College reccomendations and help improving extracurricularsAnswered
Hello! I'm a high school sophomore and have been prepping for college since freshman year.
I've already compiled a list of schools I want to go to, many of which are prestigious. (I live in Florida, but I prefer out of state and around the Northeast. I was born in New York.)
I have a 3.875(3.88) GPA with a score of 1220 on my PSAT in my freshman year. I plan to take 12 AP/AICE classes and 12 Honors (4 honors, 2 AICE, no AP this year, 4 honors last year, 1 AICE, 1 AP freshman year) throughout my entire high school experience.
My school only offers 18 AP classes, and I am interested in Astronomy and other space-related careers (does not include astronauts and physical engineering, design is fine).
I currently only have a few extracurriculars, which include maybe 3 clubs (Astronomy & Physics, Asian Student Association, Tutoring club), and I'm planning on joining the National Science Honors Society club as well as the psychology club. I am also going to continue to tutor, as I already have a few hours of volunteer service.
I have taken American Sign Language for two years for my language credit, and I'm an Asian female and am bilingual. My parents did not go to college. I will apply for financial aid and scholarships (would love advice on this too, I already have Bold.org, but no clue how to use.)
Any suggestions for what colleges I have a good chance of getting into? I wanted a second opinion since I plan on a science major.
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1 answer
Hello! Fellow former New Yorker here! :D
If you're looking into prestigious schools in the northeast, I'm going to assume you have at least one Ivy on that list (LOL). I'll give them their own section down the line, but here's your application stacked against the other Northeast universities in the top 50 + 100:
12/18 offered APs is great. Universities take what your school offers into account when reviewing your application, so taking 2/3s of all APs offered to you will greatly boost your stats compared to your peers in this regard. 12 Honors will also do you good for the same reason. You'll probably be above average here for most non-Ivies in the Northeast.
A 3.88 GPA with that amount of high-level coursework is perfectly fine. When weighed comparitively, that's incredibly good for the challenge you've put yourself through. A 1220 SAT, however, will be far below the averages for most top universities in the Northeast. (Unless you're looking at less well-known ones like UVM, LOL!) You've got time to study, so try and get a 1400+ on the actual SAT to be right in range for most of them.
Not everyone needs a full stack of ECs to get admitted. Be you, find maybe one or two more things you really like and want to put the effort into, and it should work out! I made the mistake of not following many of my interests early, and it's paying... No worries, though. And the NHS is definitely good, but don't weigh it entirely equal to the rest of your ECs, as the NHS has become very diluted with the number of students accepted into it yearly now. Make sure you have an impact on the NHS!
Being a first-generation is perfectly fine! (I am too!) Embrace it, show that you're willing to be the one to break through into college life. Many universities also have special first-gen programs or benefits, so keep an eye out for those! For financial aid, I'm completely clueless there too... (Sorry!)
In terms of Top 100s, you're good. Top 75s may be more on the nose, as STEM programs are usually highly regarded, but get a 1400+ SAT score and you should be alright. Top 50s (though there are few Northeast universities in the top 50) may or may not be difficult depending.
For Ivies... The requirements are a bit different. Your APs and Honors, as well as your GPA, are definitely up to par. However... You should strive for a 1500+ SAT for Ivy League schools, and they'd likely want to see more ECs than you currently have. (Though, don't take my word for it entirely. If you have leadership within some of those clubs or have a major impact on them, they'll be very good to have on their own.)
I'd say you could very easily get into schools like Rutgers, the SUNY schools, UMass, UConn, Penn State, etc.
You could be denied but have a decent chance at schools like Rochester, Lehigh, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, etc.
You have a lower chance of acceptance but could still be competitive with some changes at schools like Boston University, Northeastern University, or NYU.
You will need to work on your profile if you want good chances for Ivies or MIT.
Good luck! I hope you get into your dream college when the time comes! :D
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thank you so much! yeaah i need to work on my psat scores lol i think in junior year they offer the sat for free so since ive learned geometry and a bit of algebra 2 this year (psat was taken early in freshman year) so i hope i can AT LEAST get a 1300+! im really hoping on getting into something like nyu and bos uni but penns state is one of my considerations too! ive actually been thinking about passion projects and teaming up with my friend- my original idea was to make a website/app- (1/2)