HS sophomore looking for advice for EC’s/Internships/etc. for college
Some Stuff About Me/Demographics
HS Sophomore (female/caucasian) from Vermont. I go to a pretty competitive school that sends a few people to Ivies/Top 20's every year. Class size is roughly 115. UW GPA 4.0, W 4.2. Not sure about rank, as we don't learn our rank until junior year. Haven't taken the ACT/SAT (next year). Hoping to major in something tech-related (comp sci/comp engineering/software engineering)
Courses
Currently taking: Reg: Geometry, World studies, French (no honors option.) Honors: Chem, American literature.
Next year, I plan on taking: AP Bio, AP US History, Honors Pre-Calc, Honors French IV, and Creative writing/College Writing.
Before graduating, I also plan on taking AP/reg Physics, AP Econ/AP Government and Politics, AP Calc, maybe AP French V and other reg. classes.
My school does not offer any comp sci classes. There are no IB/BC classes either. This worries me a bit because I will most likely be going into a tech field with no tech classes on my transcript.
EC's
I don't have a ton of EC's unlike a lot of people here. I play 2 sports, volunteer, and help fix/build computers.
Volleyball: By the end of senior year I will have played for 5 years. Played 8th grade for middle school, freshman/sophomore year played JV, most likely next year/senior year I will play varsity. I also play for a club team outside of school. Not sure if it matters but we are ranked 1st in the NE region for our division.
Taekwondo: I've been doing taekwondo since I was about 8/9ish (about 8 years). I have earned my black belt, placed in regional tournaments, and won student of the year at my school.
Volunteering: From 7th-10th grade I volunteered to coach a girl's jump rope camp. I did 2 weeks each summer for about 30 hours a week. For the last year and a half of so, I have been working for a non-profit who works with disabled kids - I help the kids with activities like running and the arts.
Computers.... not really an EC, but a fun hobby: I enjoy building computers and have helped a few friends with their own computers. I also do a lot of builds over on r/buildapcforme. I’d like to learn to code at some point but don’t know where to start.
Anyways, I’d like some advice on what I should do between now and senior year to make myself a strong applicant, considering my interests/circumstances. I think I’m going to join NHS next year, and get a job over the summer to pay for a car/save for college. Other than that, I have no idea what else I should do.
I’m not necessarily looking to go to an Ivy. I would just like to go to a school that will give me a great undergrad education to set me up for the workforce. I’ve done a little research and liked the looks of schools like Tufts, Georgia Tech, Rice, Bowdoin, UMich, RPI, and Lehigh. (Stanford looks amazing too, but doubt I could stand a chance)
Thanks in advance for any advice - I really appreciate it.
Posted Mar 12, 2018, 9:36 PM UTC