@nvb123: Thank you so much! Also, in regards ro your 35 ACT: that is super competitive for any university in the US. You won’t gain much, if anything, from retaking it. It’s at the point where, if you get turned down from a university, it won’t be because of your ACT; I recommend dedicaring time to other parts of your application instead.
@Max147: You’re super sweet, thank you so much!! I feel like I’ve got a lot to add, but I’m hoping this is a good foundation to build upon.
I’ve been thinking about college a lot recently, and will most likely be applying to UIUC, Georgia Tech, CMU, Purdue, Cornell, and Brown (haven’t really thought about other colleges yet).
I have a 3.9 GPA and haven’t taken the ACT, SAT, or SAT IIs yet. Only freshman AP is WHAP. Sophomore APs are AP Euro and APCSP. Junior APs are AP Physics 1 and 2, AP Chinese, APCSA, and AP Lang.
I’m President of CS Club and am the lead organizer of my school’s Innovation Fair, so I have to find sponsors and judges for that competition. I also am really involved in community outreach projects. I started a program at my elementary school teaching computer science and game design to students there and am starting a STEM speaker series at my library with speakers from IBM, Baxter, etc. I help lead a GWC club at my high school and I teach web development and calculator programming for standardized test in CS Club. I compete in an IL and MO-based STEM competition that was created by UIUC and compete in CS and English on the sectional and regional team. As a freshman I qualified for Nats and placed Third at state in FBLA, but placed 5th as a sophomore since I competed in a way more competitive event. I’m a Student Representative in my school’s Career Advisory Council where I help give advice and feedback on career related events. I’m also a freelance web designer in my free time and am designing a website for a student-run video production business that has clients locally, in Europe, and in Africa. Most likely I will also be a web designer for a local student-run non-profit that does good deeds for people around the community. Trying to design websites for local companies and such. In my free time I also code and learn web development. I’m coding my personal portfolio rn and also working on a website that will help bridge the gender gap in STEM. I’m involved in non-profit networking and journaling startup with high schoolers around the country that is launching this upcoming fall. I’m also involved in another non-profit organization created by students from top universities that connect high school students with various opportunities.
I’m Asian, female (thank goodness), and my income is like 120k. Planning on majoring in something STEM with a minor in business, and planning to get my MBA later on.
@needtosucceed27 Aim higher! Why not HYPSM, UPENN! You are capable. Don’t worry!
@nvb123 Ahh thanks!!!
I might apply to Brown and UPenn but they definitely aren’t my top choices at all.
I switched my list up a bit, because I am kind of indecisive as I do these visits:
Northwestern
Notre Dame
Case Western
Dartmouth
OSU (safety)
Emory
Georgetown
Miami of Ohio (safety)
University of Florida (kinda a safety)
Vanderbilt
I guess I am not applying to the Ivies, really, because I don’t see the point. It would be ridiculous for me to go to a school I don’t want to go to. I don’t want to steal someone’s spot (who wants to go). So, I am keeping my list true to myself.
@ab2002 Isn’t Dartmouth an ivy?
Well, I mean comparatively. It seems like a lot of the people on here are applying to a majority of the Ivies.
Sorry I haven’t been on for a while, but @ab2002, I am so sorry to hear about your car accident. Thank goodness you are okay. Best of luck to you and your family.
@phanakin I am also an Original Oratory person! It’s really cool to see someone else doing it! Do you enjoy it?
Lastly, because we are talking about Ivys, @collegeready33, Brown is my top choice. Good luck with UPenn! And good luck to the rest of you when it comes time to apply to college!
Edit: @collegeready33 Dartmouth is an Ivy League, so it does count.
Have a good day!
@ab2002 I agree with you completely. So many times people apply to all ivies just for the prestige so they can say they got into one. Not only do some of the schools not fit them, but they are also taking spots that are much more valuable to others. Choosing a college should really be more about personal fit rather than prestige or ranking.
@excoverer Brown is my top choice overall too. I really love the open curriculum because I want to be pre med and it would just give me so much more freedom than other colleges. The grading is also so much laxer so it’s easier to get a good GPA for applying to med schools.
@Max147 I love the open curriculum as well! It’s not just exclusive to Brown, but it is one of the reasons I love it. Good luck with pre-med when the time comes, and I absolutely understand your situation. For me, I am into the open curriculum because I want to write; however, it is hard to make a living for yourself solely with writing. I feel that with the open curriculum, I will be able to explore all my interests, and get a diverse education in everything I love. Best of luck when applying to Brown! When the time comes, feel free to talk with me about the application! We’ll be in this together.
Have a good day!
Hey guys. I took AP Calc BC. Is there anyone who took AP Calc BC? I really want a five and was stumped on only one of the free response question. Also, I’m not naturally strong in reading. Anyone have tips for me to improve reading and science, which are my two weakest subjects in ACT? I take practice tests and get composite score of either 30 or 31. I’m aiming for at least 34+ to apply to ivies. I’m trying to study hard over summer so I can attempt to take it for first time sometime in September.
@IvyDreamer1234 For the reading, you just have to read carefully and just practice, and if you’re not good at science, just take the SAT instead. It doesn’t have a science section.
I really want to get into ivy league schools but I’m afraid even a little deficiency will cause me to get rejected since I’m asian(korean).
@IvyDreamer1234 My parents are both Koreans, and I am the first person in my family to be born and grow up in America, so I understand what you’re saying, but you’re not alone on this. in the end, I believe that we can try our best with our own efforts, and I’m sure you can too! If you ever need to talk to anyone, feel free to talk to me, and this applies to anyone reading on CC. We’re all in this together.
Have a good day!
Hello fellow 2020ers! So jubilant to see a thread for our class and such incredible people on here. I am relatively new to the whole CC scene, so I do apologize if I make any errors. Here’s my 2018-2019 schedule:
AP English Lang + Comp.
AP United States History
Psychology (Dual Enrollment)
Sociology (Dual Enrollment)
PolySci (Dual Enrollment) . << not sure if i’d like this course, so i might not go through w/ it
Chemistry
Spanish
Math
My school doesn’t offer many AP classes. For the few courses of AP we have, none are in the math/sci. realm of things, which is pretty unfortunate. I would self-study, but self-studying just doesn’t work for me. I tried self-studying AP Human Geo, the easiest ap course on the planet, and performed terribly due to test anxiety & family issues. By failing the exam, I squashed my chance for an ap distinction award. Clearly, life is going great for me! : (
@ab2002: I’m so sorry to hear about your car accident, and I’m glad you’re okay! I wish you a speedy recovery.
@excoverer: I absolutely adore OO. It’s one of the only speech events (if not the only, but I suppose you could argue that) where you have absolute free rein over what you say, and you can talk about something you’re genuinely passionate about in a way that you’re comfortable with.
@IvyDreamer1234: I, too, took AP Calc BC this last year! I bet you crushed it. I’m tentative about it, because I don’t want to be too optimistic in case I don’t get a 5. It’d be a blow, simply because I’d gotten 5s every practice calc test (from past years) that we’ve taken.
In terms of the ACT, Reading and Science do tend to be the most convoluted. (Although I missed none on that section and did worst in math, go figure!) My advice is to just practice, practice, practice. You get better at these kinds of things with exposure and experience.
@spicybiracial: Welcome! I’m sorry to hear about AP Human Geography, but I bet your AP scores from this year will blow AP Human Geo out of the water! (Did you take any APs this year?)
@spicybiracial I’m so sorry to hear about AP Human Geography. It must be hard to take that in, and I’m terribly sorry to hear about your test anxiety and family issues. I can completely relate to your anxiety, and I hope your family issues become better! Your schedule, by the way, looks great, and have a lot of fun in Sociology! Took it this past school year, and it was an incredibly enjoyable class.
@phanakin So glad to hear you enjoy OO!
Have a good day!
@IvyDreamer1234 -
I am not Asian, so I really cannot relate to you in regards to the dread you probably feel on the daily, fearing this future cycle in our lives we all call getting into college—or, in much more simpler terms, standing out from an entire demographic of high achieving high school students. However, you should not let the color of your skin determine whether or not you’ll be accepted into the schools of your dreams. Please do not feel you are at a major disadvantage just because you are of Asian descent. No prestigious school is going to reject you solely because you are Asian!
Ultimate advice: keep standing out and being yourself!
Thank you for the welcome, @phanakin!
Yes, I’ll be taking two APs this upcoming 2018-2019 school year: APUSH & AP Lang! Unlike most people, I’m definitely more intrigued by the courses I have available to me through my school’s dual enrollment agreement with the local community college. With that said, I’ll additionally be taking college courses on sociology and psychology. Also, bravo on your beautiful ACT score! Seriously, you are very lucky! Your determination inspires me to better my academic side of things. For someone like myself to be in the top 4% of my class and to then receive 26s on ACT practice tests! makes me sad. Do you recommend any prep books or general tips?