in them in activities. You’re already doing that, so don’t freak out. You’re fine.

3

If there is something you are good at (and enjoy) it would be a natural to engage with other people who share your interests. It seems to me that could lead to competitions and winning honors, etc. That’s one way people develop their interests and skills and get recognition from others who understand the levels of skill that you attain.

4

Start practicing SAT/ACT tests. Those will make a huge difference in your options and with scholarship opportunities.