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Course: College admissions > Unit 2
Lesson 1: Introduction: Making high school countOverview: Making high school count
The Assistant Dean for Diversity and Outreach at Stanford University emphasizes the importance of academic preparation and challenging oneself in high school to be ready for college. She also highlights the significance of extracurricular involvement for showcasing interests and passions outside the classroom. Lastly, she discusses standardized tests, stressing that they're used in conjunction with academic records, not in isolation.
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Is it good to apply early?
What should the SAT score must be for one to get healthy scholarships?
Grades,SAT,few extra-curricular activities and college essay; these are the only things to get us into college,right?(6 votes)
One of the things that get you into college is how badly the college wants students. There is a declining high school population. But getting to Carnegie Mellon (Pittsburgh) is much more difficult than California University California PA.) and the SAT requirements are different.
Grades, SAT, few extra-curricular activities and college essay are important but diversity and other items also play into being selected. There are thousands of scholarships and grants available outside of the ones offered by colleges. If you have an offer from 'your school' but it's not quite enough ,and you have another offer, go back to 'your school' and ask them to add more $.(14 votes)
- 1:25, could that be music? Like I have a hobby of violin and transcribing, also I have a drawing hobby. I'm gonna try and start a comic then get it on comixology. So for now I'm working on getting good at drawing. Do those apply to what she's talking about? Or is she talking more like extra curricular activities from the school, like math club, or football team and stuff like that?(8 votes)
Well she does say "whatever it may be', so I inferred it as something as pretty much anything other than school classes. I'm sure she would mean music as well.(5 votes)
Is everything she just said about standardized tests still valid?
I am a 7th Grader who is going to 8th (in the fall of 2015) and I took the ACT in 7th Grade.
I got a 24 out of 36. So I am a bit nervous about making it to my dream universities (John Hopkins, Harvard, Stanford and Vanderbilt).(3 votes)
Yes, it is. I took the ACT too in 7th grade and I got a 30. It doesn't really reflect how smart you are; it just shows how good you are at manipulating standardized tests... So, I would say that you now have the experience to ace your ACT in high school :)... Best of luck.(7 votes)
should you start work for college in middle school or should you wait in till 9th and 10th grade(3 votes)
Everyone's different, but I'd suggest waiting until high school. Chances are you'll change during middle school and you may be interested in different things in high school than you were--you may even discover a class/major you didn't even know existed before that you really love.(7 votes)
How long should it take for one to prep for one`s sat or act exam. I started at seventh grade and I am continuing. Now going to eighth I am afraid I should have started earlier like at 5th.(2 votes)
7th grade is already very very early. You should be more than prepared by the time you get to the actual thing. I myself did a little in 7th grade solely because I was taking the SAT that year as part of Duke University's Talent Identification Program, and then set it aside entirely until I took the PSAT in 10th grade. In reality, there's only so much studying can do for you. The best thing you can do in the younger grades is simply to work hard in school, maybe putting a special emphasis on the subjects covered by the tests. Good critical thinking skills are also very important, so if you really want to do something, you might look for a few books of logic puzzles or the like. (Which I personally find very fun) The very fact that you're looking at this already makes me think that you're probably the kind of person who will do pretty well with little trouble. :)(6 votes)
- I have a situation where I directly do not have the time to participate in any extracurricular activities. While I am challenging myself as much as I can during school hours, I'm worried that my lack of participation in after-school events may impair my eligibility to attend the strict college I want. Exactly how much are the extracurricular activities looked at? While I have a great ACT score, a great GPA, and a good record of having taken challenging AP classes, could I be rejected due to my lack of an extracurricular activity?(3 votes)
- Hey! i'm from mexico and high school is really different. We don't have optional classes really so it's not like i could choose a more challenging class. Does that affect my application?(3 votes)
It depends. If you are applying to a Mexican school I don't think so. I'm pretty sure most colleges and universities across North America take into consideration a student's circumstances. However, what will look even better on your application is if you find places outside of your high school (maybe a community college) in which you can take extracurriculars there.(1 vote)
At2:06, What if I am homeschooled? What are some good ways to ... I guess be ready to take on the new experience in college?(2 votes)
I can offer no direct response to your question, only an assumption that there must be books and websites out there with names like "College Readiness for Homeschoolers" or "Moving from Homeschooled to College". I encourage you to search some out, and after you've experienced the transition yourself, to write about it.(3 votes)
As a person who just finished my freshmen year of high school, I've challenged myself, but haven't really gotten in too extracurricular fields besides marching band. Should I just jump into clubs that sort of interest me in Sophomore year and try to figure things out?(2 votes)
Only if you think you have time for it. I know marching band is a big extracurricular as it requires several hours of practice, so that already makes you look good.(2 votes)
this was very informationalable.(2 votes)
1:25Video transcript
- So preparing for college
starts as early as possible in high school. First with your classes
and class election. What we want to see as admission officers is your academic preparation over time. That you have challenged yourself within your academic environment, within your high school environment and that's going to vary
from school to school, but that you've managed
to somehow take advantage of the challenging
opportunities that exist at your high school in terms of classes. Really focusing mostly
on the academic core. Again, that you're prepared to
handle the rigors of college and that's something that we
can see over a period of time, over the years of high school. The other piece that we
also are focusing on, not only is how well do
you function and perform in a classroom setting, but also what you do
outside of the classroom. Your extracurricular
involvement is just as important because for all of these college campuses we are residential communities. We are active playgrounds for our students to pursue their interests
and their passions, whether that be in the arts
or research or athletics or student government
or community service, just an example, although
there's a multitude of ways that you can get involved. And so what we want to see is
that students not only have the classroom component and
the academic preparation, but also have interests
and hobbies and passions that are outside of the
classroom experience. Again, whatever those things may be. We're looking for commitment there and we're looking for
depth in those areas. Then finally, the other piece that I think makes students
probably most nervous is this idea of standardized tests and I honestly say that
colleges do not use standardized tests in a vacuum. Meaning, we don't look at
standardized tests alone to inform our decisions. They really are used in conjunction with your academic record, to corroborate what we're already seeing in your performance over a period of time. It's really the only
piece of the application that we use that gives us some
sort of national barometer to understand your performance, but it really is used in conjunction with your academic record
and that transcript. So prepare for it. Definitely try and take a couple at home prep exams or
get those guide books that you can see all over
book stores and online. Try and prepare for it as best as you can, but really focus on your
academic preparation as well because it really is
something that works in tandem with those things.