Suggestions to get an edge

Pre-College Topics High School Life
1

<p>Hey,</p>

<p>I was wondering if anybody here has any suggestions for getting an edge over other students that I can do in my sophomore year. I’m a well rounded kid with a 4.0 with all honors/ap courses and varsity tennis for the next 3 years. What other things could I do to get an edge (besides obviously joining clubs and getting leadership positions, which i am doing)</p>

2

<p>anyone have any suggestions?</p>

3

<p>By the end of my sophomore year, I had already taken three AP exams (one freshman year, actually) and an SAT II (800, Math IIC).</p>

<p>Extremely easy to do, but people seemed impressed.</p>

<p>And, of course, the extracurriculars and whatnot.</p>

4

<p>Here’s something you might try:

  1. Find something you love + are good at. This can be one of your ECs, or a hobby, or an interest you wnat to pursue in college.
  2. Devote a lot of time to it: practice a talent, read books on a subject, take a distance learning course in something, join a group, etc
  3. Voila - you have a passion that sets you apart; talk about it in your college essays and interviews.
    Some examples: if you’re into poetry: write a lot, get published in magazines, win competitions, take an english elective in poetry,start a group at school to read and discuss poetry, get a guest poet to visit your school, read poetry - find out what your favorite styles/authors are - become an expert
    if you’re into computers: take classes at a local community college in programming, get old computers and take them apart, teach yourself how to use programs that interest you, volunteer or work showing people basic computer skills
    if you’re into travel: teach yourself a foreign language, start a french/spanish club, learn about cultures of different countries, do a summer program abroad, get penpals from all over the world</p>
5

<p>so… I should play Counterstrike until I go pro?</p>

<p>hmm maybe ill teach myself visual basic/javascript/c++/php/[insert other computer programming thing here]</p>

6

<p>what she said, and get cracking cause you won’t have any time next year!</p>

7

<p>you shouldn’t go pro in counterstrike…you should go pro in WARCRAFT :)</p>

8

<p>Wow. I stopped playing warcraft once they came out with those 3 new heroes. goblin alchemist and that lava guy and 1 more i think.</p>

<p>I heard there was some guy who put “#2 on warcraft ladder” on his transcript and some guy (interviewer?) asked him how many ppl he was competing with. When he said thousands, the interviewer was impressed. LOL</p>

<p>anyways… back on topic! Having a penpal looks good on your college app?</p>

9

<p>Haha, there were only the 2 heroes, the alchemist and the firelord…no one uses the alchemist but everyone uses the firelord (its really imbalanced lol). But anyway, I didn’t put wc3 ANYWHERE i my harvard ea application, but it did come up in my interview and we actually cared on a nice conversation about it (which continued through a series of emails lol)</p>

10

<p>Wow, so even computer games can come in useful for college :slight_smile:
As for having a penpal, one of the best college essays I’ve read was about the applicant’s experience with having penpals all over the world --it was well written, thoughtful, and definitely original. So yes, it can be useful.</p>