High-school is a very important part of students lives. How one does during high-school will greatly affect their future and which college they go to. Getting into college you want can be very hard. I want to attend the University of Southern California (USC), although their undergraduate admissions are very competitive. Approximately 20% of the people who apply get accepted. The first step in this process is to research and find the college you want to go to.
Students should look for colleges based on how far they want to go from home, what career they want to pursue, what sports they like, and most importantly they must see if they can get into that college. Once the student picks the college they want to go to, they can begin planning their courses and activities based on those college’s requirements. I chose to go to USC, not only because it is an amazing college, but also because it is close to my family. Many members of my family have attended USC and I plan to be the next one going. USC is an amazing school with many sports teams and activities.
They have also very high expectations for their students, so wish me luck guys! In order to get into the college one likes, one must work hard and get good grades, take rigorous courses such as Honors and AP classes, and do well on standardized tests such as the SAT and ACT. Also one must have extracurricular activities in order to be a well-rounded student. The last thing college’s look at are peoples admission essays, so work hard to improve on writing. The first thing that colleges look at is people’s grades, the courses difficulty, and the persons overall high school Grade Point Average, otherwise known as GPA.
Every college has different criteria when evaluating a student and different expectations. For Example, a college such as CSUN will accept people who had average GPA’s 2. 5 or higher, but a college like USC looks for students with average GPA’s higher than 3. 5. Colleges also use students weighted GPA’s during the admission process. A students GPA can be weighted when they have Honors courses, AP courses, and college classes. These three types of courses give a student extra points on their GPA, making it possible for a student to have a GPA higher than 4. 0.
When I first started high-school, I had no idea what I was doing. My first year I just took honors classes, but if I had known about college requirements I would have taken AP courses. Although I regret doing more research before coming to high-school, I am also received that I didn’t put myself through all that stress at such a young age. If I had started planning early, done research, and gotten help from counselors, I would have had a much higher chance of getting into the college of my choice. Although it is never too late to start making a difference.
This year I have 2 honors courses: English and History, and 2 AP courses: Calculus and Chemistry. Extracurricular activities are also important for ones college application, because it shows that a student is capable of handling classes as well as having fun joining clubs, helping the community, and being a leader. Some extracurricular activities include clubs, leadership, and sports. During 9th grade, I didn’t know that colleges like students who participate in activities that are nonacademic; although I love to have fun so of course I joined some clubs.
In 9th and 10th grade I participated in at least one club. This year I joined three clubs, which include Armenian Club, Save the Planet Club, and Calisthenics Club. Also I plan on joining the Tennis team next semester. Essentially, I am a well-rounded student. Colleges consider standardized test score very important when it comes to the admission process. The SAT and ACT are the two forms of standardized testing, both of which are difficult. A student can take either test, and is allowed to take the test as many times as they need to.
Although taking each test more than three times doesn’t look to good on a student’s college application. If a student decides to take the test more than once, they must improve each time they take it or it will make their college application look bad instead of making it better. 11th grade just started and it’s already horrible. I am trying my best to do really good this year to show colleges that I can improve, because I didn’t reach my expectations and goals in my previous years at high-school.
One way to make me shine compared to the other students in the college admission process is to do well on the standardized tests. Although I only have to take one of the tests, I have decided to take both the SAT and the ACT. I plan on getting really high scores on both. That will make me a desirable applicant to colleges. In conclusion, getting into the college of your dreams isn’t that hard. As long as you work for it, anything is possible. Make sure to work hard and ask for help when you need it. Students should also have fun, but remember to always separate work and pleasure. GOOD LUCK GUYS!
