Is it worth it to apply to top colleges?
I am currently a junior in high school and my current dream is to major in history and get my PhD and eventually teach at a top university. I am in the top of my class, have great extracurriculars, etc, but I'm worried that it's not worth it to apply to ivies/top schools for just history. My dream school is Johns Hopkins, but I know that its a STEM school. I am not very great at math, my only highschool B was in a duel enrollment Calculus class. Will I be competitive enough to be accepted? Will they consider me less? I have a lot of questions and my guidance counselors suck!
Hi! Congrats on your current achievements! It's a huge accomplishment to say you're at the top of your class! (And even if you weren't and you had a high GPA and rigourous classes that will be amazing too!). To provide you with more adequate responses, do you mind providing your courseload and GPA, as well as your strongest extracurriculars and test scores? I would love to help out if I can! :) Ty!
Courseload:
Freshman Year: Band I, Human Growth & Development, PE/Health, Duel Enrollment World Literature, Duel Enrollment Stats/Trig, Honors Civics & Geography, Honors Physical Science and Spanish I
Sophomore Year: Band II, Theater I, Duel Enrollment Pre-Calculus, Duel Enrollment American Literature, Honors Biology, Honors Chemistry, Honors Economics, Driver's Education and Spanish II
Junior Year: APUSH, Duel Enrollment Calculus I & II, Duel Enrollment English, Duel Enrollment Chemistry, Band III, Theatre II, Anatomy & Physiology and Honors Spanish III
I am a straight A student except for one B that I got in the Duel Enrollment Calculus I course (will that hurt me at all?)
Extracurriculars: Concert & Marching Band (Vice-President), Theatre (Lead Roles for 3 Years straight), SGA (President), Library Teen Advisory Board (President)
GPA: 4.72
I have only taken the PSAT score and I got a 720 in English and a 620 in math
Let me know if you need anything else:)
Oh wow! You’ve done an impressive job so far! Pat yourself on the back! I severely doubt that the single B in DE calc will hurt since it’s still a really good grade! You have a lot of leadership positions in your extracurriculars and the PSAT score indicates that you’re going to do well on the SAT! Colleges will love to see that variety of classes you have and the rigor and your drive to do your best. :) And please remember colleges will take into account the rigor of your work, grades, test scores (depending on the college), letters of rec, extracurriculars, and essays. It’s not just based solely on the grades.
Based upon what I’m seeing I think you will be more than ok! And I know your dream school is John Hopkins, and considering this have you looked into what you may want to major in? (Just so I can get a better idea of what you wanna do). :)
Preferably History or Biology:)
Oh yes, I think you will be more than ok! Considering calc isn't much of a focus for either of those majors, it isn't much of a concern. And since it's a DE class it's rigor added to your course load and I think JH will appreciate that you're challenging yourself. Is there anything else I can provide you feedback on?
Hi there! I looked into the accepted student profile provided by CollegeVine for Johns Hopkins and they say that the average GPA for admitted students was a 3.9 on a 4.0 scale, SAT scores ranged from 1500-1550, and ACT scores ranged from 34-35. That being said, you'll want to take advantage of the practice SAT's offered by CollegeBoard to study for the SAT so you can get your score into or close to that range. As far as I can tell, your doing amazing with your choice of classes, so keep up the good work:).
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