About UCSB...and basic school related stuff?

Question

Okay, I'm a very good student, I get straight A's and I play 2 sports, have a job, do volunteer work, etc. So I have some extracurriculars covered, but I'm a little worried about the competition of getting into a university nowadays. I will be a junior in high school, and on the PSAT in sophomore year I got 96th percentile and a 65 on critical reading, 61 on mathematics, and 73 on writing skills...what exactly do these scores compare to on the actual SAT? And my dream school is UCSB what more should I do next year (clubs, etc?) and also what do you suggest to prepare for the SATs? Thank you =)

Answer 1

your stats seem pretty good (way better than mine and i got into UCSB).  and yes universities are more difficult to get in each year, but I still think you have a good chance. those PSAT scores are pretty close to the scores you will get on the actual SAT, just simply add a 0 to those numbers, like 65 ---> 650, so you'll likely get around 650 on critical reading on the SAT or better. If you want to prepare for the SAT, get the collegeboard prep book, and you'll also have to take two SAT subject tests. pick any subject from two different subject areas, ut if you take math it has to be "math 2". they'r usually easier than the SAT reasoning test. you can do any activities you want. and one more thing, write good essays. you don't have to worry about them now, I started writing my essays around the beginning of my senior year and still had a lot of time to revise and edit them. and have someone to proofread your essays.

lastly, visit Ms.Sun's livejournal frequently if you haven't done so already:

http://ucadmissions.livejournal.com/

you find a lot of useful information