My school district gives the ACT EXPLORE in 8th and 9th grade, ACT PLAN in 10th grade, and ACT in 11th grade. I guess we are living proof that excessive testing does not significantly raise average scores 
@GrandBudapest : Just remember that you can be successful at anything you want to accomplish. If you want to improve your scientific writing you should check out this website: http://www.curiousyoungwriters.org . It offers a journalism opportunity that is centered on scientific topics and research. If you hate something why not become educated about it and be able to understand what you do not know?
And FYI- I also scored a 7 on my first practice AP Lang essay. I think it has to do with how well you normally write for your teacher; especially if they have seen better. In fact, one of the best writers in my class received a 6!
@Studious99 TN much?
It finally hit me that my PSAT score means that I can definitely go to school far away without financial support from my parents!!!
I’ll be free!!!
@awesomepolyglot nah OR. It’s actually funny because we have the lowest graduation rates in America
“You can suffer from the pain of discipline or the pain of regret - the choice is yours.”
This is a really powerful quote for me right now. It’s really hard managing academics, standardized tests, and difficult ECs when you only have a few hours every day. But I think to myself, “A couple of years from now, am I going to seriously regret not having tried hard enough?”
We’re just going to have to suffer this pain for a little while longer guys. We can do it though.
@luckyme123 Thank you for the suggestion. I am, in fact, applying to some academic writing programs in addition to the creative writing ones. But I will certainly check the site out 
@neoking Exactly how I’m feeling…a little over one year from now I won’t remember the stress I’m going through right now. Is it better to suffer right now and do well, or suffer for many years in the future?
Anyone Harvard REA here? XD
I’m retaking the SAT in jan. and hoping for 2300+ 
@neoking My Bio teacher has a quote board and that’s one of the ones on it.
Suffer through junior year…suffer through college…suffer through grad school… better learn to like suffering!
Gosh, I’ve been so unproductive today.
I’m beginning to freak out about my summer plans. I’m applying for a paid internship through a Bank of America program, but I’m scared that I won’t get it, and then I’ll be lost. I’ve been trying to contact people at the nearby art museum to hopefully hear about some opportunity. If that works out, then I could also participate in a Leadership Seminar at Notre Dame (assuming I am accepted to that, which I may not be since the acceptance rate is like 10%…)
Is anybody else having this problem? Are there other programs (not TASP–I don’t have time to write all of those essays…) that people are really interested in or would recommend?
What are you interested in? I’m assuming something along the lines of business since you’re applying to a Bank of America program. You could do Leadership in the Business World (4 weeks) at Wharton, assuming cost isn’t an issue. Duke TIP also has some interesting options, specifically going abroad.
I got letters from Harvard and Duke, but I’m just going to volunteer at the hospital this summer. I have a job, and as much as I would like to go to a summer program, it would impact my swimming, which I may or may not be trying to get recruited for
@bfc2017 greeneggs had great question: what are you interested in? Look at how you send your time. What do you pour effort into? What makes you happy? What do you care about? What would you like to know more about? The summer program search is much easier if you have a focus or two (e.g. last year, I was looking for math programs, and this year GrandBudapest is looking for writing programs). Remember that you can go local or residential, and getting a summer job is always an excellent choice.
Do you think it’s okay if we apply to multiple summer programs? I want to apply to as many as I can since I’m not sure I’ll get accepted to any of them.
@SocksandBoots certainly! Just make sure to make it as easy on your teachers as possible if the ones you’re applying to ask for recs – typically this means getting your list together early and asking asap. The summer program recs can be a bit finicky with different forms and whatnot.
@SockandBoots: Yeah, it’s totally fine! In fact, it’s wise to do so, since so many summer programs are extremely selective. Just hope that all the admissions decisions are released close to each other so that you don’t have to choose one before the decisions for another are released. I’m applying to five or six programs and I have a backup.
@bfc2017 Are you talking about the Bank of America Student Leaders program? I was thinking of applying for it but it seems really competitive.
Sorry about my last post; I guess I was too vague. I want an internship or a job. I did the expensive pre-college program thing last summer. Jobs for high schoolers are hard to come by in my area, so I thought an unpaid internship would be preferable. @Greninja Yes! I have no idea how competitive it is; there are no statistics anywhere, so I’m just hoping for the best. The Bank of America program seems really cool to me, and I really hope that I get it. It’s called Student Leaders and selects a nonprofit for you to work at (with a salary!) for the summer, so it’s not really business-related; I’m pretty sure that the nonprofit they choose could be anything, and you participate in a week of workshops in an all-expenses paid trip to D.C.
Here’s the link if anybody happens to be interested:
http://about.bankofamerica.com/en-us/global-impact/student-leader-eligibility-criteria.html#fbid=2K9FsRUEd-_
That said, the program at Wharton seems amazing, if crazy expensive. I’m actually visiting Penn on Tuesday.
@bfc2017 It sounds really fun! Unfortunately I couldn’t really find much information about it aside from a few threads on this site about it.
I’m only applying to one summer program, mostly because acceptances come out so late, in early April/late March. I understand why decisions are released so late, since it’s a really selective program.
If any of you guys are interested in languages or studying abroad or international relations, or anything of the sort, I suggest you check it out! It’s called NSLI-Y.