Tips on Getting into a Good College

If you are a freshman or sophomore in high school, you may want to consider some of the criteria for going into a good college.

A few students at the beginning of their high school career are sure of what they want to be and what college they want to go to. Yet, for many of those students, plans start to change as they find new areas of study to explore. A student should always be thinking about what they really like to do (academic-wise) and hould pursue extracurricular activities surrounding the idea. For example, if a student was to be interested in business/entrepreneurship, the student could start off by joining a business oriented club freshman year. If the student were to live in the city, then he or she should also look out for internship and volunteer opportunities. There are usually some legitimate opportunities for people on Craigslist and your school should have plenty of opportunties as well. By junior year, if you are really aiming for a competitive college, you may want to consider trying something really new; for example, the Facebook idea is just a online idea of friends interacting. Something so simple could become a big hit. Try thinking of something new but something that would have high demand.

The most important criteria the colleges will look at are your academic records and standardized tests. For the SATs and ACTs, try and prepare for them way in advance. You may even want to start preparing for them freshman year. For an Ivy League school, superior academic are only a prerequisite; you must have something that stands out as well (extracurriculars, academic/athletic awards, etc...). For schools of high academic caliber, you want to aim for a high SAT score (at least in the 2000s, for Ivies, aim for at least 2150). The SAT is not a measure of intelligence, rather it is the ability to see how well you can learn how to answer questions as well as how much vocab you know (in a sense). You could find a list of good SAT books in another article I wrote. For the ACT, you should be aiming for at least a 29 (32+ for Ivies). This exam is slightly easier because it requires a lot less critical thinking and tests more school-based knowledge. The only problem is that there is a significant time constaint for some and the curve for the scoring is not that amazing either. But this exam provides pure score choice, that is, you can take this exam as many times as you want and pick your best one.

In terms of your grades, many people will only take the easiest classes that the school has to offer to provide an artificial boost in their grade. Do not think like this. Unless you feel that a normal class still provides a challenge, try and push yourself to take harder classes (Honors, APs). Colleges look at these classes more favorably than someone with a perfect GPA with only normal class. Yet, do not overload on APs. If you can handle a few hours of sleep each night while still having extracurriculars (I would not recommend this for people who usually enjoy sleeping and have had this type of 'training'.), you may want to take at least 3-4 APs/Honors sophomore year and 5 APs/Honors Junior year as well as senior year. DO NOT TAKE TOO MANY DIFFICULT CLASSES SO THAT YOUR GPA WOULD DROP DRAMATICALLY. Take only a healthy amount that you know you can handle. Ask your guidance counselor and see how many he or she thinks you can handle. If you can maintain at least an B+ or A- in all your classes, then that should be fine.

A Sample Schedule for a strong academic student:

Freshman Year:

Science: Honors Biology

Math: Honors Geometry/ Trigonmetry

Elective: Computer Science (C++/Java)

English: Honors English

Math Team (if good at math)

History: World History or AP World History

Foreign Language: Your choice

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Sophomore Year:

Science: Honors Chemistry/ AP Chemistry / AP Physics B

Math: Honors Precalculus/ Trigonometry and or AP Statistics

Elective: AP Computer Science and/or possibly a research class

English: Honors English

Math Team

History: AP European History or AP United States History

Foreign Language: Continue the sequence and a challenging course (Honors)

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Junior Year:

Science: AP Biology/ Chemistry/ Physics B or C

Math: Honors Precalculus or AP Calculus AB or BC (BC is preferred if you have strong math skills) and or AP Statistics

Elective: Try a research project if you think you have the time

English: Honors or AP English Composition

Math Team

History: AP US History or AP Microeconomics

Foreign Language: See if you can take the AP sequence if you think you are ready.

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Senior Year:

Science: Any AP science(s) you have not taken yet, but are interested in...see if your high school offers any post-AP sciences as well

Math: AP Statistics and or Multivariate Calculus/Linear Algebra and Differential Equations

Elective: Finish research project

English: AP Literature 

Math Team

History: AP Gov or AP Macroeconomics or AP Micro/Macro

Foreign Language: Finish AP language, if applicable.

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AP or IB equivalent.

This is a sample of a student that may expect a lot out of him or herself.  This schedule is obviously not for everyone, but a sample of a very rigorous schedule that is not impossible.

Another thing is your college recommendations. If you know the teacher that you are going to get your recommenation from (should be junior year teacher), then try and present yourself as interested and motivated. Having high marks in the class is a must as well. The college admissions officers do not see you; they can only see you through your teacher's and guidance counselor's eyes as well as through your essays.

As for your essays, DO NOT WAIT TO THE LAST MINUTE. Start your essays as soon as possible so that you would produce quality essays, not mass produced finish in 5 minute essays. Take a few days to really think about each essay and make sure that you have several people taking a look at your essays (several people that you know could really help you). Go to the Common App and see all standard essays as well as supplemental college essays.

Finally, look for the best college that suits you.  Not all people want to be in a school full of brainiacs, so it is really important that you do your research on your schools.