What do I have to do to get into a really good college? Also, is what I am already doing enough?
Author: admin // Category: maths competitionsRight now I am a high school freshman, but I want to get into a REALLY good college when the time comes (like Harvard or something).
My grades for this year so far are 3 A+’s, two A’s, and a B+.
I play three sports (cross country, swimming, and track), though I do not excel particularly in either of them (however, our school’s swim team is very prestigious–do you think being on a very good swim team would look good for college, even if I myself am not a very fast swimmer?)
I go to a good school and am also fluent in a foreign language.
Would all of these things look good for college? Also, how good does simply playing a sport look for college–or would you have to be really extraordinary at a sport for it to actually count?
Should I try to participate more in math competitions and/or debate club? (Also, if I did, would I also have to excel at that for it to look good for college?)
Also, what other things should I do to better my chances of a good college?
and, in general, what are the requirements to get into really good colleges such as harvard, etc.?
any and all info would help! (in as much detail as possible please!)
thanx! =]
also, do your health and physical education grades count towards your GPA (not your "school GPA" but the one that colleges actually get to see?)
yah your fine, make sure to do good in your ACT tho
youll go thro that in your jr or senior yr
also concentrate your grades in your JR yr
July 29th, 2010 at 8:07 am
take the highest and most advanced classes you possibly can. and uhh..get a’s in all of them.
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July 29th, 2010 at 8:48 am
Different colleges have different requirements, and many of them try to keep it a secret. But in general, let’s talk about Ivy League entry.
Yes, a high GPA is a good start. Your grades are marginal for that purpose at this time. Try hard to earn no more B+ grades.
Extracurriculars are useful up to a point. Whether you’re good at a sport is meaningless unless you are going for an athletic scholarship; the point is that the sports show you to be a well-rounded individual.
Now, other extracurriculars–debate team, chess club, college choir–are also useful, and the more diverse the better. You want to be a well-rounded individual, remember?
Skill at a particular extracurricular, again, depends on what you plan to do in the college. Debate, for example. is seen as very relevant to a law degree–so if you want to be a lawyer, plan to do that through high school and four years of college.
Do as much community service as you can. Try to find something that shows you as a public-spirited person; work in a homeless shelter, clean the riverfront bikeway with the city volunteers, be a "big sister", run errands for the legal aid society. If politics is your thing, dive into your preferred political party and try to get into state student government programs.
Try your best to cultivate letters of recommendation from important people. Letters from your mayor, your state senator, and a college professor who graduated from an Ivy League school will have some impact.
One big item in their applications is the essay; each one is a little different, but in general they’re "tell us about you and your life and your goals and what motivates you." You’ll want to find some time to study up on what makes a good application essay in a couple more years; ask your teachers to help you search the indexes for articles in, for example, the Chronicle of Higher Education.
Oh–and take a challenging curriculum. Four years of math, four years of science! That holds even if you plan to be a phys. ed. major.
Good luck. Maybe we’ll be reading about YOU in Chronicle of Higher Education in another ten years
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July 29th, 2010 at 8:55 am
yah your fine, make sure to do good in your ACT tho
youll go thro that in your jr or senior yr
also concentrate your grades in your JR yr
References :