Hey guys sorry for ranting but I really need some osrt of help right now. So basically, I’m a sophomore and I really want to go to UW for biomedical engineering but I don’t know what to do. Freshman year everything was going amazing, I had a 4.0 and good ECs compared to people at the school but now I transferred schools and my GPA dropped to a 3.93 first semester and this semester its going to become a 3.91, so I basically got a 3.8 this year. People are telling me thats bad. I also am so lost in ECs, I mean I have some but they never seem good enough. Everyone around me has so much stuff like internships and awards and what not, and I have no idea how they are doing all of this and none of them will say how. I undrstand that the GPA drop is my fault but I wish I can go back in time and change my study habits, it sucks man idk every since I came here I lost it. I really want to go to UW but I don’t know what to do in order to do so. I wish there was just a certain set of things you needed to do to get into schools like these. Please if anyone can help me out I would really appreciate it. I also come from an immigrant family and part of me feels like they need me to do this, and I just feel so bad I haven’t been as locked in as I should. Thank you
Mostly your post, probably unintentionally, shows how the education system in the US puts way, way too much stress on our high school students. You are doing very well. Relax. Get some sleep. This will be okay.
There are a LOT of very good colleges and universities in the US. You will be able to find multiple very good options where you can be accepted.
A GPA of 3.9 is very good. Again, this will help you get accepted to very good schools. 3.8 is also very good. There are plenty of doctors and engineers and veterinarians out there who had a 3.8 in high school, and some more who wish that they could have gotten a 3.8 in high school. I even know some of them.
Regarding ECs, these are really mostly important for only a tiny, tiny handful of the very highest ranked schools such as Harvard. Otherwise just being responsible and a good person and participating in whatever ECs you want to do is fine. One daughter up through her junior year of high school had pretty close to no ECs at all. She was still 5 for 5 in admissions to university, and now years later is getting a PhD (in a biomedical field). She did not apply to Harvard for undergrad. That is okay. She applied to schools that were a good fit for her, were affordable, and where a student can get a great education, and where ECs really did not matter.
No one can tell you what ECs are the “right” ones, other than to just do whatever is right for you. Whatever ECs you participate in, treat people well and do not worry about it. A job is a good EC. Chess is a good EC. Looking after younger siblings is a good EC. A sport is a good EC. There are lots and lots and lots of other examples of good ECs. However, you can get into very good universities without any ECs.
And if some high school student is bragging that his ECs are impressive, ignore him. He does not work in university admissions. If you are genuine and a good person that is going to go a long way, both in university admissions and in life.
You can go forward in time and improve your study habits. That is way more important.
I happen to have known multiple people who were very successful in life, with some rather wildly varying definitions of “successful”. A few for example started successful high tech companies. Some just had a career they liked, married well, and now their kids are doing well. Let me tell you a secret about successful people: Very few of them took what seemed like the shortest path to become successful. We all try a bit of this and a bit of that before we find the thing that we like. We all make mistakes. We all mess up somewhere along the way. Then we get ourselves together and learn from our mistakes and do better next time.
One small nit is that there are multiple schools that might be abbreviated UW. I am guessing that you are referring to either U. of Washington or U of Wisconsin. Both of these are very good universities. However, you really do not need to attend either to do very well in life. If you go on to graduate school (which seems possible for someone interested in biomedical engineering, or anything biomedical) then you do not need to attend either for undergrad in order to attend a school on the same level, or even specifically one of these two UW’s, for a graduate program. If you get a bachelor’s degree and then go on to graduate school in a very good program, you will find students there from a very wide range of undergraduate schools. If you instead get a bachelor’s degree and then get a good job, you will again find people there who have graduated from a very wide range of undergraduate universities. Very smart and very responsible people attend a huge range of undergraduate colleges and universities for a very wide range of reasons.
And with a 3.8 GPA, and any ECs at all that are genuine and show responsible behavior, you are on your way to do well.
Some immigrant families do not fully understand how many excellent universities there are in the US. There really are hundreds of them. Students who graduate from Harvard or Stanford or MIT or Caltech or U.Washington or U.Wisconsin (or Waterloo or Wyoming) really will find themselves working alongside students who graduated from a huge range of other universities, and no one will care where you got your degree. If you go on to a highly ranked graduate program, you will find students there who came from “all over the place”, and again no one will care where anyone got their bachelor’s degree.
In your post you mentioned study habits. Learning good study habits will help you in the future. However, you have time to get this right.
How does a 3.93 and a 3.91 = 3.8?
Why do you need to change your study habits when (by my calculation), you have a 4.0 and 3.92 for your first two years GPA? Those are outstanding grades.
As for ECs, find a couple of things you like to and do them. Band, .theater, sports, art, birdwatching, volunteering, dog training, woodworking, beekeeping, etc.
Jobs are ECs. Here’s an org that offers outdoor work opportunities to teens.
https://myjobs.adp.com/scacareers/cx/job-listing
Do a google search for volunteer opps for teens.
Then just be a high school student and do your best in school and have fun outside of school hours doing things you enjoy. Thats about all there is to it to not be lost in life.
I agree with the advice above. You are doing fine! And what you don’t want to do is stress yourself so much it causes serious problems. And there is no need for that.
A couple specific things. Good study habits take practice and some self-knowledge which can take some time. Carefully think about the concept of working smarter, not harder. Meaning, figure out how to be organized, giving yourself plenty of time for tasks, putting yourself in a productive environment, being well-rested and hydrated, and so on.
For ECs, it really is about finding a handful of things you actually enjoy doing, such that you will do them with enthusiasm and dedication. If those help you develop physically, emotionally, socially, creatively, ethically, and so on, that’s all good too. Or make some money! Also good.
If you focus on all this sort of stuff the upcoming summer and junior year and the summer before senior year, you will be in good shape to simultaneously apply to colleges while finishing out high school well. And that’s important!
In fact, how you do in college is almost always more important than exactly where you go for college. These next couple years are opportunities for you to build up the skills, the habits, the academic knowledge, the life knowledge, and so on that you will need to really thrive in college.
So don’t lose focus on that being the actual goal: to use these years in ways you will enjoy, but that will also prepare you very well for success at the next step after high school. Admissions to a suitable college is really just a side effect of that–selective colleges are looking for students who are well-prepared to thrive at their college. So keep focus on the really important stuff, and thensuitable college admissions will come along with that as a natural consequence.
This is such a great post. BTW.
So if you didn’t cure cancer by Sophomore year, you’re toast.
This is how you should apply to college:
So seriously. Read this and have a great weekend. Relax. Applying Sideways | MIT Admissions Applying Sideways | MIT Admissions
I have a couple kids who have recently graduated UW and another well on the way. I completely agree with the positive sentiment above. If I were to add anything, I may also go in this direction as well:
4.0 freshman year, and 3.8 sophomore year isn’t bad especially if you took a couple challenging classes. But yes, you’ll likely need to do better junior year (than sophomore year) if you want to get into UW. You know you can do this. It’s still in your control. None of my kids had crazy aptitude, but they would say getting A’s in high school isn’t all that complicated. Turn in EVERY assignment, study for the tests (you have a good feel when you’ve studied enough), and if you mess something up talk to your teachers. They will often work with you.
Your parents likely just understand the incredible opportunities you have in front of you and want the best for you. They may have gone through some difficult times to help get you to this point. They also understand how fortunate you are to now be in this country with oh so much opportunity. Count your blessings, UW or not - you have some of the best education options in the world, just on the west coast alone. But getting a comparable degree out-of-state can cost you (or your family) an additional $100k, so yes this stuff matters. One other note though, if your parents didn’t graduate college - much of this changes. It’s less competitive for first-generation students at most top universities, and you’d likely already be in a very good spot.
Alright buckle-up, and do your part. Don’t be afraid of a little pressure - you’re ready for it. You got this!