Career questions tagged college-applications
what are some extracurricular ideas for someone with interests in psych + bio?
what are some things i can do to start building my college app around an interest in psych + bio? [extracurriculars, competitions, etc] i’ll be a rising sophomore this summer + i’m scared i’m not doing enough to stand out to colleges in the future 😰 any advice is appreciated <3
Belmont
How do I know which college/university is the right one for me ?
I am a junior and I am in the process of getting my college list done, but I am at a dead end where I don't know which one I specifically want to attend. All the schools are great with programs I'm interested but I'm just not sure how to decide. Any advice?
Hudsonville
Which one would benefit me more, taking 4 years of piano (Honors during 11th and 12th) and German (AP from 10th, 11th, 12th) or taking one out and doing another AP Class (Seminar, Psych, or Business Management) for my 10th grade year(Interested In Medical Field)?
Should I continue with 4 years of piano through high school or 4 years of German? I am a freshman choosing my courses for next year and I do not know whether to continue both piano and German (I already have the required credits for both) or take another AP Class (I was thinking of AP Psych or AP Seminar). I only have two more electives to choose since I have tennis 7th period and was planning on doing that for all through high school since I'm on varsity. My other classes are Pre-ap Chem, AP World History, AP Pre-calc, and Pre-ap English 2. Which classes would benefit me more in the future and on college applications if I'm interested in the medical field?(specifically neurology or dermatology)
Bellaire
Should I take softball next year in my junior year of high school?
I am currently a sophomore in high school that is starting to pick next year’s classes. I am not planning on playing high school in college, so I’d like to know if it’s worth it to play softball all 4 years of high school. Is it better to play 4 years of high school, or find some extracurriculars to do (I don’t know what I want to be or major in so if there are any suggestions as to what I can do for better ECs or to figure out a good career path/major) I do very well in school and next year I have a pretty full and difficult class schedule. I have been wanting to quit softball for a while (I’ve been playing for 5 years), but I’m scared I will miss it or regret it. However, I feel like i would be much less stressed without softball, and maybe even happier. Do you think I should continue playing all 4 years? Will it look better on college applications to continue playing or does it not make a big difference whether I quit or stay? If I were to quit, I’d just add another class to my schedule.
Los Angeles
Are these good enough stats for top colleges (I am a current junior)?
EDUCATION: Unweighted and Cumulative GPA: 3.953/4.357 Class Rank: 22/717 SAT: 710 Math / 680 Reading (Highest Score Received On Each Section) CLASSWORK: AP Coursework: AP Chemistry, AP Biology (3), AP Calculus BC, AP Psychology (5), AP United States History, AP World History (5) DC Credits: DC English 1301/1302, UT OnRamps Precalculus School's Math, Science, Technology and Accelerated Math and Science Programs: Participated in the school's honors programs throughout grades 9-11; provides integrated curriculum for advanced math and science courses; volunteered 55 hours when part of program. OTHER SKILLS: CPR and BLS Certified, in process of receiving TSBDE Dental Assisting Certification. EXPERIENCE: Dental Assisting Program, Student 08/2024 - Present Participated in the Dental Assisting Program which offers a foundational understanding of dentistry, preparation for various dental careers, and a future TSBDE Registered Dental Assisting Certification. Worked hands-on in a dental office-styled environment while gaining experience and knowledge of dental professions, infection control, radiology, chair-side dental techniques, dental charting, jurisprudence, dental hygiene, and dental anatomy. ACTIVITIES: Tutor Club, Junior Ambassador 08/2024 - Present Represented the juniors of the club in meetings; helped organize activities and scheduling for the club. Tutored multiple students with Geometry, Algebra, English, and SAT Prep. Led lectures to help tutees. Tutored 2-3 hours per week. CCMR Recognition Club, Ambassador 12/2024 - Present Promoted the importance of College, Career, and Military readiness on campus through a school-wide initiative comprised of designing posters, leading celebratory activities, and creating a website to raise awareness. Non-Profit Tutoring Organization, Tutor 08/2024 - Present Tutored elementary and middle school students in math, science, reading, and orchestra at a local nonprofit organization. Printed and helped create worksheets and lessons for tutees to complete; helped students complete the program’s work in unique and creative ways. Taught 30+ kids throughout 6 months of tutoring at Light and Salt Academy for 2-3 hours per week. Orchestra, Concert Member 08/2022 - Present Played violin in orchestra concerts; participated in UIL Competitions and Solo and Ensemble Competitions; played in district-wide Stringfest Concert. Practiced violin 3-4 times per week. HOSA, Organization Member 08/2022 - Present Participated in HOSA Dental Science Competition and worked in fundraisers and service volunteering. Volunteered 20 Hours for the past 6 months. Key Club, Organization Member 08/2024 - Present Volunteered regularly at school-led events, local fundraisers, DFW city-wide marathons, tutoring sessions, and local toy drives. Volunteered 45 Hours for the past 6 months. AWARDS: AP Scholar (2024), Superintendent Scholar (2024), UIL Academic Excellence (2022-2023-2024-2025), First Place Group Winner in HS Video Contest (2023) I want to retake the SAT and improve my look as a biology major on the pre-dentistry track by getting an internship, shadowing, and volunteering. What top colleges could I genuinely get into with these stats? And what should I improve?
Garland
Is it too late to do cs research as a junior in high school?
I am a junior in high school and only recently found out that research with a professor was an extracurricular activity. Since it is already halfway into the year and I am a junior, could I also reach out to a professor and do this or is it too late? I found some paid programs during the summer that do research but take up the entire summer and I would have no time to do other programs. Is there any way to reach out to a professor and ask to do research with them from now or feb/march to until school ends? If there is, how many professors should I be emailing and how should I ask them to do it from now or feb/march to until school ends? Also, are there any requirements/skills that these professors look for in regards to cs research? Thanks a bunch!
TexasCan you still get into a good college without clubs?
I do other extracurriculars outside of school, such as archery, but none of the school clubs interest me. Will this hurt my chances?
Hercules
What are my chances of getting into Auburn and how can I increase them?
I'm a junior who lives in state so my chances are slightly higher. My GPA is really mid(my weighted will be pretty high) but I'm pretty sure I can make a 25-28 on my ACT by December. Since Auburn mainly looks at 9-11 transcripts so I'll have taken 7 honors and 6 AP classes. I also plan on applying for a major Mechanical Engineering. I'm currently or participated in many STEM related clubs and have a lot of community service hours.
Florence
Struggling to Balance School and Life – How Can I Strengthen My College Application?
Hi everyone, I’m a junior in high school. I recently moved from the UK and started mid-way through my sophomore year, so I had to take freshman and sophomore classes instead of APs. Currently, I’m only able to take 2 AP classes and 1 dual credit (OnRamps) this year as a junior because my counselor advised against taking more. I am also currently taking sophomore classes too. I have a strong interest in engineering, political science, and international law. I'm aiming to double major/double degree in engineering and either political science or international law or law or business for undergrad. In the future, I plan to pursue a master's degree in data science, an LLB or JD, and an MBA. I also plan to join the Air- force or Navy. Most colleges that offer double/dual degrees/majors are top 25 schools. I want to get into a top 25 school, but I'm worried about my academic profile. I currently have a weighted GPA of 2.95, but I'm not sure about my unweighted GPA. At my school, we use a 15.0 scale, and my GPA recently dropped from 11.35 to 11.05. I'm in the top 13-14% of my class, and I mostly get A's, so I'm confused about whv mv GPA is this low. I've been struggling with depression (yes I did get diagnosed) and unfortunately, my parents don't believe in mental health, which makes it harder for me to cope and improve. My depression is only getting worse, but I'm willing to ignore it to improve my academics. On top of that, I'm dealing with parentification at home, which is adding more stress. I'm struggling to focus on studying and retaining information, and I'm feeling lost on how to handle everything. Most of my school's extracurriculars are focused on volunteering. I'm currently part of Student Council (StuCo), Key Club, and the African Students Association (ASA). However, the majority of school competitions and meaningful extracurricular activities are only available for health and business students. I'm about to start applying to colleges, but I have absolutely no idea what to write about for my essays. I'm considering writing about my traumatic childhood, a specific traumatic experience in my life, or my migration and how it affected me. I'm not sure which direction would be most impactful or how to approach these topics. 1. How can I raise my GPA and strengthen my academic profile, especially given my current mental health struggles? 2. What can I do to enhance my extracurriculars, especially with the limited options available at my school? 3. Are there any specific extracurricular activities, competitions, or opportunities outside of school that I can explore to boost my college application? 4. How can I improve my studying habits and memory retention given everything I'm dealing with? 5. What advice do you have for choosing a strong college essay topic? How can I make my experiences stand out in a meaningful way? +++ I have an insane amount of volunteering hours. What do I do with this information?
ArlingtonWhat clubs should you join or create that would help students who want to do engineering majors in the future ? Do colleges prefer students engaging in clubs ?
I am a junior. I wanted to know what clubs I should know that would look great for my college application and also show that I'm engaged in extracurriculars.
San Francisco
How should I go about requesting letters of recommendations?
As a rising senior who's applying for colleges, I feel some anxiety that surrounds letters of recommendations. This is not only limited to college applications, but job wise as well that I would like to improve on especially in future.
San Francisco
What's a technique to look through every valid past activity and achievement to put into a college application? #Fall24
It's helpful to put activities and circumstances outside school into my college app, but I'm wondering about how to determine the validity of my activities and whether I should start from middle school (most active in outside school work) , or freshmen year.
San FranciscoWhat can a junior do to stand out for collage applications?
Anything is oki!
Denver
What are some good mechanical engineering schools?
Hi, I'm a senior in high school interested in majoring in mechanical engineering. I have a decent SAT score (1450) and 3.75 GPA. My extracurricular activities aren't very good: no leadership positions and a member of two clubs but I been in some engineering related mentorship and internship. Any suggestions for good mechanical engineering colleges to apply to? (that I would have a decent chance getting into)
New York
Application?
What can i start doing now to make my application more attractive if i want to study medicine as an international student?
La Ceiba
Application proccess?
What can I do to make my application more attractive?
La Ceiba
How much time did you spend on your college applications?
How much is best to spend time on your collage applications and how much it takes to finish one application, and after completing it once, will it be easier and faster to make other applications for different colleges?
San Francisco
Is it good to have a letter of recommendation from my high school principal for college applications (common app) ?
My principle stated they can give me a letter of recommendation but I'm not sure if that is too much/kinda odd and bad. I do not know I should add it..
Los Angeles
What are considered to be big and small awards for common app?
I am currently a junior and wonder if 2 of my main awards as of now are big or small awards. I was a freshman when I got 2nd out of 56 science fair boards at my school and second in county sophomore year for biochemistry where I was qualified for ISEF. What are some programs or research opportunities in where I could gain valuable awards for common apps and in pursuit of going into the medical field.
Fresno
I'm a senior in high school and barely have any extracurricular activities and leadership positions and I want to go to USC, what do I do?
I have a 4.0 GPA and a 4.45 W GPA, however I never really was encouraged or was emphasized the amount of importance extracurricular activities have on a college application until the end of my junior year. My current activities only consist of co-founding a community service club at school with mid-popularity based on reading to children, p.e dance & a year of dance team, and link crew. However, compared to all the others in my grade with amazing test scores, internships, 100+ community service hours, and in honor societies, I feel as if I am not even good enough to apply to USC, which is a great school for my dream career. I'm not sure what to do.
Long BeachI am trying to get into Software Engineering and the extracurriculars I have are not related to what I am aspiring to become. Is this bad or is it okay to show this to colleges?
Does it matter if my extracurriculars are different from my chosen major? Will it look bad on my college applications? Note: This question was submitted by a learner anonymously
Palo Alto
How can I combine my intetest? To standout in the college application
I want to go into the medical field and computer science but I want to combine those interest together, my extracurricular are: • STEMEd for girl volunteer •American Red Cross blood ambassador. •American Red Cross youth action campaign advocate •ambassador for UNCG intersection camp: a camp for girls in stem. I want to combine those interest for programming and health by creating an App for students to treat themselves in case of minor injuries or illnesses when there is no teacher similar to how AED defibrillators guide people in case of sudden cardiac arrest. for example if you got bitten by a mosquito it’ll guide you on how to treat a mosquito bite or you were doing an activity outside of class and you got sunburn, it’ll guide you on how to treat a sunburn. Is this a good idea, and if so, how can I get the resources or what do you recommend because I don't have the resources or any idea on how to start an app?
Greensboro
How do I get medical experience as a highschool student?
Hi, I'm a highschool student and I'm trying to apply to the PLME for brown. I have a 1230 SAT and 25 ACT. I have a 4.7 gpa weighted and 3.84 nonweighted I am the ASB President and board member for the Interact Cub as well as the president for the Orthodox Club. I volunteer at the hospital and I Teach hymns at my church. The problem is, I know I don't stand out. I want to gain more experience in the medical field so I can appear as motivated as I am as well as, I would love any new experience. What do you think I can do? How can I apply for these experiences?in what ways can i make myself stand out as medically inclined highschool student?
VictorvilleCould you make comments and suggestions on my college essay please ?
Hello! I am a high school student from Macau. I will be studying aboard in the US in the fall of 2025 as an international student, and it is quite a challenge for a non-native writer and speaker to write a US college essay. Could you make some comments and suggestions on my college essay please? I know the word limit for the Common App essay is 650, and my essay exceed that, and I will shorten that later, but please let me know what do you think about this essay in general. Thank you very much🙏!! =================Start-of-the-essay================= In March 2023, I watched the re-screening of “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and fell in love with its multiverse setting. One scene, in particular, deeply resonates with me. The scene portrays how a single decision can drastically change the course of one’s life. In this scene, the main character, Evelyn, finds that if she hadn't eloped with Waymond, her future husband, she would have become a famous martial arts actress. Instead, in reality, she ends up running a struggling laundromat. One of my pivotal decisions happened five years ago. It was the summer of 2019, just after I graduated from primary school. It was about a passion that had been with me since childhood. Since I was a kid, I knew I really enjoyed building and inventing things. I spent most of my childhood playing with the tools and parts in my father's construction workshop. Once, because I didn't want to water the plants on the balcony individually, I built an automatic sprayer for plants by cutting a PVC pipe and drilling holes at intervals to water six plants all at once. During primary school, I joined the school’s handmade workshop to continue pursuing my love of creating and inventing. However, I realized I wanted more than just following the instructions of a robot kit manual; I want to create, not just assemble. Therefore, during the summer after I graduated from primary school, I started experimenting and engaging with Arduino, a microcontroller. My first Arduino project was an LCD timer with a buzzer and a force sensor on the seat that reminds me to stand up if I’ve been sitting too long. While working on this project, I experienced a deep and fulfilling enthusiasm that was entirely new to me, and I knew I had truly fallen in love with this feeling. Afterward, I decided to take it a step further. I planned to add a Bluetooth feature and create a mobile app to remind me to stand up through notifications. After some research, I designed the UI for my mobile app using MIT App Inventor. However, I faced a bottleneck while struggling to establish Bluetooth communication between the Arduino UNO and my mobile app. (I had no idea why the Arduino received a number when the mobile app sent a character). Despite my best efforts—spending days debugging, googling, and trying to solve the issue—I couldn't figure it out. My 12-year-old self realized that he could either continue debugging on his own, devoting more time and effort to solving the problem, or seize the opportunity to reach out to the high school teachers and upperclassmen, ask for help, and hopefully make connections with them. I had a lot of concerns. I feared being rejected or not taken seriously. It was such a struggle to take that first step in an unfamiliar environment. After much internal struggle, I gathered my courage and took my Arduino kit (which I bought from Taobao) with me, as the evening settled in, I found myself standing at the entrance of the high school workshop, in front of a sturdy metal door with a small side window. I took a glance through the small side window and saw some senior students working on their projects, some chatting in groups. Doubt filled my mind, I paced back and forth with trembling hands and felt even more like an outsider (though I was, literally). Then, at that moment, I knew that this was a chance I couldn't afford to miss. I gripped my Arduino kit even tighter, and pushed the door open. That evening marks the start of a six-year journey that ignites my passion for electromechanical engineering, physics, math, and science overall. It was then that I met two mentors for engineering: Mr. Lei and Mr. Wong. Mr. Lei guided me through countless engineering challenges. He taught me the fundamentals of programming (namely Processing, Python and C++), mechanical design (Fusion 360 CAD design), and Arduino development. Through the projects he guided me on, he showed me that true innovation requires research, planning, execution, analysis, and, more importantly, the ability to embrace failure. The courage I had to enter that door on that day changed the course of my life, and I recognized it as a power—the power of “jumping out of my comfort zone.” Since then, I have kept the courage from that day as a memento, and it has quietly guided me through the decisive moments in life, whether it was building a website portfolio from scratch, asking for an interview at a PC repair company even though I didn’t know how to fix a computer, deciding to study abroad or delivering a presentation in an essay competition. I remind myself of the power of stepping out of my comfort zone every time I need to make a challenging decision in life, trusting that my future self will appreciate the decision, even if it doesn’t turn out perfectly. Just like the story of Evelyn; in the end, even though she knows that eloping with Waymond means doing laundry and taxes every day, she still finds beauty in that life. =================End-of-the-essay=================
Macau
Is it too late to do anything impactful for my college applications ?
I’m a rising senior applying to colleges in the fall and I’m interested in major in either biomedical engineering or biological sciences and possibly a minor in public policy.Is there anything I can do to add to my app in this short amount of time and if so what ?
Rocky Mount
Do I have a good chance of getting accepted to UCLA, Berkeley, UCSD, UCI, or UCSB for finance/actuary , if my classes are medical CTE?
I have been taking a CTE pathway in medicine (3 years), only to realize that I want to apply to college in a more math/finance related side. (specifically actuary, as of now). I am planning on applying to UCs, I volunteer at a local hospital, but I don't do much finance related "things", do I have a good chance of getting accepted. I did an internship (for non profit) and am VP of our school's business club.
AnaheimAdmission Officers: Should I join my local Youth activities Council? Would that boost my overall college app, or should I save that time and spend it somewhere more useful?
While I do need to show some community service, I am interested in majoring in business and am wondering whether to spend that time working towards writing for financial literacy or join this Council where I don't know which mission it will most likely serve. I would like to hear the perspective of admission officers if possible.
San MateoWhat all major colleges have clubs that are open to high schoolers for chartering as well (might include a tie-up)?
I am mostly looking to start a business related club (anything related in the field is fine, i.e finance, economics, marketing, business, entrepreneurship). Most colleges have clubs that are specific to that college, I'm looking for clubs that can be brought to a high school. If possible, I would like to have a tie-up with the college in terms of gaining access to the material, etc.
San MateoDo I need a "spike" in my interests for college applications?
I see a lot of advice that students should have a spike in their applications to demonstrate interests and clear focus/passion. If they want to go into computer science they should do mainly computer science related classes and extracurriculars. I want to go into biomedical engineering so I am in engineering club, doctors without borders, and science honor society. However, I am also interested in public speaking so I do mock trial, TV production, and speech and debate, but I don't plan on pursuing that as my major in college. Will this negatively affect my college applications? If it does, what should I do from here?
Miami
What do I do summer before senior year ?
I feel so discouraged because i’m too late in applying for internships and programs and it has been weighing down on me for so long. I feel like my college resume isn’t strong enough. (also if anyone knows any summer volunteer programs related to healthcare that’s still open in houston, pls send)
Houston