The Dream Student..?

Chance Me / Match Me
1

<p>Hi… im new around here… so im sorry if im asking stupid questions… but I just wanted opinions…</p>

<p>my dads in the military and I used to go to an average public school in california. i had no idea what a magnet school was, what IB meant, and I never thought of worrying about APs til junior year. Then after my freshman year we moved to florida and I got accepted into this top 20 in the nation magnet school/ IB school… and i was like O_O I thought life was total hell because it was such a big transition from fun high school life-no worries/ pre-ap regular classes to all honors/ AP courses … but I managed to get out of soph. year alive with 4.0 gpa unweighted… :] and at the end with APs and stuff I found out about SAT subj scores and i was like… omg… watttt… but i ended up getting an 800 in world history ,yet I felt like a total noob while taking the test. But where does this really measure up in the long run? I feel like if I can do it, then there must be so many more people out there who have achieved something twice as monumental (lol). </p>

<p>this is some of the stuff ive done this year (soph)</p>

<p>4.0 unweighted
800 WH SATSUBJECT T.
Cross Country
Spring Play Production (Drama)
JROTC Drill Teams and Physical Fitness Teams
Volunteer @ Hospital</p>

<p>i didnt study for the PSAT :stuck_out_tongue: and yeah… lol
but who CARES what youve done? like are colleges really gonna read this and be like “OMG, he was part of the spring play, oo u got 67 cool points”? Like everyone always says OOO ok u should be well rounded academically and w/ extra curriculars… but to what measure?</p>

<p>this is what im planning for next year… if stuff works out </p>

<p>classes -
AP HUG
APUSH
APES/ AP art history… IDK which one
AP LANG
physics hon
precal hon
JROTC</p>

<p>im going to run for class VP O___o oman… popularity contest… and i just got here…
NHS
School Ambassador Club (lol)
Math Club/Life Smarts Club idk im not very math oriented haha
Asian Club
JROTC Drill Teams
Cross Country-Varsity
Wrestling-Varsity
Track…? lol
and some fancy Florida Virtual School Online Clubs… </p>

<p>and im currently studying for the SAT… like review 4 the math and learning the really big words -__-</p>

<p>i havent got my AP test result yet for APWH but i did learn from my friend who graduated (and used CC lol) about the secret style to AP classes… and whatnot… </p>

<p>so I just need some peoples opinions :3 </p>

<p>P.S. I’m trying to get into Princeton, Stanford, UF, and maybe if I’m feeling like being a hero I’d apply to Harvard… lol… but my backup plan is the US Naval Academy</p>

<p>and im leaning toward a career in medicine… if school doesn’t kill me first… lol</p>

2

<p>Until you have SAT scores, it’s hard to know what your options will be. Scores on the subject tests trend high because people take them in the subjects they excel in, and because it’s easier to study for them than for the SATs. So it’s great that you got an 800 but it’s not, by itself, going to get you into Princeton.</p>

3

<p>I agree with the other post. What you really need to do is to focus on how you can stand out as an individual. You can do this by demonstrating a passion through your activities. As you’re aware, there are many others like you, therefore your best chance at Princeton would be to show uniqueness.</p>

4

<p>thanks for you guys’ reply! so do you mean that your options to college are justified mainly by your SAT reasoning exam… and your gpa? or is it the level of rigor of your courses?</p>

<p>@IBAustralia: can you give me an example of this standing out thing? like do you mean get awards from your organizations or just have people who coach you in something you have passion in write a nice recommendation letter…?</p>

5

<p>x, your college options depend partly on what you’re aiming for. At schools like Princeton, pretty much everybody admitted has very high grades, very high SAT scores, very rigorous courses, +, generally, some intriguing EC. For instance, when I was teaching there, many of my students had won national math or science or writing awards, or done some kind of unusual public service or leadership thing in their community, or something like that–not just the ordinary “I was on the team” or “I was elected to National Honor Society.” But if you aim even a little lower, it isn’t so competitive. On College Confidential, if you go to the forums of the schools you’re interested in, there is generally a thread in which accepted and rejected people list their stats and outcomes (it usually comes out at the end of March/beginning of April); this will give you a sense of what the competition is like at a particular school. However, most selective colleges practice “holistic” admissions, based partly on the quality of your essays and the instincts of the admissions committees, so statistics are not entirely predictive. This is particularly the case if your statistics are not entirely consistent–for instance, if your GPA is out of line with your test scores or vice versa. If you are applying to very selective schools, it’s a crapshoot to some extent, so you should also apply to a few places that are easier to get in to.</p>