how do i become competitive as a very poor first-gen student

Continue to take difficult classes to raise the GPA! Also, participate in ECs. Don't just do ECs to do ECs- get involved in things you are truly passionate about. Choose ECs related to your interest and dive into it as deep as you can! Not only do colleges want to see demonstrated passion, but it provides clarity on what you want to do and brain refreshment for yourself. Healthy students have to balance study with things they enjoy, so choose ECs that you will enjoy and won't be burdens. That being said, still choose things that require commitment and dedication.

I also recommend writing lots of essays. Write, write, write. You could enter essay scholarships or competitions or even just periodically write essays and use the peer review or Ivy assistant to get feedback on areas you may need to improve. Learning from your mistakes and applying advice is how you progress. The more practice, the better! Look up common essay prompts so you can get used to writing unique essays for common prompts.

Hope this helps and lmk if you have any questions.

PS, Like @Thomasx10 said, the chancing system is not always accurate, partly because a lot relies on parts CV does not require you to put in your profile, like the essay and more.

so what you should do is do a bunch of extracurricular's and try to show leadership by being the leader of the club. You should also take ap classes the next following years. Something else that could help is try to do as much clubs or classes related to the major you want to be in, for it can show that you somewhat have some experience and that you are serious about that major. I'm taking engineering classes in all my 4 years in hs because i want to be a engineer. You should really just aim for rewards, community hours, extracurriculars, and ofc try to raise your gpa to have a bigger chance. Also don't get discourage by what college vine says ur chances are always shoot ur shot. Also the college vine % is not accurate so don't completely believe it.

hey! im first gen and come from a very under-funded school; here are some tips I've learned for prepping your application for top tier schools (ivies/t20s)

1. take ADVANTAGE of the classes offered by your school--meaning, if ap courses are available to enroll in at your school DO THEM. especially if your school has a low AP count, and these kind of schools wont care if the AP classes available to you arent related to your intended major. colleges will be impressed that you have taken all of the hardest classes available to you and succeded in them. if AP is not option, then do dual enrollment classes, then honors, then average courses. that's the list of rigor that you can reference when choosing future classes

2. participate in ECS and obtain leadership positions--if you're still figuring out your passions,follow as what thomasx10 said and get involved in several extracurriculars. then, drop the ones you don't like and focus on the ones that you do. its great to have ecs that follow a theme (like if you're wanting to do engineering, engineering ecs are great) as you appear "specialized" and it demonstrates your passion in that particular field. ecs can range from clubs, internships, jobs, home responsibilities, online ecs, non-profits, self-started organizations/businesses etc--basically anything done outside of school. obtain leadership positions so you have a role and ensure that you are actively contributing to these ecs and making an impact on others. just because you have the title of president/founder/VP doesn't mean you're set and done. colleges want to see you have made tangible contributions and you will have to describe those in your common app application.

3. prep for the SAT/ACT. very straight-foward, look up the range of the scores that admitted applicants have submitted to Rice so you can determine what scores you should obtain to prepare for rice. I'm sure the scores are high and may seem intimidating but as long as you put CONSTANT effort towards practicing and learning you should be fine (like the bare minimum you can do is study 15 mins per day). also since you're a soph, you may be eligible to get the national merit scholarship next year if you score in the 99th percentile in the psat. if you do, this will greatly boost your application. also study for the sat instead of psat--youll be hitting 2 birds with 1 stone if you do

4. you're competing against your classmates--wanting to go to a university like rice can cause a lot of stress about feeling inferior to applicant across the nation. however, colleges take into account the environment you are in. if you are the top student at your school, this will most certainly impress colleges. and if you get to the point where you have essentially beat everyone at your school (ec/grade/test scores wise) then focus on trying to beat your national competition by getting national awards and stuff.

hope this all helps! best of luck with everything. its a tough world out here esp for low income, first-gen, and poc students. remain steadfast and determined and you will go places. REACH FOR THE STARS!!! (btw I suggest to check out questbridge college prep scholars, hamilton scholars, leda, horatio alger scholarship, and thrive and APPLY TO THESE JUNIOR YEAR--these are very amazing opportunities for high achieving, first-gen, low income students)