Am I on the right track to get into a good college?

Question

I'm only a freshman, but I've always dreamed of going to Columbia or NYU once I graduate. I know it's a long way off, but I want to know if I'm on the right track. I'm one of those people who worry about things years in advance. I take all honors this year, my GPA so far is a 4.0, I am part of Key Club, class officers, student council (homeroom representative), and French Club; I play two JV sports (volleyball and outdoor track), and I dance ballet, jazz, and tap (but I doubt that really matters at all). I just want to know if there's anything else I can do to better my chances of getting into those schools and if I'm on the right track. Please only answer if you have a serious answer. Thank you!

Answer 1

Take a look at the stats on the Columbia website. They make it clear that in order to be accepted there you have to be the best of the best.

You are off to a great start. So, what do you not have... the elite schools want leaders who challenge themselves and are creative and bold. THey have many thousands of students applying who have high GPAs and high SATs but what makes kids stand out is special achievements. Not just being in a club, but being the leader of the club and taking that club to the States and Nationals and winning the gold!
You must show that you are not just a grind, but someone with vision, ideas, creativity, and a drive to serve your community.

Challenge yourself with the toughest courses - all APs, honors, physics, advanced language courses, maybe a year abroad?

And find a community service project in your town and do a fabulous job for them.

Forget what that dimwit said about French - that's nonsense. Colleges do not prefer Spanish over French or anything of the sort. They want you to pursue - and pursue aggressively and successfully - the intellectual challenges that you want to follow.
French, Chinese, history, science, whatever!

And, realize that when you apply to Columbia with flawless credentials, that three other people with flawless credentials are going for the same seat. You must keep an open mind abut what schools would work for you. There are 100 top schools in the USA... be open to which of them might be right.....

Answer 2

A lot of schools like seeing the types of things that you have, but they also look for things like world knowledge and maturity, which you can show through your writing ability on an entrance paper. It may be worth it for you to see if you can manage to graduate early ( you seem to be on the right track for that!) and take that extra time to, if you can afford it, go backpacking through Europe, visit India or try and get a fellowship or get on a study abroad program. If you don't want to sacrifice your senior year, try to make valedictorian or salutatorian, and do some extended traveling the summer before your senior year.
In my High School, it was like the unwritten rule to join as many clubs as possible to get into a good college. They usually don't require much commitment and look good on your college "resume", but keep in mind that most college entrance officials know that EVERYONE is in them. So you'll have to prove you are good in other ways too.
Keep running for student council and doing sports, but don't overwhelm yourself.
Also - and I wish I had done this better - make sure you stay in contact with some of your favorite teachers. Find out where your teachers went to school. Maybe one of them has a degree from Columbia or NYU! Take more than one class with certain teachers and have them write your letters of recommendation when it comes time.
Don't worry too much now about what you want to major in in college, but try to figure it out by the time you have to apply. Do research on that major and the type of job it would place you in.
Don't choose a field just because you think it'll make a lot of money. I know many disgruntled law students, and doctors who quit and started working in retail.
And last, read as much as possible, of all kinds of books from around the world. In a New York City college, there are people coming from every different state and country to study and live. Schools here want someone who has a worldliness to their knowledge or experience.
Good Luck, and don't worry about it too much now:)

Answer 3

It's true that high school Spanish classes are better for transferring into a University. Switch to Spanish. Knowing Spanish will be your shoe-in over others applicants for jobs. Agencies are scrambling to fill positions with bilingual employees. Most of them are looking for Spanish bilingual, not French.
You are on the right track. The extra curricular activities you maintain along with the 4.0 will be impressive to any admissions panel.
Volunteer work with community agencies is good to do. If you do not have a lot of work experience to talk about in the biographical essay to Columbia, the volunteer work you have done can be used for examples.

Answer 4

Drop French and get ANY credits in spanish! If you have over three years of spanish in highschool, many colleges includong CU Bolder use them as college credits. I found out the hard way. French did nothing for me accept when I go to CANADA on occassion.