An Average kid needing help
Hello ya'll, I am a rising Freshman at my high school next month and I would need some guidance and help! Background: I am from a low income household and attend a public school in the mid-Atlantic region of the US. My school is pretty competitive, like we send 1 or two Ivy league students yearly. I have a deep interest in STEM with Physics, Math and Computer Science as my favorites. I don't have a ton of time because my family owns a family business so that takes up like 2-4 hrs on weekdays and 4-6 hrs on weekends Planning: I feel like I am too late in planning for a compact and competitive high school life for college admissions so I am trying to make the most of what I have left. I am not yet in high school but looking at my common app, I feel like I'm lacking in EC and Awards. I am a pretty top tier student I would say and I am definitely in the top 10% of my class. Solid contender for Valedictorian (Only lacking out because first and second place were home-schooled and they were able to take an extra year of world language before me). I am also a strong candidate for the presidency (lost by <10 votes). Obstacle 1- Going into high school, I plan on prioritizing Robotics and the state math league. I also want to participate in science fairs for physics or math but I am rather stuck because physics 1- needs large equipment and 2- being able to do projects require a lot of knowledge of the field and from the complicity of this field, I don't think I'll be able to learn enough in the limited time of high school. I have reached out to a professor and he has provided me a full year of physics in college but I can't understand it because I am only at an Algebra II/Trig level. Obstacle 2- I know that volunteering and community service should also be a part of my college application but I want to do something "meaningful." For example, a student going into med would most likely do work at a hospital or nursing home but what about a student going into CS? Physics? Math?