<p>Floridadad55, I’m a newbie here but it sounds like you are riding the proverbial parental pendulum for college admissions. I’ve BTDT for two of three kids so far. My third is now a HS senior. The reality is that you can’t second guess college admissions…not for the Ivies, not for the top 50 national universities, not for any universities.</p>
<p>Your son has terrific standardized test scores, a fantastic class standing, and is a published author! From what you have written, he has a passion…and to the adcom that is fantastic. With respect to the GPA, that is simply a facet of who he is at this point in his academic career. With the number of AP test scores you’ve mentioned, that GPA must reflect a rigorous curriculum. With the class rank you mentioned combined with his GPA, that suggests a highly competitive school. Remember that AP scores are generally self-reported so your son can list whichever ones he wants to list. </p>
<p>Does you son have “enough” for a reasonable chance of admission at an Ivy? Quite possibly. Here’s what one section of the Yale webpage “What Yale Looks for” has to say on the topic:
“…We estimate that over three quarters of the students who apply for admission to Yale are qualified to do the work here. Between two and three hundred students in any year are so strong academically that their admission is scarcely ever in doubt. But here is the thing to know: the great majority of students who are admitted stand out from the rest because a lot of little things, when added up, tip the scale in their favor. So what matters most in your application? Ultimately, everything matters. The good news in that is that when so many little things figure into an admissions decision, it is fruitless to worry too much about any one of them…” (from [What</a> Yale Looks For | Yale College Admissions](<a href=“http://admissions.yale.edu/what-yale-looks-for]What”>What Yale Looks For | Yale College Undergraduate Admissions) )</p>