LIFE

College Search & Lists
1

Hello! I am currently bored, so I am going to put my four year plan including extracurriculars and I would love it if you could point me into the right direction of colleges I should be looking at. (acceptance rate, any in specific). I also want to be a math major; if that helps. Also, please know I may not follow this exactly, I only do what pleases me:). Thanks in advance!

Pre HS:
Student of the Year in 8th grade at middle school
I have tutored 2 people in the same grade in math and science since 6th grade and am going to continue that until senior year.

Freshman Year:
English 1-H: A
Geometry H: A+
Biology H: A
PE 1: A+
Spanish 1: A+
Chamber Orchestra: A+

Extracarriculars:
Adult Community Symphony: There are like 50 adults, and 2 kids including me:).
Viola Lessons: every two weeks
Christian Club
Science Olympiad: did not place, I did not enjoy it
The Messiah: A church nearby played Messiah and I was part of the Viola section for Community Service
Strung Quartet: I am in a quartet for the school that fundraises and does private events. Also, I have composed 2 pieces of music for this quartet.
Swim Team: I did this 4 days a week but quit in may for XC.

Summer: This is where I currently am.
Spanish 102 at the local community college: I currently have 99 percent. Hopefully that will last through the final:).
I am doing a chamber group Schumann’s Piano Quartet with some adults.
XC summer training

Sophomore Year:
English 2-H
Algebra 2H
Physics 1H
European History AP
Chemistry 1H
Chamber Orchestra

Extracurriculars (new):
Math Club: I am considering starting a math club. My school is quite sports related though… we will see how that plays out.
XC: Getting my PE credit and having a little fun:)
Spanish 201: If I’m not too overworked in the spring, I may consider taking Spanish 201 at the nearby community college. That would give me the equivalent of four years of Spanish.

Summer:
JOB

Junior Year:
English 3AP
Math Analysis
Physics 2H
Music Theory AP
Chamber Orchestra

US History and AP Stat: These would each be at a local community college or online, taking one each semester.

Extracurriculars (new):
Any new opportunities that come my way. Specifically, orchestra.

Senior Year:
English 4AP
Calc BC AP
Physics C AP
Economy AP
Computer Science AP
Chamber Orchestra

Extracurriculars (new):
Any new opportunities that come my way. Specifically, orchestra.

I think my current dream school is UCLA or UCSB. I haven’t really expanded my horizons though, so your help is greatly appreciated.

2

Sit your parents down with their favorite adult beverages and a box of soft tissues, and help them run the Net Price Calculators at the websites of your current dream institutions and a couple of places that they pick. Find out whether any of these would be affordable if you were applying right now. Talk about where the money will come from to pay for your education. Get that piece in place first.

3

At the risk of sounding like a broken record:

The college which you will attend should be determined by your high school years. Your high school years should NOT be determined by whatever college you now imagine is your “dream school”.

Figure out which high school plan will challenge you, interest you, and allow you to develop your strengths, shore up your weaknesses, explore directions which interest you, and end high school better prepared for your life than you are now, at the age of 13 or 14.

Choose Ecs which interest you, ECs which allow you to continue older interests and explore new ones. Look at ECs which allow you to change things or which prepare you for this. Engage in ECs which provide education and activities which are not provided in your high schools Course Catalog.

You do not have “Dream Colleges”, because you have absolutely no idea what college life is like. It is not comparable to K-8, and you have no way of figuring out what college will provide you the best environment to succeed. You do not know what things will be important for you in one year, much less in three. The emotional and physical changes which you will experience in the next three years will be profound enough that your priorities and interests are likely to change to the point that you would not recognize them as your own if you saw them now.

Not only do you not really know what you will study in college, you also have little idea as to what you CAN study in college.

You are trying to figure out where you want to go in your life. High School will, hopefully, help you with that. College is merely the next step in that process, so don’t treat it as though it were the goal of the process.

PS. also make sure that your HS plan will fulfill the widest set of required core courses for colleges. While you shouldn’t be focused on college, you also shouldn’t be limiting your options, either.

4

It is way too early to think about specific colleges. You just have one full year’s GPA and you have no standardized testing. You also need to recognize that HS should be an experience in and of itself – a time of learning and growth and not just a 4 year college application prep experience.

It is really good to take school seriously and know that college will be on your horizon, but it is too early to start planning for specific colleges. I would highly recommend that you get off of CC except for the HS Life forum until your junior year.

For now you should focus on:
–Working hard, learning, and doing as well as you can in the most challenging curriculum you can manage.
–When the time comes study for standardized tests.
–Continuing your involvement in activities you care about and work towards making meaningful contributions to those activities.
–Enjoying spending time with your family and friends.

During junior year you may want to get your hands on some good college guide books (ex. Fiske, Princeton Review) from your guidance office or library and read up on college options so you can start to expand your horizons. When mid- junior year comes honestly asses your academic stats (including GPA, standardized tests, course rigor) as well as your financial needs and create application list that includes a wide range of reach, match, and safety schools that appear affordable (you will have to run a net price calculator for each school you consider) and that you would be happy to attend.

5

^ Excellent advice!

Enjoy HS. You only get one shot at that too.