Looks like public schools are closed in my province due to strikes… http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/nova-scotia/nova-scotia-teachers-strike-emergency-legislation-1.3880120
I might not graduate at the same time as the rest of you if this goes on :((
I’m so proud of me! I did a whole bunch of homework today! I did an extra credit assignment for my science class, printed out a biography for Edward Albee for my AP Lit Harkness on Monday, and did 2 essays for a book I read a while back but weren’t due the first marking period. I also did an essay grading packet for AP Lit, too. I feel so ahead!
@Hamlon Virginia Tech is my first choice right now, but I’ll definitely look at Carnegie Mellon. I heard they gave a pretty great engineering program. If it looks really good I might just add it to my list.
I told my parents about all the college app fees and they said to definitely keep it below $500. I’m planning to only apply to six, no more than seven, schools. I’ll probably have to choose between Carnegie Mellon and MIT to apply to, so I’ll be doing a lot of research.
Also, I had a really fun time volunteering as a referee at the VEX competition yesterday. Going there helped me make my decision about choosing which ECs I want to do, since I feel like I’m doing too much. I decided that I’m going back to my roots and focusing on Robotics as my first priority and all of my other activities are second priority. Yesterday’s competition made me realize why I liked Robotics in the first place. I wanted to build things and feel like I was in a large community. Robotics has shown me that a career in engineering is possible for me. Also, while I was at the competition, I saw my old middle school Robotics coach. She asked me if I was available to mentor the middle school Robotics team and I said yes.
Also, what do you guys plan to do after college? I was planning on moving up north, because I can’t stand the south, to Massachusetts. I think the schools up there are really good and I’d definitely want my future kids to get a good education. I also kind of like the idea of working for Boston Dynamics!
Boston Dynamics == the dream :’)
If I end up going to a state school, I’ll travel. Maybe I’ll do some volunteer work, put whatever STEM knowledge I may receive theough university to good use.
From there I may apply for PhD programs. 
I plan on going to California.
After college, I want to go to NYC. Going to school there would be super expensive haha I’m planning on going to local-ish schools that, with scholarships, should be not very expensive. The most expensive will probably be UPitt at Bradford because I’m OOS there
I think I’m joining the Peace Corps after college. Either that or grad school w/ a non-profit job. I’m going to need some money saved up though.
@ak2018 Who knows! I prefer the idea of running and owning my own business because I’d be able to work on anything I want on my own call with completely flexible hours and the sky being the limit. I’d be able to work as if it’s a strategy game, instead of working at the same thing every day for the rest of a career for a fixed pay. I actually own two businesses right now, and I pretty much work next-to-none hours for double the pay as full-time minimum wage here (which is why I have so much time to study for SATs, but even pay for these c$100 tests as well!).
But whatever degree I get from whatever school, a career is always a choice. Just that I’d be doing everything I can to do the above, haha.
@ak2018 I want to get a good engineering job in a big city, hopefully in robotics because that’s really interesting to me. I don’t wanna have kids because they’re cost a lot of time and money and the world is overpopulated as is. If I end up changing my mind I’ll probably adopt or something, but I wanna have money to travel and stuff.
SNHC anyone? I plan on doing all the things I was supposed to do today and do them all tonight (I got distracted by decorating my house for Christmas haha)
@acomfysofa What businesses did you start?
Also, I have a few possible plans after I graduate college.
Plan #1: Work/intern at either Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, or another engineering firm.
Plan #2: Work at an engineering firm for a few years and eventually create my own mechanical engineering company (small business).
Plan #3: Work with NASA, SpaceX, or another aerospace company.
Plan #4: Work in the engineering field for a few years and then become a university professor.
I’m currently working on two essays for the GMU ASSIP summer program. Tomorrow, I plan to give my essays to my really good librarian friend for her to review. I’ve know her since the 7th grade and she has given me really good advice and basically helped me get through middle school. She was also an English teacher a while ago. She has stuck up for me several times in the past and I am grateful for her and that she is helping to perfect my essays. I’m definitely planning on getting her a gift at the end of all this. Do you guys have a favorite English teacher you plan on giving your essays to review?
I personally think it would be better to have someone you know, that KNOWS you, to review your essays. They probably know the kind of person you are, and the kind of writer you are, and will be better at editing your essay.
@Marg532 Definitely!
@snowfairy137 Honestly same! Knowing me, I’ll probably just become a hopeless romantic. :)) I’ll likely just end up adopting.
Business #1: iPhone and iPad repair business. While being in Grade 9 with a couple hundred dollars, I bought iPhone screens and a variety of iPhone parts from a supplier in China. Advertised on Facebook buy-and-sell groups, got buyers. Sold out. Bought more parts. Sold out. Kept buying and selling out. Expanded to iPad repair. And it continues to this day! Any high schooler could easily start this business up and have it running successfully within a couple of months to be self-employed with minimum hours for comparatively high pay, whether that be by getting the startup funds from babysitting or working at any minimum wage job for two or three months.
Business #2: Selling an Amazon PL (Private label) product on FBA (Fulfillment-by-Amazon, Amazon Prime) business. This product sells for about US$20 each. From the profits I made from the above business, I invested into buying x500 of a product in bulk from China off Alibaba, shipped it by sea to the U.S, and now it’s shipping from Amazon Prime warehouses to buyers across the country! I bought those 500 products in the summer after Grade 10, and I began selling at the beginning of Grade 11 (now). The business is going as planned - actually sold 14 of those products today! It’s amazing because I essentially do nothing except manage advertising and inventory, so no working any hours at all (compared to minimal hours with business #1).
If Plan #3 goes through, I hope to see you on Mars
For like plans other than moving places, I have 3ish plans:
Plan #1:
Start work at a hotel or an inn or something, then when I have enough money/experience, then go out on my own and do event planning.
Plan #2:
Spend a year seeing if I can make a living on music theatre. If it fails, continue onto Plan 1
Plan #3:
Spend a year seeing if I can make a living on music theatre. If I “make it,” then I keep doing that and do odd jobs in between gigs. Starving artist ftw lol
@ak2018 I haven’t been able to take nice strolls or a tour through campus, but I have driven through on a bus on the way to a band festival and also on a trolley tour. There’s one building on campus (I think it’s a dorm) that has sharp angles jutting out and shines in the sun. The building has vibrant colors and it’s beautiful. There’s sculptures throughout campus and each building is a number, not a name. The main buildings on campus near the Charles River are made out of alabaster stone and loom above everyone. From campus the Boston skyline can be seen. The Massachusetts Ave. Bridge (Harvard Bridge) going into campus from Boston is measured in smoots, the length of Oliver Smoot’s body. It’s a very funny story. You can read about it at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoot. Overall, campus is very nice and is in a great area. Boston is an amazing city with a great college scene (200,000 college kids in the area) and lots to do.
After college I want to either be an astronomy or planetary science professor or a researcher at NASA at JPL or the Goddard Space Center. I would love to live in either Boston or the Southwest in Arizona or Southern California. It will be a while before I get to that point - I have to get my PhD and do a post-doc fellowship before getting an entry level job.
@snowfairy137 I’m excited but afraid of the unknown and how subjective admissions are.
@acomfysofa I’m sorry that’s happening. I hope the strikes end soon.
The Yale Summer Program in Astrophysics application is great! There are essays and teacher recommendations that I have to fill out, but the questions are really good! There is one question that states “What will your age be in decimal years on July 9, 2017? (yes, this is a test)”. It’s great!
@acomfysofa That’s so cool! I honestly couldn’t imagine running a business at this age.
@frazzledazzle Thanks for the description.
PSA: If you go talk to your guidance counselors today, you might be able to get your PSAT scores. They have been sent to most schools already. My counselor is old school, so I’m gonna have to wait until next Monday. :)) :((
@ak2018 Thanks for mentioning that! I’m going to talk to my counselor right after my math class on the way to french (I pass by his office anyway). It stinks that you have to wait!
@frazzledazzle Yeah it sucks. She gave me the old “if I told you, I’d have to tell everyone” excuse.