High school sophomore. Preparing for college. Help is appreciated.?

Question

I am a sophomore in high school currently. I was wonder what I need to do to get into a good college when I graduate. Scholarships would be nice as well. I'm curious if honors and AP classes look good on a resumé or if they're looked upon no different than regular classes. I'm interested in taking some course at the local community college and I'm not too sure if it is normal for them to accept current high school sophomores or if they wait until their junior year to admit you into the community college part time and full time over the summer.
Also, I'm not too sure what extracurricular activities look good on a college resumé or not.

I am an A B honors student with a GPA of 3.5, no PSAT scores as of yet.

Answer 1

depending on the state you're in, you probably can do PSEO- which is being in college for free during your junior and senior year. however if you don't think you're ready for the work yet, then i would definitely take ap and honors classes- those look really good on college apps and you can take the ap tests to get early college credit- i know people who are going to enter college as sophomores next year because of all their ap classes.

all extracurriculars look good- but they especially look for leadership positions in clubs and student organizations or student government, etc. i go to a school of 3500 kids, so you can imagine that i really had to stretch that kind of thing on my college apps.

colleges also look for a really well rounded schedule. even if you know you want to go into science or something, be sure to not just stick with science classes- take a well rounded schedule. also, be sure to get in at least two years of a foreign language, and to divide your language arts between literature and writing.

to make it short- the best things you can do are a.) volunteering b.)student leadership positions c.)good grades in advance classes d.) a diverse list of classes you've taken. junior year is when this all really counts- so you really shouldn't have to be worrying too much about it sophomore year- just keep up your grades and get involved in activities that may be offering leadership positions next year. choose next years classes carefully-junior year is what they look at the most.

Answer 2

I don't know through your answer how competitive of college you are looking for, but for most places it is not as hard to get into as people seem to think. The higher GPA, the lower SAT/ACT score you need. Scholarships are given based on any number of reasons at all, some ridiculous. Get on a site like FastWeb and they show tons of possible scholarships. I'm from KY, so the state, has a scholarship system setup for every high school student automatically earns with grades from high school and bonuses set depending on test scores. You do not need to worry about college courses as a sophomore. The problem with those type of classes are some schools don't accept them as transfer. All colleges have different rules depending on class type and your major. And I'm not sure you can even go full-time to community college as a junior in high school? AP classes are a good way to show that you are willing to take upper-level courses. With extracurriculars, clubs/athletic teams are solid ways to show you can handle multiple responsibilities while maintaining good grades. Hope this helps.

Answer 3

When I was a sophomore in HS, college was the last thing on my mind. You shouldn't worry too much about it. Pre-SAT? Yeah, why not. Scholarships should be senior year since they will give you the money the upcoming fall when you attend college, not three years later. Honors and AP classes look good, but GPA is the biggest factor. AP classes are really useful if you pass the exams since they give you college credits. When I was taking AP classes and the teachers were telling me how cool it was to get credit college, I was like, sure, whatever, I can just take that class in college. But, now being a junior in college, let me tell you, those AP credits are super helpful. For the big competitive colleges, ivy leagues, sports and any clubs that you get some leadership skills will definitely help. Other colleges, the majority of them, could care less. Sophomore year checklist ----------------------------- PRE SAT Junior ----------------- SAT AP exams Research schools Senior ---------------- Apply to colleges FAFSA (and other financial aid headaches) Attend open houses Re take SAT if you want Scholarships

Answer 4

Most High Schoolshave college prep courses like English/Math/Science/Pyscology/etc so you may want to take them now. Your guidance counselor should be able to to set the rest of your high school time up for college prep..You may be able to take college courses in your senior year..

It really depends on your major and college of choice.

Answer 5

All of your questions should be answered by the guidance counselor at your high school.