College Application Advice?

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Thinking of College...?

***So I have posted this before, but i am really looking for someone who has gone/applied/ visited at one of these schools, and who has experience with college applications and admissions to give me advice on how to increase my chances.

Freshman year, my grade point average was 3.7 I think, with two honors classes, Spanish and speech class. I am now a sophomore and I am taking honors English, Honors Algebra 2, Geometry, Acting, honors Spanish 2, Intro to Digital Media Arts (which might be switched to mythology), and Chemistry 1 honors. I am in Montage (the school's magazine), Spanish club, acting, color guard and winter guard, Kid's club ( a big sis little sis type of program), I'm a tutor, I work at a camp over the summer, and I do other miscellaneous volunteer work. I go to the public school, Kings High School, and I have been in the accelerated program since the third grade. I know that I am only a sophomore, but I want to look at schools now because I need to know what classes to take next year and what I'll need on the SAT/ACT (which I am eligible to take this year). The schools I plan to apply to are Xavier in Ohio, Miami in Oxford, Columbia, Princeton, and Harvard. I plan to be a psychologist. Based on that alone, do you think I have any chance of getting into any of these schools? Do you know what the average student at an Ivy League school gets on their SAT/ACT? And any opinion on any of these schools is great. Thanks =]

Answer 1

It's really hard to know what colleges look at. Some schools may stress test scores, others may want good extracurriculars. When I applied to college, I think i wasted too much time fretting about what my chances were.

My biggest advice is don't worry too much. You seem to be involved in a lot of great activities and your grade point average is good. Just do your best to represent yourself the way you really are in your application and essays. That's the best you can do.

I do have some tips though that helped me a ton when I was applying to school.

My first tip is get deeply involved with one or two curricular activities. Being the president or leader of one club is better than being a member of five. Taking a leadership role in your extracurriculars will give you great experience that colleges like in applicants. It will also give you something to write about in your essays (the hardest part of any application.) Also keep taking honors classes!

My second tip is start your essays early! Leave tons of time to get the essays written and have three or four other people read them and give you thier opinion. Whole books have been written on how to write a good essay, you might want to check some out. I think essays are the critical part of applications.

Third tip: study hard for the ACT/SAT. These are tests that are very predictable. You can earn a great score if you take the time to learn the format and know what to expect. They really are not that hard, just intimidating. Start studying now when you are a sophomore!

My last tip is some words of wisdom. You are applying to some pretty selective schools...so make sure you have a back-up plan. It's impossible to know whether you will get into those kinds of schools. There are tons of great applicants and many get denied, even good applicants. When I got ready to apply to colleges my advisor gave me a good plan of attack:

Apply to one or two "dream schools" - these are ones you are uncertain of whether or not you'll get into. Then apply to three or four "good bets." These are schools you have a good chance of getting into and know you'll enjoy attending. Finally apply to one or two "backup schools." These are ones you know you will get into, but also would enjoy attending. They may not be your first choice, but you'll survive if it comes to that.

I applied to 2 "dream schools", Stanford and ND and two "good bets" - University of Minnesota and the University of Wisconsin - Madison. I didn't get into Stanford, but I got into ND. In the end though, I went to the U of M. Sometimes the most prestigious school isn't always the best fit! You can get a great education most anywhere, and most of the times it will be far cheaper!

Apply early and leave lots of time to make sure your application is the best it can be! Good luck!