<p>Hey everyone, I am new to CC- I actually just found it last night doing a google search about awards, and was wondering how many of you are high school freshmen with similar aspirations (basically obsession with the Ivy League). Also, for those of you who are more senior, what can I do now to create a substantial ballast. So far, I have very few credential 
I just donât have that many opportunities in my tiny town in Oregon 
I have won several major regional debate tournaments, have SAT scores of 780V and 600M (Obviously I need to work more on math, my natural talent is in critical reading as I achieved this score with absolutely no studying), and that pretty much sums it up. My parents are not that willing to support my Ivy League ambitions either, as they view every college as a good education regardless of its prestige. I have read every book on Ivy League admissions out there, but reading about what others have done hasnât exactly helped me set a plan. Anyone have suggestions? I would like to major in archaeology at Yale, but do not have vast financial support for the necessary summer programs and classes. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!</p>
<p>a freshman? just live, young one, liveâŚ</p>
<p>(but your SATs as a freshman is impressive. what of your writing score?)</p>
<p>Itâs preposterously unhealthy that you have a self-admitted âobsession with the Ivy Leagueâ. My advice as a senior waiting for my EA decision is this: GO OUT AND HAVE A LIFE. DO NOT OBSESS ABOUT COLLEGE YOUR FRESHMAN, SOPHOMORE, AND JUNIOR YEARS. YOU WILL HATE THEM AND ALIENATE PEOPLE.</p>
<p>I didnât do this, but I know kids who did, and I am so glad that I have things like a life, a girlfriend, and other ways to decide for myself that Iâm satisfied with who I am other than the arbitrary acceptance of 8 fancy shmancy New England institutions.</p>
<p>I can guarantee you, if you go through high school with such a narrow, ignorant, and unhealthy definition of success, you will hate everything. You will not be a fun person to be around, you wonât be mature. You will be insincere, sycophantic, self-centered, boring, melodramatic, intellectual, and just plain annoying. People will not want to hang out with you. That isnât fun.</p>
<p>Go have a freaking life. Donât worry about improving your math SAT score: are you serious? Youâre a freshman in high school. You seriously think youâre going to major in archaeology? When I was a freshman, I thought I was going to have to quit high school to direct an American remake of one of the highest grossing Japanese movies of all time. AKA, I WAS AN IDIOT. You have no idea what youâre going to want to do next week, much less 8 FREAKING YEARS FROM NOW WHEN YOU GRADUATE FROM COLLEGE. Donât be that kid who locked himself into pre-med in 7th grade and now has an irritating passive-agressive complex from being to pedantic and spiteful to think âhey, maybe I want to do something else with my life.â</p>
<p>Go be a person and not a machine. Maybe youâll end up at Yale that way. Maybe you wonât. But then again, you can study for the SAT for the next two years, take all AP classes, learn an instrument, win international debate awards, write a book, and solve the Riemann zeta hypothesis and maybe youâll get into Yale, and maybe you wonât.</p>
<p>You will never be a sure bet at Yale. Itâs tragic. Get used to it and for Godâs sake, MOVE ON.</p>
<p>Rethink life while you still have a chance to be a normal kid. You have just entered the gateway drug that is CC. Donât turn into a âCCerâ, for the love of God.</p>
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<p>(Iâm a senior now, for what itâs worth.) For a freshman youâre doing brilliantly on the SAT. You can study more for the SAT and when you take the PSAT your junior year youâll be likely to get National Merit (look it up!) which will be fantastic. Take honors/intensive/AP classes at your school and take as many AP tests as you can without dying (;)) and plan out what classes youâre going to take all four years â if you can take an AP test (or two) starting in your freshman and/or sophomore years itâll look great. Remember, you donât have to take the AP class to take the AP test â self-study (which I was I did because my school doesnât offer AP classes) and you can get those high scores. Work on studying for your SAT Subject Tests early (end of sophomore/beginning of junior year) so you can take them once and do well on them and not feel inclined to take them again.</p>
<p>As for the âtiny town in Oregon,â thatâs all the more reason to be the leader of the pack and start something big. Start a club at school (knowledge or geography bowl, math or science olympiad come to mind) and then get some awards for it at the state level. Get a job. Start a business. Basically, find what you like to do and then get really good at it. Weâre talking state-level awards here!</p>
<p>About the ânecessary summer programs and classes,â start researching summer programs for high school students at your local universities and see if you can get merit or need-based financial aid to attend these. One particularly prestigious summer program that comes to mind is TASP ([Telluride</a> Association: Our Programs: For High School Students: Summer Program for Juniors (TASP): General Information](<a href=âhttp://www.tellurideassociation.org/programs/high_school_students/tasp/tasp_general_info.html]Tellurideâ>Telluride Association Summer Seminar (TASS) - Telluride Association)) and if you get in, but canât pay, youâre likely to get aid from them.</p>
<p>Last but not least, if your parents arenât going to pay for your Ivy education but your family makes enough money that you wouldnât qualify for financial aid from an Ivy, start researching scholarships. CollegeBoard.com is a great resource for finding these. If your familyâs income is such that you would qualify for financial aid, double-check with the schools youâre looking at to make sure.</p>
<p>All in all, colleges (particularly the Ivies!) love to see promising students beat the odds and do awesome things despite their average surroundings. Looks like youâve got the drive to take yourself somewhere â and thatâs the first step. Best of luck to you!</p>
<p>^^haha</p>
<p>WannaBYalie: donât cry. he means well. 
Thatâs what CC does to peopleâŚ</p>
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<p>@areyouserioussss: Are you serious? Sheâs a freshman in high school! Sheâs allowed to dream big, and frankly I think this will make all the difference. One can aspire to attend Yale as a fourteen-year-old and still have a life.</p>
<p>FWIW, I wanted to go to MIT when I was in sixth grade and had just learned how to design Web sites. In eighth grade I wanted to go to Harvard. Now Iâve applied ED to Columbia. Itâs not a sin to plan your life; in fact, Iâd argue that those who are motivated to do so, as the OP clearly is, are much more slated to be the future Ivy Leaguers of tomorrow.</p>
<p>Going to yale is not dreaming big. It is the illusion of dreaming big. Dreaming big is wanting to cure cancer or write an opera. Being obsessed with going to Yale is seeking security in intellectual approval. Iâm not saying Yale is a bad place to go to school. I am saying Yale is a terrible thing to base 4 YEARS OF YOUR LIFE ON. Especially since you might not even go. College is, believe it or not, NOT the most important thing in life. Yeah, it would be awesome to go to Yale or Harvard or wherever, but it does not mean that you are a good person, or that you are a successful person or a fulfilled person.</p>
<p>Saying âsheâs allowed to dream bigâ is exactly the problem.</p>
<p>Do what you want to do! If youâre the kind of person who belongs at Yale, or a similar-caliber school, youâll get in. If not, youâll probably end up a lot happier with your life anyway. Donât stress out, have some fun, do what you love, be yourself.</p>
<p>Well, first, Iâd take a leaf out of your parentsâ book - you shouldnât want to go to the Ivies because theyâre Ivies! Make sure you want it for something other than its name!</p>
<p>First. Chill. Youâre a freshman! Enjoy your year and the best thing you can do to prepare you for successful college apps is to develop a PASSION. Donât pick your activities based on why a college might like them or find them impressive. If cup-stacking is your thing, then DO IT DO IT DO IT with ALL your heart! Be your schoolâs champion cup-stacker. Be in a cup-stacking club. Mentor other young cup-stackers. Eat, sleep, and breathe cup-stacking - and ENJOY IT! When it comes time to apply, show 'em just how good you are (and how much you love it) at stacking them cups!</p>
<p>Get what I mean? Donât set yourself on âIviesâ - find a college you like, and do the stuff you like.</p>
<p>Oh, and Yaleâs got a great FinAid program. If you make between 60k and 180K, you qualify for their graduated income percentage thingy (hard to explain but you can look it up if you want) and you can also apply through Questbridge, where you can get matched with a full ride if you qualify. Yaleâs also got a fantastic on-campus work program so you can work off some of the money if you want, and of course, there are plenty of generous merit-based scholarships out there! Donât let money get you down, there are plenty of ways to make it happen!</p>