Whenever anyone young asks me this general question I point them first to pg's awesome essay: http://www.paulgraham.com/hs.html http://www.paulgraham.com/hs.htm

Whenever anyone young asks me this general question I point them first to pg's awesome essay: http://www.paulgraham.com/hs.html http://www.paulgraham.com/hs.html. This is targeted for HS students but I think also applies to freshmen and sophomores. To boil it to one sentence: Make decisions as to maximize your options. I would add that your personal network is one of the most valuable asset you'll have so start on your networking skills. To do this well, as they say, be interested, not just interesting. Ask people what are the most important open research problems in their fields, people love to talk about this stuff. Finally, if possible, avoid companies that "care about GPA above a certain level".