What else can I do?

C

CharlesChoi

New Member
Joined
Nov 5, 2020
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Hello everybody. I am currently a sophomore in high school and I feel like my college application is gonna feel a little empty. Below is what I have so far:

Classes:
All A's and A-'s
4.211 GPA
Only one AP so far, all other courses are honors, only one AP was available but I plan to take 6-8 over the course of my high school career.
3 years of Spanish
Two years of AFJROTC

Extracurriculars:
Rifle and Crew teams
I attend Drill and Aeronautics with JROTC
I volunteer for community service at my church.

I also plan on applying for NHS next year, but please tell me what else I can do to make myself more competitive. Thanks.
 
Good start.

1. Start studying now for your ACT/SAT (assuming it is still part of the process when you apply in a few years)
2. Start practicing for your CFA now
3. Get some leadership positions going now
4. Get some Varsity sports or outside sports going now (aside from rifle and crew if possible)
5. Get more APs, Honors or DE classes going (beyond the 6-8 more you will take if possible)
6. Attend Boys State if possible

and

7. Change your Username if that is your real name


Carry on and do well.
 
TheRightStuff said:
Good start.

1. Start studying now for your ACT/SAT (assuming it is still part of the process when you apply in a few years)
2. Start practicing for your CFA now
3. Get some leadership positions going now
4. Get some Varsity sports or outside sports going now (aside from rifle and crew if possible)
5. Get more APs, Honors or DE classes going (beyond the 6-8 more you will take if possible)
6. Attend Boys State if possible

and

7. Change your Username if that is your real name


Carry on and do well.
Click to expand...
My user is actually not my real name but I will pursue all of these things. Thanks for the advice.
 
You are well positioned and I disagree you are "light".

Academics look good - you have 3 semesters under your belt and if all A/A-s, you probably have good study and organization skills. If all your school offers is 6-8 moreAPs, then that is your answer. If there is choice, also cross reference with USAFA's core curriculum for which classes offer AP credit and what you need to score (mostly 5's).

My advice:
Plan your SAT/ACT window to be this summer and early fall. Get all your scores done and out of the way. If this is what you want, there is no reason to wait. You will also have momentum for the Fall PSAT, and have your scores when SA summer program applications open, with USAFA historically opening 12/01. I am happy to see sophomores asking this, and I know I sound like a broken record about it. But in my DD's case, it was so, so, so wonderful she got them out of the way, and managed PSAT Commended as a nice touch. All her SA portals opened with the SAT/ACT scores already populated, done, finished!

Continue with rifle and crew. Is crew the same as rowing? Even though USAFA doesn't have a D1 row team, aren't those erg scores pretty uniform nationwide, like as in swimming with the USA-S SWIMS database? Position yourself for captain, and do captain-y stuff. Continue with AFROTC. Try to leadership and involvement with the clubs, like you mentioned Drill and Aeronautics. Do you have a PT team? My DD was captain 3 years and got lots of good awards at PT competition, and even better lots of compatibility with the CFA! Try for superior cadet and other good awards. And if your unit isn't already, your leadership could lead to the unit becoming an Honor Unit with Distinction, which would mean 3 possible service connected noms (I'll let you research this, can't spoon feed you everything!). And of course continue with the church volunteering and getting more responsibility.

Again, your rifle/crew, AFJROTC, and volunteering seem to be the three big anchors. Do more within each, not add checkmarks with no substance, which I would classify NHS for most people. Of course you want the checkmarks, who doesn't, and all those other nice awards like senior of the week, local good sport of the month, etc.
 
Church is an awesome place to show leadership... I know at our church we have had teen lead our "Backpack Program" (giving kids who receive free lunch food for the weekends) and also our "CROP" walk (walk to raise money for hunger programs).
 
I found being a drill commander was an easier job to get but took a lot of responsibility to make a good drill team. If you want to go more operations, flight commander is always a good start as a junior/ senior.
 
HCopter was right on. But to help yourself, keep a log of the activities in which you participate and keep notes. You won't remember the details in a couple years, but in the resume you will have to submit (along with your Activities Report) you will want to elaborate on 1) what position you held and what you did, 2) how your membership in that activity affected the organization, and 3) the results of your participation. For example, "I was asked to organize a 10K run for a local charity and served as the head of the committee, I led a team of 20 volunteers, and we raised over $2000 for Habitat for Humanity." Write down the details while they are fresh in your mind.
 
I agree with @Waddy60....also keep track of how many hours you spent each time you do a volunteer activity as things like National Honor Society or President Volunteer Service Award have hour requirements.
 
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