You are being very wise to prepare now because colleges look at your grades and activities beginning your freshman year.

If you are interested in these high prestige schools, you must be sure to take courses that are advanced and in core areas (like math and sciences.) You will have to maintain excellent grads because competition for the schools that you mentioned are pretty fierce.

And colleges and universities are looking for students that are well rounded – active in school activities and clubs. The days on the book worm getting all the placements are gone. You will need to be active and volunteerism also looks great on your application.

As far as tests, the SAT is still the standard and the better your score, the higher your probability of getting into a great college. There are lots of SAT prep courses that will prepare you that are available out there. Ask your counselor about them because some schools offer them free. And take the SAT your junior year so that you can apply for colleges early.

So you checklist should look like this:

NOW – enroll in AP math and science courses

Join student clubs and organizations

Investigate SAT prep courses to take sophomore year

Good luck

Firstly, grades are very important. Keep them at their best. Take all the honors and advanced, AP, IB classes you can. While not necessary, it would be good to take some of the AP subject tests after completing a course, because it looks good to colleges and can give you college credit for classes. EG- if your major only requires one science credit, and you take the AP biology or chemistry test and pass, you don’t need to take a science class in college.

I would reccomend taking the SAT and the ACT as many times as you like until you get a score that satisfies you.

Join some extracirricular activities. Do sports, or find a club or organization that interests you. Stay committed to it.

Volunteer! Giving your time to a charity organization looks great on a college resume.

Be a leader, whether it’s byt becoming student body president, leading a club, etc, leadership is one of the top things colleges look for.

These 5 things are the main criteria colleges look at when determining whether or not to accept you. Always remember school comes first, then SAT/ACT scores. Extra cirriculars, volunteering, and leadership give you the extra edge to get into that school you dream of.

Also, some colleges require or request essays or reccomendations. During your senior year when you’re applying, make sure to take time with your english teacher and compose a good college entrance essay. Stay close with an english teacher or high school counselour so you can approach them for a letter of reccomendation (any teacher will do, but most schools prefer it to be an english teacher).

Its never to early to start thinking about college lol. The colleges you want to get into are top-tier universities, so you will have you excel in academics, extracurricular activities, and SAT scores to gain admission. So, try and take advanced level honors courses as a freshman and once you become a junior or senior, try and take AP courses. Try and find a few activities that you can excel in and possibly have a leadership position in. You will have to take the SATs as well as two to three SAT II subject tests. These subject tests include tests on chemistry, biology, foreign language, english literature, and history, basically the stuff you’ll study in high school. I would recommend that you decide what subject tests you want to take early on, like in sophomore year, instead of trying to take them in senior year. For example, if you took chemistry in sophomore year, take the chemistry subject test after you finish the class. To prepare for the SATs, you can buy books or enroll in prep classes. If you want to get into the best colleges, you might also want to do well on the PSATs because colleges will start to send you stuff based on your score.

But, remember, try and have fun and not stress out too much!

probably the best advice is research the school and their programs and see what you want to study. if you already know what you want to be then go for it. college is what you take from it so there is no right college because whats right for you might not be right for another person. if your not ready to go to a major university, then try giving community or junior college a chance to get your basics out of the way. as for the essay, just dont drag on and be boring. putting a twist on your essay may put you in a different place from everyone else, but this may not always be a good place. just dont mess up in school and when you get to school, study and dont worry about partying, that will come its way when it does.

I answered your other question too =D

Well…definitely take the PSAT and SAT. These schools seem to prefer or even require SAT II subject exams too so you should try to take at least 2 in subjects you are strong in (ideally, right at the end of the school year or semester you study them in)

That should cover all the tests you HAVE to take.

(Some schools prefer the ACT to the SAT…so check the school!)

If you want to skip intro/freshman-level classes…I’d recommend taking CLEP’s or AP classes (with the corresponding exams) — also depending on each school’s credit granting policy.

You should be able to find lists of what each college accepts on its website. If not, email an admissions officer.

Have fun!

Oh..and don’t forget to take LOTS of SAT practice tests (you can borrow books like “Cracking the SAT” from the library) to prepare. Ivy league colleges like scores at least above 2100 or 2300 (on a 2400 scale). The higher, the better!

There is A LOT to do in order to get into one of the colleges you want.

You have to have good grades. 9th and 10th grades are the easiest but when you get 11th, thats when its gets a lil harder. Just study for test, dedicate your time to really undestanding the subjects taught. Its really worth it in the end!

Also, get involved in your school. Student givernment; know what they are looking for to be part of it, usually a GPA above a 2.0. Student governemnt is the best way to get involved. From there to see how everything works in school events, how to plan an event, fundraising, and your leadership skills will grow insanely!

From there, try to get in the clubs of your interest. Like for example, I joined the AP Spanish Club because my main focus for college was to major in Spanish Literature, get in the Scholarship clubs, Key Club which is community service, and i think colleges look for that in applications. That you used your time wisely. Please email me! I have a friend who went to Columbia and he can give you tipz!

Good Luck!

Whatever you do keep your GPA up. National Honor Societies look good as well. And make sure you do some extracurriculars because ALL colleges look for a balance between grades and activities.