I don’t know what I’m doing here, but after spending hours upon hours on this site and on YouTube, I have begun to realize I’m pretty average…
I guess here are my grades
Freshman Year
Honors Bio (A+)
Honors English 9 (A-)
Honors World History II (A)
Honors Spanish II (A)
Algebra 1 (A+)
Geometry (A+)
Honors Orchestra (A+)
Sophomore Year
Honors Chemistry (A)
Honors English 10 (A)
Pre-AP US History I (A+)
Honors Spanish III (A+)
Honors Algebra II (A)
Honors Orchestra (A+)
Next year I plan on taking
AP Physics I
AP English 11 (AP Lit, part I)
AP US History II
AP Spanish IV (AP Spanish Lang, part I)
Honors Precalculus/Trig.
Honors Orchestra
(Might self study AP Micro but what’s the point)
Senior year I’ll probably take 4 or 5 APs, but who knows if I will even make it past junior year.
As for testing, I got a 1460 on the PSAT (first time ever taking) and I will be preparing for the September SAT along with the math level 1 subject test.
I am ranked somewhere in the top 5 out of 230 in my class, but after next year I will hopefully bump up a few spots. I have around a 4.6 weighted out of possible 4.8. Apparently I am a part of the most competitive class in my school’s history so ya.
Here’s where I feel like I am all over the place. I do the usual stuff outside of school. Nothing crazy. I’ll describe each shortly to not be vague.
Celtic Stings: despite our name, we play a wide variety of selections, from holiday music to normal chamber music (we book “gigs” year-round)
Honors Orchestra: have been cello section leader ever since 5th grade. (Music is basically half of my life). We perform in state competitions and but sadly have a silver medal streak.
-Community Chamber and Youth Orchestra: one is with late-aged adults who are either retired or just love music. The other is with a group of middle-high school kids. We got gold at a small-ensemble state competition this spring.
I was a member of my junior district orchestra (auditioned) from 7-9th grade and made 1st chair in 8th and 9th. This year I was accepted into the senior disctrict orchestra and got a recommendation for all-state. My orchestra conductor hopes that by senior year I will make all-eastern.
Global Citizenship Program: its’s an application based program at my school where we are required to take certain classes, work on a global project, and travel abroad. By senior year or even next year, I hope to be president. I hope to make a big impact through this program.
Global Nomads Group: this was a year-long project I worked on for the gcp I mentioned previously. We worked with an all-girls school in Jordan and focused on breaking stereotypes for people from the Middle East. We looked at how the media has made an impact on this and presented it publicly to the town.
Environmental Coalition: I haven’t been involved too heavily in this, but we just promote being environmentally aware in our school.
Young Democrats: I am a new member, but we work a lot with town government.
Varsity Swimming and Diving: I started on the team in 9th grade, but have been diving since 4th grade through an AAU program. I went to sectionals/state for diving and a medley relay and placed very well. Hope to continue this and I have a shot at being a captain. Placed 1st for diving at bay state and won a few coaches awards.
Finally, I am in NHS, and Spanish Honors Society. last year I won 3 orchestra awards, a spanish award, and a bio award for being a “top” student. This year I will hopefully get orchestra and spanish again.
This summer I was selected to attend a Global Citizenship Institute for the work I did through my school’s program. I am also volunteering at a hospital near me (and have to hear back about the hospital internship program). Then I will be doing a clinical psych summer program… Then I have to do all my AP summer work and actually study for the SAT and find a job…
I guess I shouldn’t worry until this time next year. I am interested in a lot of stuff as it probably shows. I really like medicine and psych, but I’l probably change my mind 20 times before senior year. I just feel like I’m nothing compared to the kids who get into Harvard on this site.
Big thanks to anyone who got this far. Any opinions?
You are going to do great, your stats are awesome. Take your advice – chill – and do things that YOU want to do, the rest will all work itself out! Don’t compare yourself to anyone, you are uniquely you!
First of all you are not average. You are a very accomplished HS student- congrats! Second- there is nothing wrong with average. Most people fall into this category and lead very successful and productive lives. Please do not compare yourself to strangers on the Internet. College is a match to be made… not a race to be won.
Be yourself and the right schools will accept you.
Agree, you should chill. Your stats are excellent and you have good EC involvement.
When the time comes apply to a range of reach, match, and safety schools that appear affordable and that you would be happy to attend. There are tons of colleges which you will qualify for that can offer you a great 4 year experience and get you wherever you want to go in life.
It appears that you are a rising junior? You need to have test scores under your belt and have a discussion with your parents about what they can/will pay. This will help determine whether you need merit. Does your school have Naviance? My guess is that you will also be meeting with your guidance counselor to discuss college applications- does your school do this?
Great ingredients are just the start. It will be up to you to take your experiences and build an effective presentation in the app and supps. To do that, it helps to really know what the targets want to see, their values, the sorts of kids they look for.
Can’t do that until you start to narrow some ideas of what schools- size, location, strength in your possible major, programs, and all the rest. Maybe get a Fiske Guide to colleges, look into the college course offerings and etc, and start touring some-? And make sure you both know what your family can afford to pay and run the Net Price Calculators (NPC, found on college websites.)
See my response (post #5). That “plain Jane” student ended up applying to Penn ED, and was accepted.
If you have a 1460 PSAT and are #5/230 in your class with a challenging schedule and solid extracurriculars, then you are hardly “average”. That kind of thinking won’t help you when it comes time to apply. What you need to do in the next year is (1) keep your grades up, (2) do well on the standardized tests, (3) continue to develop your interests through your ECs, (4) think about who you are as a person and what you are looking for in a college experience (beyond just prestigious school names), and what your family’s financial situation is, and (5) start to research a range of schools that might fit.
Check out “How to be a High School Superstar” by Cal Newport.
“The basic message of the book is this: Don’t wear yourself out taking as many classes as you can and being involved in every club and sport. Instead, leave yourself enough free time to explore your interests. Cultivate one interest and make it into something special that will make you stand out among the other applicants and get you into the toughest schools, even if your grades and scores aren’t stellar. Newport calls this the “relaxed superstar approach,” and he shows you how to really do this, breaking the process down into three principles, explained and illustrated with real life examples of students who got into top schools: (1) underscheduling—making sure you have copious amounts of free time to pursue interesting things, (2) focusing on one or two pursuits instead of trying to be a “jack of all trades,” and (3) innovation—developing an interesting and important activity or project in your area of interest. This fruit yielded by this strategy, an interesting life and real, meaningful achievements, is sure to help not only with college admissions, but getting a job, starting a business, or whatever your goals.”
My only advice is don’t take the Math I subject test. Take Math II or go down another path if you need subject tests. Math I is considered pretty “meh” by colleges, since there is a harder test available.
You’re an excellent candidate, don’t get so down on yourself. You have this and next summer along with junior year to bring more focus to your ECs if you want. Your courseload and rigor are strong and your psat in tenth grade indicates you’ll do well on your standardized tests. Just work on essays and recs junior year summer and try and enjoy high school a little more. Good luck!