Maya

I'm in my junior year of high school and I've had my eyes on the Ivy League Colleges since last year. I toured Harvard in the fall and Yale just last week. I'm absolutely in love with both schools. It would be nice to get first hand accounts from current or past students from either school. How are the academics there? What are the students like? Despite the intense academics, is it still "fun"? Which school is better for exploring opportunities? (I ask this because I had the feeling that Yale's curriculum is better for someone looking to explore for their passion and wanting a greater breadth of knowledge; likewise I felt that Harvard's curriculum is geared more towards students who want to focus on one subject area while dabbling in other subjects- is this accurate?) And most importantly how enjoyable is your experience at the school?

I'm a rising senior and I'm looking into summer programs at Ivy League schools.

I'm currently in my junior year of high school. My overall unweighted GPA from my sophomore year was a 97.87. I always strive to have an average of 95+. This year, I am taking AP US History (APUSH), AP Chemistry, Pre-Calculus Honors (I am in accelerated math/AP math courses are not offered in my school until senior year for accelerated students), Literature of Classics/Decisions Honors, SUNY French (college level), and Chamber Orchestra (Our school's highest level of string orchestra). I also have a daily study hall in my schedule. With this said, I take my academics very seriously. I endeavor to attend an Ivy League school (I want to apply to Harvard for early decision). I do varsity colorguard as well. Practices are Mondays and Wednesdays, 6pm-9:30pm, and Saturday practices can range from 9am-2pm to 9am-8pm. Every month, we have a camp that is Friday 6pm-10pm, Saturday 9am-8pm, and Sunday 8am-2pm. The whole winter season (we have a summer season, but it's far less demanding) is from October until the first week of April (world championships). From January until April, we have competitions almost every Saturday. These usually take up the whole day because most of our competitions are roughly 1-3 hours away. Before each competition, we have a 9am-2pm practice. At competitions, we have to dress up, do hair, put makeup on, warm up, perform a 5 minute show, go out for retreat, then leave. We usually arrive at our competitions around 4pm and leave around 9pm. Thus, 12 hours of almost all of my Saturdays in the winter are eaten up by colorguard. This year, I also signed up to help out with a colorguard team for students with special needs. Practices are every Tuesday 6pm-7pm from October until March. I also have Key Club meetings after school (2:40pm-3:30pm) every other Tuesday. I usually go to the library after school on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays to maximize the amount of homework I get accomplished. However, due to my busy schedule this year, I am often very fatigued during the school day. I get an average of 5 hours of sleep each night. I have fallen asleep in the library a few times already. This is now becoming a large problem because I cannot focus in school and I do not have enough energy to do colorguard. Due to my lack of sleep, I have become less motivated to be successful. I had to write "Harvard" on my hand today in sharpie to remind me of my ultimate goal, which I have been ignoring lately. I need more energy. Maybe I should exercise more? Should I take naps to refresh myself? Should I train my body to sleep heavily at night, then wake up to one alarm in the morning and stay awake? My lack of sleep is not only caused by my large workload, but it is also the cause of it. The less I sleep, the less efficient I become, the slower I do my homework, and thus the less sleep I get. Can someone please tell me how to break this cycle? Any tips?

For the past few years, I have been frequently "blacking out" almost everyday. Sometimes I can "blackout" for a few minutes, at other times, I can "blackout" for about an hour. The reason why I'm putting "blackout" in quotes is because I don't know what else to call it. It may not even be truly "blacking out." It usually occurs when there is a lot going on around me or if I'm feeling nervous (ex: right before getting up in front of a class). I watched a tv show on neurology that said that the brain sort of shuts down and processes information slowly when there is too much for it to perceive. At first, I suspected that this was my problem, but I think it just happens way too often. When I "blackout," I'm not fully aware of what is going on around me. I've been told that my eyes get farther apart (like a temporary lazy eye- perhaps because I have severe astigmatism, for which the prescription is different in each eye, and my brain cannot take in information from both eyes). I also suddenly become a little bit socially awkward because I don't completely know what I'm saying (however, I still function socially, just not very efficiently). I have a tough time concentrating on work (specifically reading because I am more of a strong math person, doing math sometimes even helps me when I "blackout."). When my brain shuts down, so does my body. I suddenly become really tired and all I can think about is napping. With that said, I become irrational and unmotivated. More or less, I feel as if I am temporarily mentally disabled when my brain shuts down. Could somebody please tell me what condition I have, if I have one, and how to treat it?

I understand that the territorial changes that resulted from the war are France's loss of Canada/Midwest America (gained by Britain) and Spain's loss of Florida (gained by Britain). France gained St. Domingue in the Caribbean. Spain gained the Philippines. My main question is regarding France. If the French lost all of their North American territories, then how were they later able to sell the Louisiana territory to the USA? It would also be great if someone could give me a brief summary of the causes of the war and the actual war itself.

In the USA we take our SATs and perhaps the ACTs. I was wondering if schools in the UK would accept these tests or if I had to take tests specific to the UK. Also are there any extra steps to applying to school in the UK as an American?

Or would it just be easier to study abroad, but attend an American university?

I know that both the Queen and the Prime Minister have some governmental power, but what is eachs role and how are they different?

I'm in Switzerland and I really want to buy a watch as a souvenir, but there are too many brands to chose from. I'm not rich, so nothing over $500. I've been seriously considering Victorinox and Swatch (I already have a few Swatch watches). Any recommendations?

I was taking a practice global history test and there was one question that had a political cartoon in which a man (wearing an Iran shirt) is shown in a boat. The boat is floating in oil and the man is saying, "Hey, we need uranium for energy!"

Question: What is the main idea of this 2004 cartoon?

I looked up the answer and it was: "It is questionable whether Iran needs uranium to produce energy"

Can someone please explain this to me? My final exam is tomorrow and my only weakness is modern history.

I'm normally a really happy and radiant person. Sunny days make me shine and I can be very talkative and energetic. However, I often feel depressed on cloudy days. I feel as if there's a light in my chest (which shines when the sun does) that's being covered by clouds. I feel like I won't be heard if I speak and I feel as if I don't matter and that everyone just overrides me. I'm not nearly as energetic either.

I have heard of the winter blues (SAD) and I always used to think that was my problem. However, it is now spring and I still feel down when the weather is crappy.

Is this a treatable condition, or is it merely a psychological problem that's all in my head.