<p>My GPA is 3.9/4.6, expected to be 3.9/4.8 by graduation. However, I believe that I will only be ranked 4-6 out of a class of 110. Will this hurt me in admissions? I have taken several extra classes outside of school to boost my GPA, but I got one or two semester Bs my freshman year that mean I will never become valedictorian/salutatorian.</p>
<p>Also, how important is it to be in as many honor societies as possible (i.e., math, Spanish, technology, etc)? I would like to be in NHS and the Spanish honor society (because I love Spanish), but some of my friends have told me that I should join MAO as well just to have another honor cord (I loathe math). What are your thoughts?</p>
<p>One last thing- are summer programs important? I have a summer internship at a government research facility for part of the summer, and I like to take extra classes over the summer and SAT prep courses. I have never done a summer program at a university. Would it be to my benefit to do one of these programs despite their exorbitant costs?</p>
<p>If you’re in the top five students, your FINE. Don’t worry.</p>
<p>Honors societies aren’t that important. It’s better to do more unique ECs, IMO. Do activities you like to do and do well at them. If you don’t like math, definitely don’t join Math Club :P</p>
<p>It’s better to volunteer or get into a very selective program over the summer than to go a $5,000 program. Those just show you have money. Internships are always good, however.</p>
<p>Dude, if you’re Ranked #6, that puts you just outside of top 5%. You’re fine. And to reiterate what the other poster said, unless you’re extremely involved in your Honor Society it really will not help you at all. It is not seen as any better than any other EC. It is certainly not worth joining if you have no interest in the subject whatsoever. And the way you’re spending your summers sounds perfectly fine.</p>
<p>To be honest, I think the thing most likely to hurt you in admissions is that you are spending your HS career trying to get into colleges. You’ll find that becoming involved in what you love and doing well at it will serve you much better in the admissions process than having a ton of meaningless activities.</p>
<p>pinnipotto-
Actually I currently am heavily involved in just one activity, debate. I am team captain for sophomore/junior years already, have qualified for two national competitions, and came in 7th place in the state championship competition. For just having completed my sophomore year, I already have over 600 NFL points and am looking to achieve the highest degree possible. I have also won many awards at the regional level, and plan to compete in the National Circuit next year.</p>
<p>Starting in my junior year, I will be joining a few more activities that you can only participate in as a junior/senior like NHS, Spanish Honor Society, and brain bowl team. The point of that section of my post was to have some justification for not joining the math team, hah. My only concern is that I attend a magnet school that is science/math/technology oriented, and I am not involved in any activities that are related to those areas. I am also not interested in a career/major in any of those areas, except economics. I attended my school over the neighboring IB program because I liked the atmosphere (less cliquey and cut-throat). I am taking two AP sciences, biology & chemistry, but I am concerned that my “lack of interest” in the science/math/technology areas will hurt me as well. Hence my slight “interest” in joining a club that reflects those areas.</p>
<p>In that case, I can better understand you concerns. I think your ECs, now better described, sound quite good…I’m sorry if my original post came off somewhat harsh. Good luck in your application process!</p>