getting into a top-tier university -- Virtually Advising Q+A

The Q: I'm currently a sophmore with a 3.6 weighted GPA. However I am working hard on improving that as much as possible before I apply to college later on. I try to challenge myself with every course I take and I consider myself an excellent student. I also participate in track and field (both spring and winter), and I help out at the hospital as community service. I have dreams of attending Cornell but I would be more then glad to attend schools such as Johns Hopkins, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Carnegie Mellon. I would really like to know what other things I could do to increase the possibilities of getting into the college of my choice and what would be a reasonable score for me to attain on the new SATs.

The A: It sounds to me like you're doing pretty well for yourself: You've got a very solid GPA, you're taking challenging courses, you're exploring your interests outside the classroom by doing track and field, and you're involved in meaningful community service -- hopefully in a way that you enjoy and find fulfilling!

You are, in short, doing all of the things that a person typically needs to do in order to have a good shot at getting into an excellent university. If you continue to improve your grades, and if your SAT, SAT IIs and AP exams go well, you'll likely have a very competitive application pretty much no matter where you apply.

That doesn't mean, of course, that you'll actually get admitted wherever you apply. Getting into any stellar university is rarely just about the numbers; after all, most of the other students who apply also have outstanding transcripts. So the deciding factors in admission often become less quantifiable things, like aspects of your personality (e.g., are you self-confident without being pompous? are you highly motivated to succeed? are you cool under pressure? can you be a leader? do you express yourself well?), unique characteristics or experiences, your recommendation letters, your personal essay and so forth. In the end, admissions officials choose the students they think best fit the needs and the culture of their university.

So in terms of improving your chances of getting into a top-notch school, there's little in the way of specific advice I can give. I do have some general advice, though: Trust your instincts. Don't sit back on your haunches. Continue to find new ways to challenge yourself, but don't burn yourself out. Push the limits, but be aware of your limitations. Follow your interests. Make time for friends and family. Don't be afraid to try new or unique things (preferably the legal/healthy ones, if you know what I mean), or to travel to new and unique places. And as cliche as it sounds, be yourself; excellent schools want gifted, independent thinkers, not people who try to act like someone they're not.

So keep on trucking, and enjoy yourself! Be sure to start meeting with your guidance counselor relatively often, as the time to begin choosing specific colleges and preparing your applications draws closer. And write back again anytime!

—Myles Helfand, General Advisor

p.s. -- Whether an SAT score is "reasonable" or not depends almost entirely on the specific school you're applying to, but if you were applying this year to the four colleges you mentioned, a verbal score in the mid-600s and a math score in the upper-600s to lower-700s would probably be considered competitive. That said, though, Cornell also admits plenty of people with overall SATs in the mid-1200s, so nothing's a guarantee either way. There's also no way to know how the new SAT, which kicks in during March 2005, will change things, though I doubt the average verbal and math scores will change all that much.