What should I do to boost my chances to get into colleges?Answered
I'm a freshman in high school and I have a 4.0 GPA. I want to take more AP and/or Honor classes but my parents don't want me to. Is there anything else I can do instead?
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6 answers
It all depends on what kind of college you are planning to attend. If you are shooting for the stars, then you have to take the most challenging curriculum your school has to offer. Schools will get what is called a 'school report' from every high school with your transcript and will see how many upper-level courses your HS offers. If you did not take as many as they think you should have (balanced against whatever your extracurricular activities, interests, achievements, etc. are) then you won't be considered a stellar candidate. Obviously, this is less important to the colleges that are less selective.
You should have your parents read a book called "Who gets in and Why" which really explains the admission process.
You are starting early which is great. If you know what you want to do/study/be, then you should try to do something in that area. If you don't pick one or two areas that really interest you and start deep-diving into them. Obviously reading about those areas, joining the clubs specific to those areas, and being very active in them are important. I am not sure what you can do in terms of resources, but if you live near a university for instance you should try to do research with a professor in that area. If you don't can you do something else-- enter a competition in that area, start a blog, build something, etc. Not everyone can place nationally/internationally in academic/ athletic/art competitions, but say you are into chemistry and are good at that - did you join Science Olympiad at your school? Did you do anything like home experiments and discover something about yourself (personal insight, epiphany about the world)? Most of all, did you help others through tutoring, or forming a tutoring organization at your school to help chemistry students (even better).
Colleges want to see that you took the most challenging courses and showed passion in one or two things - by spending a lot of time in those areas where you accomplished something for yourself and better yet others too.
Hope this helps.
It seems that a few other responses addressed the question of why you wouldn't be allowed to take any AP's or honors classes, so I'll hop in with some recommendations. If your school offers IB classes (which you would most likely start junior year), that will definitely help you out. Additionally, community colleges near you may offer courses through your high school, which could be transferred to a university (though credit transfer requirements vary from school to school). Lastly, talk to Guidance about, a) why your parents won't let you take AP's or Honors, and b) what alternatives are available to you. Best of luck!
Do you need your parents' approval to take APs/honors? If they will ground you for signing up for these classes, please speak to your guidance counselor about this situation. If they just won't be happy don't worry, you are acting for the sake of your future. You seem motivated to achieve more, and unless it takes a toll on you/your health, you should always try to do that. It is increasingly difficult to get into good colleges these days, and strong coursework shows your ambition, making you a more appealing candidate. A 4.0 in regular classes means less than a 3.8 with more honors/APs. Do take these classes based on your interests, though, unless you believe you can handle more. And find extracurriculars you are passionate about, too!
Try to build up your extracurriculars by determining which field you want to go into and picking extracurriculars based on that.
If you could, try taking more honors and AP classes, but if you can't I would recommend doing volunteer work, joining clubs (try getting leadership positions later in high school), and take the SAT and ACT as much as you can. Colleges with accept your highest composite score for the ACT and SAT, so it's best to do it multiple times, and also practice for it on websites like Khan Academy. Colleges look for good grades but they also look at your character, they want to see if you are a good fit for their community.
How many AP/Honors are you taking now? If you can handle those fine and have a 4.0 I would recommend adding one more next year if you are not overwhelmed right now. Since having a 4.0 in standard/honors courses shows you likely are not being challenged and you should go up a level. If you are stressed about schoolwork and keeping the 4.0 GPA I would not recommend adding more challenging courses.
I know some schools allow people to enroll in community college courses, I am not sure how that could impact your GPA.
I hope that makes sense and if you need more elaboration please let me know. Also know a 4.0 is literally a perfect GPA so you have nothing to worry about you are on the right track for sure.
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