@ak2018 The SAT part of the college app process is sucking the life out of me too @-) despite being a junior! I’m looking at applying for EA at one of the Ivies so I have to take the SATs this year. I’m studying for the SAT Math II test in January and I’m learning material that isn’t taught until senior year at my school. That SAT will be two days before school exams! Then I’m studying for another SAT Subject Test (probably taking Chemistry) over 2 months, then I’m taking the SAT I one month after that second subject test. All while doing well in school.
Despite all that, I think it’ll all be worth it when I send in that application :). Of course getting accepted would be nice, but I’m applying just so I know that I tried instead of thinking of “what ifs” if I don’t apply. And if I do get accepted in EA, senior year will feel amazing!
Yeah, I’ve got the SAT coming up in a week as well. In the only Collegeboard official practice test of the SAT I’ve taken so far, I got a perfect score on reading/writing, but math left much to be desired. We’ll see if this translates to the actual test.
I’ve only taken one SAT II so far (USH), and I’m planning on taking bio and lit in May or June. Maybe Math II.
@ak2018 that’s weird… Why would AP Lang have to read Scarlet Letter? I’m in AP Lit, so it makes sense, but I thought Lang did rhetoric and non-fiction.
@neptuna I am currently working on a group project with my crush…
@sewin2music that is literally how I live my life oops
Also…may I have some feedback?
I am currently signing up for senior year classes and I’m considering taking standard senior English instead of AP Lit. A very respected teacher at my school said that 4 APs is when people start falling apart, and I already have junioritis. If I do this I have to take one semester of jr English (I’ll be a teacher assistant for the other half), and I’ll probably take AP World, AP Calc, AP Bio, Spanish 4, and business 3. I want to become a better communicator with AP Lit, but English isn’t my favorite, and AP Lit doesn’t appeal that much to me, and I really don’t want my college apps to suffer.
@bubblylaugh I wouldn’t take AP Lit if you don’t particularly like English and you feel that taking it would be a detriment to your mental health regarding grades and lots of homework and stuff. I’m currently taking AP Lit as a junior and I like it, but I also love English, so that would explain a lot. Do what you feel is best, not what you think will look best to colleges.
Funny enough, I don’t really like English, but AP Lit is my most thought-provoking class and I like it. The in-class essays, as my teacher puts it, are more suited towards science-y people than creative people, and he structures the class more analytically. It’s my worst grade so far (90.8 last quarter and 84 this quarter) but I enjoy it and feel more satisfied than if I had taken the standard class. In my class, there is only a bit of reading to do each night (usually; as I stated above I’m reading a big boring book right now), but my teacher does really detailed quizzes over the readings every day, which are not helping my grade. However, that’s just in my class, and even the other teacher does it differently. Talk to some people in the class or that have taken it to get a better idea.
@Soccer1235 I honestly don’t really know. I don’t have that specific teacher, but all my teacher does it have us read stuff from of the textbook. We mainly go over things that have a connection to U.S. History. So far this quarter, we’ve read Thanatopsis, a poem by naturalist William Cullen Bryant, and Benjamin Franklin’s aphorisms.
In my AP Language class we have read The Grapes of Wrath, Huck Finn, The Scarlet Letter, The Crucible, some transcendentalist essays by Emerson and Thoreau, and some Edgar Allen Poe.
So I was looking through the Common App and I have to see it’s quite massive and looks like it’ll definitely take some to fill out. I’ll probably start in the summer.
Anyway, for this who don’t know, if you make a Common App account now, all of your information will still be there and WILL NOT be deleted.
I’ve already put some info in. Also, I found the essay prompts for the personal essay, which are pretty interesting:
Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
The lessons we take from failure can be fundamental to later success. Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea. What prompted you to act? Would you make the same decision again?
Describe a problem you've solved or a problem you'd like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma - anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution.
Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family.
Based on data so far, #1 seems to be the most selected prompt, likely due to its broadness. Which one would you pick? I’d probably pick either #1 or #5.
Also, for anyone still trying to thin out their college lists, I would also take into account the school’s application fee. I’m only apply to 6 schools, but I (my parents) wil have to pay $405 in total for application fees since I don’t qualify for a waiver.
@Marg532, @Soccer1235 Thanks for your insights! I kind of want to take it, because it will sharpen my writing skills, and I heard this one teacher is just fantastic, but I don’t want to write essays every class (kind of ironic), and supposedly the other teacher is boring. But I do prefer the other APs.
@ak2018 I’m probably going to do #1 or #2. Being in last or close to last place almost every year in marching band championship competitions has really changed how I think and my outlook on failing, so I feel that #2 is kind of easier for me, in a way.
@ak2018 I would go visit your schools and fill out interest forms. Some schools waive fees for students that visit. It also doesn’t hurt to straight up email schools about waivers. If you don’t ask, the answer is no!
Ahhhh
Just went through and calculated how much the fees would be if I applied to my current list of 6 schools (this includes score sending but assumes I use all my fee score reports). This list might change especially if I get national merit, but…
MIT
WPI
Carnegie Mellon
Stanford
University of Washington
Eastern Washington University
