Sophmore- What to improve on?

Pre-College Topics High School Life
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Hi I am a sophmore in a competitive academy school in Texas. Here are my credentials so far:

GPA: (UW) 3.94 (W) 5.62
Rank: 27/625 (top 4.3%)
(i know these are not great, but these are only freshman year stats)

AP Classes: AP Physics-3(might retake, idk if i should… advice?), taking AP Comp Sci and AP Stats this year.
Class Schedule: rigorous

Awards: DECA International Finalist in freshman year, #1 at State DECA conference. Won two regional debate trophies.

Extracurriculars: DECA (Competition Manager), Mu Alpha Theta (Parliamentarian), UNICEF (sophmore rep), Sci Now (group leader), Science National Honor Society, Spanish national honor society, Varsity Tennis

Summer Activities: Did research internship at Rice University over the summer between 9th and 10th grade. I am preparing a Intel ISEF presentation with the research given.

Thank you!!! Any help would be appreciated.

I am aiming for schools like Stanford, Princeton, Columbia, Duke (reach) but also want to compare stats for schools like UT honors program, Georgia Tech, UofMich, etc.

THANKS

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Also, this year i am planning on attending ISEF (FINGERS CROSSED HOPEFULLY), and going back to deca nationals and placing top 10 (hopefully) and attending UIL Science and General Math competitions.

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Looks great!

@randomstudent101 Also, I’m an ISEF finalist. It’s not something one simply “attends”. Many have this misconception and I don’t understand why. There is a lot of work, dedication, and time involved (sometimes luck :wink: )You have to make it through regionals, and state before getting to go to ISEF. For me I had to get top 8 in a school that had 600 projects. Then, go to regionals and get first place in my category out of the top 200 projects in the county. Then, of course get 1st/2nd in a category out of the entire state. I knew this process before because I attended state twice as a middle schooler. It gave me experience to know how to speak very well and present to the judges- (some judges try and ‘test’ your knowledge). Just remember that hundreds and maybe thousands of high school students do some form of research over the summer. Simply going to a program or internship doesn’t guarantee anything. The person next to me at state worked on theirs the whole summer at a very prestigious University and he/she didn’t make it to ISEF (this happens a lot, don’t underestimate it). It is the top 1,000 or so projects in the US and about 800 more internationally, so it must be hard as numerous amounts have the research but only 1,000 can go… .

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@ZealousScholar Thank you so much for your feedback!! I didnt mean to take it for granted, I just had no idea how difficult it was to make it - sorry if i came off as cocky. I just hope to make it, not assuming in any way I will. Also, do you mind giving me any insight on how these science fairs work? I am new to it and would really like tips and advice on how to talk to judges, how to present, etc. It would be great if you could PM me with help! I would really appreciate it! Thank you so much.

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Np and it’s not just you that underestimates it. I explained the process because many on college confidential don’t know it.

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bumpppppppppp

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BUMP

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You look like you are on the right track. How many AP courses are you planning to take throughout your high school carer?