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i am going to be a 10th grader in september and i am already thinking about college. i have hopes of one day going to an ivy league school, especially columbia. i was wondering if anyone could give me advice on how to focus my next three years so i will have the best chances i can of getting into columbia. i am a high level athlete, i do alot of volunteer work and i currently have a 4.0 including 2 summer couses at UC berkeley(i got A's in both of those too), and i was the president of the freshmen class. i would appreciate any advice on how to prepare myself.

By Thenarrator (Thenarrator) on Sunday, July 27, 2003 - 02:06 pm: Edit

take the hardest courses in your school and do your best. Keep up the extracurricular (both in and out of school) and strive for leadership positions. You should also start preping for college entrance tests (sat and act) as soon as possible with books and practice tests.

your on the right track by thinking about college now.
good luck

By Mgms35 (Mgms35) on Wednesday, August 13, 2003 - 04:41 pm: Edit

dont listen to that guy. High school is about learning about yourself and preparing for your life. Do the activities that you want to do. Dont throw yourself into something just because you thinf it'll look good on your trascript, do it because YOU want to.

Remember admissions doesnt want a huge ass list of activities becuase they'll thing that you 1. lied about it, 2. did a half ass job in all of them. If you just focus on a few things that you really enjoy in hs while having a great time, then you'll easily get in. BTW, if your only a frosh, dont think about the SATs yet. You have a long time ahead of you. Do your vocab in school and do SAT prep the summer before your Junior year. If you do the •••• now, your going to forget it anyways.

The most important thing to remember is that when applying to any school, admissions can regect you for tons of reasons (your GPA is too low, essay sucked, APs sucked) whatever. But, if you give them just 1 special thing to look at thats unique to you, something that gives people an "awww" or a "wow" feeling in people's hearts, then your all set. Thats what you should look for. Fact: Essay is the MOST IMPORTANT part of the application

By Thenarrator (Thenarrator) on Wednesday, August 13, 2003 - 05:38 pm: Edit

I still stick to my advice although Mgms35 makes some good points.

It is true that high school should be about learning about yourself and preparing for your life. This is true about everything you do. BUT, college is a much better and more important place to do that. Competition is very tough for admission into college and one should be prepared and look into the process before their junior year. The earlier the better.

I agree with Mgms35 with his comment on doing what you want. I made no remark that clashes with that. I merely told Hcollege to continue with his current extracurriculars (as dedication is very important,)and to strive for leadership. Being a leader in whatever you do shows that you aren't doing a "half-assed" job.

For those of us that do not have a unique talent that colleges can't do without, grades, test scores, essays, and hard HS classes are crucial. Its true that many people will have similar scores, but if your scores are any lower, the application is less appealing (that is if you don't have that special, unique hook).

As for prepping for the SATs and other standardized test, I stand by my comment that it is never too early. It is obvious that Hcollege is a decicated and focused student. Such students usually don't forget things they learn for a test such as this. Gradual learning (by taking practice tests and reading prep books by yourself) will simply make things easier than cramming. Then, as the test nears, taking a class or doing intense study for it will simply reinforce skills learned in the past years (or things will be remembered and relearned easier if anything is forgotten).

It is still very important to remember to enjoy life when going through the college preparation/admission process. One should still do things one enjoys, but college is very important to ones life and a better place to learn about oneself. At risk of sounding redundant, it is never too early to prepare (by taking hard courses, doing ECs w/ leadership, and yes, preparing for SATs).

By Hcollege17 (Hcollege17) on Monday, September 01, 2003 - 07:24 pm: Edit

Thanks alot for all of the advice, I will keep working hard and I appreciate the help.