Is there anything I can do or are my chances gone?
When I started high school, I had no idea what colleges were looking for in their applicants. I thought that as long as I got good grades, the level of my class wouldn't matter. So, throughout 9th and 10th grade I took mostly regular and a total of 3 Honors Classes.
When I picked my 11th-grade classes in 10th grade, I chose only 1 AP (Environmental Science) and 1 Honors class because I was still under that horrible impression about colleges.
Now as I'm ending 11th grade, I look back and regret my decision of not taking more AP and Honors classes, because I know now that it drastically decreased my chance of getting into a top school, which I wanted so much.
For 12th grade, I'm taking 1 Honors class and 2 APs (Psychology and Spanish Language).
Is there any way to fix this in senior year? I'm taking 2 community college English classes (1 in summer and 1 in fall) before I apply, but is there anything else I can do to show colleges I'm a strong applicant academically?
Thanks.
TLDR: I didn't take many honors and AP classes throughout high school because I didn't know that's what top schools look for since no one told me, is there anything I can do to fix this in senior year to look strong academically in my applications compared to others.
If I were you, I’d take a load of college classes over summer to really boost up your GPA. Also, start focusing on honing your extracurriculars (do 1-2, maybe 3 things that are some what significant to what you’re interested in studying in college to show that you’re passionate). I’m kind of in the same boat as you as I’ve only taken 3 college/AP classes (AP English, AP US, Dual Credit Precal) and now I’m scrambling to figure out what to add to my profile. Lastly, if all else fails, try to aim as high as possible for your ACT score. That mighttt help a little bit, but your chances of getting into a top school are very slim unless you have specific circumstances (low income, first gen, etc)
Thank you for your reply; I'll definitely try to improve my extracurriculars this summer! If you don't mind, what APs if any are you taking next year?
I am taking AP Calc AB (BC isn’t offered at my school), AP Literature, AP Biology (maybe), and maybe a AP art class or computer class. Over summer, I’m taking Intro to stats and Intro to psych.
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