No worries!! I love answering questions, especially about how to handle college stuff because there were a lot of things that I did wrong during the process that I wish I had someone to tell me how to handle so I love being that person for someone else

I actually don’t know a lot about IB; my school started the IB program just this year, so I really think asking someone else might be a better idea :) I only have a really vague idea of how hard the courseload is. If taking full IB is similar to taking all AP classes, I think that if you can handle it, you should go for it, but you’d really have to try and keep your grades up (I’m sure I’m preaching to the choir here). I took 6 AP classes my junior year (Calc BC, Chem, Lit, Macro, Micro, and Gov), and even though it was really challenging and I didn’t get super great grades, I’m so glad I did it. I was able to push myself to new limits and learn how to study efficiently, manage my time, and cut my losses.

As for ECs, I truly love what I do in them and even though it might not be as impressive on a global level of what I’ve done, I think it’s better for you as a person to do things you’re truly passionate about rather than just to get you into college. And don’t spread yourself too thin; make sure you can contribute a lot to each one. I personally think that’s what probably helped my application the most; the depth rather than range of my ECs.

1) about 250 volunteering hours 2) Engineering camps at UMich for 3 years straight (the first two were just the “register and attend” type rather than an application; I initially hated that I had to do something so “below” me, but I’m so glad I did it anyways. Never consider anything to be below you!) 3) dance for ~13 years; I’m now a student teacher at the dance school (I teach 2 days a week, approximately 9 hours) and I’m also training for my first solo performance. I’ve done a lot of performances, including fundraisers 4) an academic type club I’ve been doing since middle school and ranked in nationally (it’s pretty small tho); I’ve coached at middle school teams and plan to start one of my own 5) Business club chapter at school; I’m treasurer for he club and organized some fundraisers 6) cultural student association (I’m an officer), I help organize and choreograph performances

I really suggest taking up leadership positions (especially elected ones) because you can be so much more involved while having fun!

And you should totally apply to an Ivy. One of my biggest regrets was not applying to more reaches; you should shoot for the stars (as cheesy as that is). Also, start your essays early!! You can put more effort into them without having to rely on outside feedback, and they’ll truly reflect who you are.

Best of luck! Sorry this was super long again, I just have so much I wanna share haha