Operation “Soaring Eagle” : What to do in high school

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You application to a university can be divided into 2 parts: a section which is a report about your past achievements and a section which deals with your current state of mind. There is always time to work on the latter half. This primarily includes essays, the art of which will be explained later in the series. But one of the keys to a successful application is a strong academic and extra-curricular profile.

Academics

Your academic standing is one of the major factors that is considered when your application is reviewed. The reason for this being that your academic performance up till this point is a good indicator of how sincere a student you are. So naturally, its important to keep your scores high at school. It doesn’t matter whether your school follows a grading system, GPA scale or just plain old percentage marks – you need to perform well. While it is recommended to be the best in your class/batch, this isn’t always possible due to a number of reasons. Remember that relatively poor performance must be adequately explained by other constructive activities, otherwise it could have a major dent on your chances.

Most universities ask for transcripts of classes/grades 9, 10, 11 (junior) and 12 (senior). So, its important to keep your performance as good and as consistent as possible. Most of the people reading this post will be either juniors or seniors at high school, so there really is little you can do about your 9th and 10th grade marks. In the unfortunate situation where they aren’t up to the mark, try to do well in your last two years at school.

Again, this is fraught with difficulties. For example, in the case of CBSE/ICSE and other boards, the syllabus up till class 10 is somewhat generic. It is designed so that it caters to a variety of developing vocational interests which are gestating in the students’ minds. As a result, scores are somewhat high. However, once in 11th grade, where students are often asked to choose a stream of study, the going becomes tough and those who aren’t prepared for the sudden increase in workload often fall behind.

This is a situation you must try your best to avoid. So try to work conscientiously right from day #1 and aim to get great grades. Now that you’re actually on track for college applications, you might as well give it your best shot. An 80%+ is good. An 85%+ is better. A 90%+ is best.

But then again, perhaps you’re reading this a few days before you sit down to do your apps, in which case, there’s little you can do about your academic transcripts. Even so, it’s not too late. The mid-year report which will be sent after  your main application has been submitted will provide you with the opportunity to redeem yourself. So you need to try and do well in your first semester/first trimester/any other examination the results of which will be out before the mid-year report goes out. A demonstrated interest in your field of study, backed up by a good mid-year scores can often save an application which might have been doomed because of its transcript.

Extra Curricular Activities (ECAs)

It is virtually impossible to satisfy your hopefully high level of interest in the world around you with just a prescribed school curriculum. This is where ECAs step in. The fact that ECAs are not a necessarily regulated, or even a school affair, means that this is something, the terms of which are dictated by you alone. You decide what interests you.

Now its possible that you’re already involved in some ECAs. If this is indeed the case, you must follow it with a  passion and zeal that you will be able to represent accurately on your college apps, when the time comes. You can expand your current ECA, get more involved in it, pick up some more ECAs. Anything! At the end of the day, it will show diversity. But do ensure that an ECA you pick up is something that you will actually work towards, because you won’t fool anybody by stating ECAs just for the sake of it. In fact, this is quite dangerous because if cross-checks are conducted, you could be busted big-time.

In case you haven’t been actively participating in ECAs up till now, there’s no reason to panic (unless you’re a week away from filing your application). Even if you’re halfway through your senior year, there are a number of things you can get involved in. For starters, poke around your school and find some clubs which interest you. Or you might be having some hobbies and past-times that are capable of being developed into full-fledged ECAs. Either way.

Remember that perhaps one of the few things that can make up for a poor academic profile is ECAs. It’s not necessarily the number of activities which matter. More often than not, it’s the quality and level of involvement that you are able to demonstrate in your application both via distinctions and positions you’ve earned as well as your personal statements. In essence, ECAs are a way for you to demonstrate to the adcom (admission committee) how much passion you can have for a particular subject and to what extent you are able to convert that passion into actual action.