Preparing for College - HS Sophomore

Applying to College
1

I am at the end of my Sophomore year and I have been looking at colleges and what they will expect of me in the next few years. I know I will be in the engineering field and I currently want to be a mechanical engineer. I want to go to a school like UW Madison of UM Ann Arbor but with my current uw gpa, the odds are against me (3.1 freshman, 3.3 sophomore) I go to a college preptory school and have been since middle school and am not the smartest one there. I am not very athletic and a lot of the kids that do play them are stuck up pricks, the only sports I have played are 1 year football and 1 year tennis. I will be taking 4 years of all the basic courses like science and math, except for foreign language. The guidance couselor made me take Spanish 1 in 8th grade so I would be (ahead of the game) but most colleges don’t look that far back so now I am stuck taking Spanish 3 when I struggle to maintain B- grade giving me 2 years foreign language, so that leads me to my quiestions.

  1. Should I take Spanish 4 and have 3 years foreign language but a lower gpa?
  2. Is my current path ok for college, if not what could I change?
  3. Is it within reason that I could go to a school like Madison or should I go to another, if so what would you suggest.

So far the greatest accomplishment I have made in high school is Eagle Scout and unfortunately it is not as great as it was years ago. BTW I have 2 alumni parents from U of W if that counts for anything.

Thanks for your time in reading this and it might just change a young adults life.

2

Grades and test scores (ACT) will be much more important than your EC’s. your JR year is huge. To get into WI or say MN (which should be a school to consider) you’ll need a JR year of a 3.8 unweighted or so to bring up your average and you would need a rather rigorous schedule. Start studying hard this summer on your ACT prep. Take a lot of practice tests including taking all four parts at once occasionally to get a strong feel for the length and grind of the full rest. Lastly your common app essay will also become important, but you have lots of time for that.

And yes. Take Spanish 4, four years of math and science

3

What is the difference in the classes in a college prep school and a normal high school because I don’t think I am scheduled for any AP classes.

4

Strong colleges consider strongly your course rigor. You’ll need to take some of your available courses that are AP and honors. You can only take what are available and colleges know that. Most publics do have APs available. You don’t usually have to be in a prep school for that. IF you believe you can handle it, try to upgrade some of your courses but, only if you feel you can still gets A’s.

5

To answer your questions succinctly:

  1. Some colleges may count that Spanish 1 as a year of foreign language but it depends. Some schools wants 2-3 years IN high school. So either way, cover your grounds. Yes, you should take Spanish 4 and risk that lower GPA.

  2. Your path is okay. Strive for a strong GPA and rigor. What are your extracurriculars now? EC’s obviously aren’t the most important but it’s nice to see a student having outside passions.

  3. You would be considered a legacy plus you’re instate but you might want to add some safety schools or other match schools that you and your family could afford.