Expert: Jake Lanier - 7/6/2004

Question
Dear Holly,

Thanks for your time. I will be a junior in High School in September. I live in Northern California. My top 6 choices right now are: Stanford, UC San Diego, UC Davis, UC Berkeley, Pomona College and UC Santa Cruz. Stanford has always been my dream, but I realize the chances are SLIM. I've been playing volleyball year round for 2 years, and I'm varsity team captain. I like quarter systems, where less material is tested on, but more frequently. I am ranked #1 in my class (out of 230), with a 4.0 GPA (no honors or AP are available frosh-soph year). I took the PSAT's once, and scored a (LOW) 1060, but I will be working on this very much, to get to at least a 1200. I've taken 2 SAT II's and done average. Junior year I am going to be junior class senator, take AP US Hist, Honors English, Pre-Calculus, Chemisty, and Spanish 3. Extracurriculars are good: I'm member of 4 clubs, and I'll be an officer of at least one this year. I had one of the leads in the school play last year, and I plan to continue to be part of school plays. I love warm weather and the beach (hence, UCSD and UCSC), but I'd give up environment choice for a great school.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks so much!!

--Tara

Answer
Tara,
 First off, I apologize that I'm not Holly, but I'll help you despite the identity differences.  After reading your situation, I think you have a good chance at a lot of schools.  PSAT score is a little on the low side, but generally you improve naturally on your SAT.  However, your involvement in school is impressive.  Colleges like to see well roundedness.  Sure having a 1600 on the SAT will impress them, but also having a personality and intelligence is equally impressive.  Keep up the involvement but do not over-exert yourself in extracurriculars.  I would suggest, if you can, getting involved on a volunteer/community service level, if you're not already.  Colleges drool over stuff like that, but they can also read through you to see if you are just doing it for shallow reasons, so find something you're passionate about.  Also, take an SAT course, like Princeton Review, they're very good and will definitely improve your score.  
  As for picking a school, visit all of the ones you are interested in and choose one that you can see yourself at.  Don't worry about it being "the best school," choose somewhere that you're comfortable.  Also, remember you have time to decide and do not stress about it.  Try visiting www.princetonreview.com, the college section, and do the Counselor-o-matic if you haven't, it's a neat tool.  Good luck, and if you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask.
                                   Jake