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I will be applying to college in the fall, and am nervous about being accepted to my top choice schools. I currently have a 3.8 GPA and am taking AP and honors courses, and I am very involved in sports, Girl Scouts, and the local Boys and Girls Club. My problem is that I have never been very involved with in-school activities because of my commitments outside of school. Is lack of involvement in school sports and clubs looked upon poorly by colleges? Also, I know that the National Honor Society is well respected, but my school's policy on accepting students to it is that you need 72 in-school service hours. As I explained above, I don't have the necessary hours and therefore wasn't able to be in NHS. Should I mention this to the colleges I apply to? Thank you for any help.
First of all, without knowing your test scores, it's hard to say what your overall chances are at any particular school. My own feeling on this is that colleges care much more about the depth of your commitment to outside activities rather than the breadth. They would rather you be involved in just a few activities and devote meaningful time, rather than have more actitivites but not devote much time to any of them. Therefore, I think should be fine with the acitivites you have, assuming you devote some significant time to them (by the way, I also assume that the reference to "sports" means some type of organized league rather than just some "pick-up" games). I probably would mention on your college application that, while you would be eligible for NHS, your commitments to various activities outdie of school prevented you from being involved with NHS. Of course, I'd be sure to also tell the colleges about the extent of your involvement in sports outside of school and the scouts and some of the positive benefits you've received from your participation. Good luck!
I am currently a sophomore at a fairly well known private school in Florida. I am in all honors classes, have a 4.15 GPA (out of a possible 4.3), am a member of the student council and PALS (an organization to help new freshman), the manager and statistician for the varsity basketball team, have starred in 2 plays, and plan to take 3 AP courses as a junior. My school does not list class rank, but I would guess that I am 8th out of my class of 155. Last summer I took a sports law course at Duke. This summer I will attend a legal conference at Stanford and a leadership conference in Washington, DC. I recently took the new PSAT and received a 71 in critical reading, a 73 in math, and a 77 in writing. Academically, I'm not worried, but I have not done much community service. Though I have 100 hours, most of it comes from volunteering at a summer camp. I'm concerned that not having enough community service will hurt my chances of being accepted into a school like Stanford or George Washington. Is it necessary that I help out more in the community or can I continue to focus on academics and leadership?
Let me start by congratulating you on your accomplishments so far. Your excellent grades, strong test scores, and variety of extracurricular activities should give you a good shot at getting into some of the country’s most prestigious colleges. If you want to get involved in another volunteer activity, that’s fine, but I don’t think it’s necessary. First of all, 100 volunteer hours are nothing to sneeze at. Second, you seem to be involved in plenty of extracurricular activities already. Colleges would rather see you participate in a limited number of activities and devote significant time to them than join every club in sight but not be deeply involved in any of them. Basically, you’re doing all the right things already. As long as your SAT scores are consistent with your PSAT scores, you should be in great shape. In the meantime, relax a little and enjoy the rest of high school. You don’t want to burn yourself out before you get to college!
I was denied from a university. I believe that the specific university would be a perfect fit for me. How would you recommend I go about refuting this decision?
Well, I wouldn't try to "refute" the decision, but it might be a good idea to make an appointment to talk to someone in the admissions office to see what the reasons were for denying you admission. Perhaps they misconstrued something on your application and/or were not given everything they should have considered. It would be unlikely that they would change their mind, but I can't see where it hurts to discuss it with them.
I am a sophomore in an IB high school and I am not sure whether my extracurricular activities are the right activities for colleges. I am not the leader of anything in my community and I really haven't done much volunteer or community service activities. I have mainly focused my energy into after-school activities such as G-force, Youth Leadership, FCA, choir, soccer, and the full IB diploma. I want to go to college and major in nursing. Would my extracurricular activities be looked upon as good enough for colleges or do i need to do more community things and be a leader of different organizations? I have good grades, (4.25 GPA)and am number 13 out of a class of 278. I haven't taken the SAT or ACT yet. I'm not sure that my current activities will be enough to get me into a highly accredited or ivy league university. Do I need to be more involved in other things?
You're doing a lot of things, and I think with your grades and your IB courses you'll be fine. Of course, it's hard to say which schools you would get into because that will depend on your test scores as well. However, based on what you've told me, you should get into some very good schools. If you want to get involved in a community activity, it wouldn't hurt, but I don't think it's necessary. Don't overextend yourself; sometimes colleges would rather you be involved in less activities but devote more time to them. If you have too many things "listed", it might look like you're joining things just for the sake of joining without devoting meaningful time to them.
Dear Admissions Guru, This is my junior year, and I am extremely stressed out about my chances of getting into an Ivy League school. Currently, I have a 4.4 GPA, rank number one in my class of 458 students, and am taking all the AP classes available at my school. I have been taking advantage of my summers by attending the NYLF program on medicine, and am attending the People to People's program at Johns Hopkins University this summer. In the community, I am a youth executive board member of the Santa Clara Valley Red Cross Chapter, an intern at a medical clinic, a clinical research assistant, a YMCA youth and government delegate, and a hospital volunteer. At school, I am President of my Red Cross Club, and a member of NHS, CSF, and Literary Society. My SAT score is about a 1200. I understand that I need to improve my score; however, besides the SAT, I feel very uneasy. The load of stress is making me feel "burned out". Although I am stressed out and constantly tired, I know that there are other spectacular students out there. I feel as if I am not doing enough to get into Stanford University or Johns Hopkins University. What else can I do to make myself stand out? If I am doing the right things, what am I doing now that DO make me stand out?
First of all, you are doing everything you can do and more! Your class rank, GPA and activities are very impressive. And, your SAT score of 1200 is definitely nothing to be ashamed of. Now, is your SAT high enough to get into Stanford or Johns Hopkins? Maybe not, but you'll still get into an excellent school (and, with your being number one in your class and all your activities, you still may have a shot at these schools). Don't stress yourself out over this. All you can ask of yourself is to do your best. I would not recommend that you get involved in any more activities because it looks like you're already busy enough. You need to have some free time to yourself too. In fact, I think you ought to stop some of the things you're doing so you have some time to yourself to do whatever you want to do--relaxing things like reading, watching television, going to a movie, concert or sporting event, etc. Put everything into perspective. Getting into a good college is important, but I don't think you have anything to worry about in that regard. Just do your best to try to raise your SAT score, keep doing the other things you're doing, and stop worrying! It's ok (and actually important) to have a little fun in high school too! Too much stress is not good for your physical or mental health. Relax and enjoy your high school experience.
I'm a sophomore in a highly-ranked public high school. I have always scored in the top percent of all high school students in the nation on standardized tests (including a composite score of 31 on the ACT in 7th grade). I am taking several AP classes (including AP Calculus), and am signed up to take 5 more next year. I am also heavily involved in music, ballet, and volunteer work. However,I have been having a lot of personal problems at home for the past year. In the second half of my freshman year and the first semester of my sophomore year, my grades have dropped from a 3.9 average to a 3.15 average. I'm hoping to ace my junior and senior years, as well as my ACT and SAT, but I'm worried about how my freshman and sophomore grades will affect my college admissions chances. I want to go to a top school, though not necessarily an Ivy League. Any suggestions?
Well, all you can do now is work as hard as you can to improve your grades. If you're successful in doing so, then you could write a letter to the colleges to explain why your grades went down. Assuming it's a plausible reason, and assuming that you're able to increase them back up to where they were, you will have done your best to minimize the damage from your grade decline. And, colleges will appreciate your candor. That would be my approach.
I am a senior this year and my number one choice is University of Maryland-College Park. I am now in the middle of the waiting game to hear back from them. I have a 3.2 GPA and did well(above 1200) on my SAT's but these are somewhat below Maryland's expectations. I have heard that big schools such as this can rule out applicants rather quickly. I just was wondering if they would rule me out for admission before looking through the rest of my application, such as the essay I spent a long amount of time writing? Also, my father attended the University of Maryland and I am curious to how much that actually plays into the whole admission process.
If you're a Maryland resident I think you have a shot. I imagine your SAT scores are well within the range of accepted students, although your GPA is probably at the low end of their range. It's really hard to say how good your chances are because it also depends on your extracurricular activities and other accomplishments. I don't think they would rule you out right away if you're a Maryland resident. The essay could help a little, but I don't think it will be that big of a factor. The fact that your father went to the university may help but it's hard to say how much. Most schools do give extra consideration to "legacies" although this has become the subject of some controversy. Last August, President Bush came out against giving any preference to legacies, but it's safe to say that legacies will continue to be a factor for probably quite a while. By the way, the fact that you didn't hear yet probably means that you're being seriously considered and possibly at least put on the wait list. You might want to see if you can have an interview. Good luck!
I am a junior in high school, and I would like to go to college for business management. My problem is that my average GPA is around a 3.0. Will any college accept me?
A 3.0 is pretty good if that's on a 4.0 scale. I'm always amazed that students don't think there's a college for them. Not every place is Harvard. There's a college that's right for you. Look through My College Guide, explore some other guide books, and come up with a list.
I am a sohphomore about to be a junior in high school, and I have a B-C average. I don't know whether I will get into the school that I want. What can I do to help my grades?
First off, to put your mind at ease about getting into the school of your choice, you need to get some information about their requirements for admissions. You can likely get this from your high school counselor's office. It's hard to have a goal when you don't know the requirements. Regarding your grades, I would sit down with my advisor and work out a course schedule that plays to your strengths. Then, meet with each teacher to make sure you're on the same page. A lot of time, teachers who see an interested student take a greater interest in them. You'd be surprised at what a good relationship with your teachers can do.
Dear Admissions Guru, I am currently a junior at a prestigious private high school in California. My grades have been quite erratic. I got a 4.0 freshman year, 3.0 sophomore year and I currently have around a 3.5. I have very strong and meaningful extracurricular activites. I am a varsity athlete, a leader in two respected clubs and have many volunteer hours. I am shooting to get into schools like UC Berkeley and UCLA. But I understand that in their selection they look heavily at grades, specifically the average of sophomore and junior year grades. When comparing my average to the average of a person who gets admitted to those schools, mine is much lower. So my questions are: if my average of sophomore and junior year is around 3.3-3.4, and the average of an admitted student at those schools is around 3.7-3.8, does that mean I have barely any chance of getting in? Should I be discouraged? Will my strong extracurriculars help compensate for my lower grades and make me a serious contender? Thanks for your time.
Most likely, your freshman grades will be in that equation, but they will look at the grade trends. If you were steadily going down, that would not help. Extracurriculars will help, but again, you're competing with the best of the best. My advice: find that balance between course selection and superior grades. Score well on the standardized tests (SAT or ACT). Apply early decision if either has it and if you can afford the tuition (not a good option if financial aid is important). Also, possibily get one 4.0 grading period behind you your senior year and then apply. Have a couple of safety schools. And finally, relax. UC Berekely and UCLA aren't the end of the world.
Hello, oh College Guru. Now, I'm in a bit of a quandary. I'm a sophomore in high school, and even though I hate to admit it, I'm not the best student in the world. I try, but I can't seem to work hard enough to get myself out of my lazy streak. In the 7th grade I got a 900+ on the SAT in the Duke Talent Search, but I know I can do better. How do you suggest I break my lazy streak, while keeping up with all of my extra-curricular activities, so that I can get my grade average from a B- to, say, an A-?
Well, if you got a 900 on your SAT in the 7th grade, I'd say basically that you're bored. First off, confirm that you're not ADD/LD. Lots of bright people are and they just can't focus on work that would be fairly easy if they could. On the other hand, you might just need to take harder classes. Maybe a challenge will snap you out of it. Then again, maybe you'll never snap out of it. Maybe you'll be happier working for minimum wage later in life. I know plenty of really smart people who do nothing with their lives. It's a big club, and I'm sure they'll be happy to welcome you as a member.
How do I get someone to pay me to sleep at 3:00 in the afternoon? (I saw this in a response to a previously answered question, and I want to know, “Where do I sign up?�)
Basically, it was a joke. On the other hand, you could pull great grades and then whoever is picking up the tab for college will assume you’re working constantly.
Why should I even bother with college?
I’ll give you three reasons: 1) you’ll make more money; 2) it’s the only time in your life you can get someone to pay you to sleep at 3:00 in the afternoon; 3) our society values credentials. You can do life without a degree, but it’s harder.
I have a 4.00 GPA am very involved in clubs and sports and have good SAT scores but I attend a small, rual high school with little available in the way of AP classes. What can I do to prepare myself academically for college? Are admissions officers normally leary of accepting “small town� kids to urban universities?
Being from a small town is not going to hurt your chances of getting into the college of your choice. It is true that many small towns don’t have the educational resources of larger communities, but certainly there are many small communities which do an excellent job of educating their young people. I think what you must do is take advantage of every opportunity. If you feel you have exhausted the learning opportunities in your high school, turn to a community college or check into correspondence courses at larger universities. Look into summer learning opportunities. When it comes time to review your application, colleges will recognize that you were proactive with your learning and, in fact, you may find that your small town background has given you an edge others won’t have.
I am discouraged. As a Junior with 1560 Psat scores and a 3.5 cumulative in AP courses I get lots of flattering, individualized mail from colleges. I am just a normal kid with sports, dating, a job, and a flair for math and literature. On one hand, I am encouraged to think big, and on the other hand people tell me that I won't possibly be accepted at any of the stellar institutions that keep writing me. They lift you up just to shoot you down. I don't know where to apply now, but will probably settle for a state school in my region.