<p>Since you got the 1300 during your sophomore year… I don’t think it will hurt you too much. Just take it again during your junior or senior year and you definitely stand a chance. Of course, make sure you keep your grades up! Taking a near-full AP courseload is going to be much harder than your 9th or 10th schedule.</p>
<p>As for your other schools… Stanford will be a reach no matter what. Columbia & Duke are slightly easier to get into but not much… if your SAT’s end up being below 1500, Columbia would be easier… if your SAT’s are above 1500… Duke & Columbia will both be about equal in difficulty. Good luck!</p>
<p>"I hate to sound mean, but your chances are slim for Yale. Definitely apply, but do not bank on an acceptance. When I applied, I had a 1590 SAT (800M, 790R), was valedictorian of my 400 student elite prep school class, spent a summer working at a leprosy hospital in Ecuador, the highest GPA possible at my school, Varsity Track & XC, president of various clubs, kick-butt recommendations, etc., etc., …I even had a summer internship doing cancer research…AT YALE!, and I was still rejected. They didn’t even waitlist me. When they say winning a Nobel Peace Prize isn’t even a guarantee for acceptance, they aren’t kidding!</p>
<p>Go to Duke."</p>
<p>I can’t tell if you’re joking or not, but if you’re not, that’s pretty amazing - depressing, almost. What more could they ask for? But you think I’d have a good chance at Duke? My mom went to Duke, so that would probably help me out.</p>
<p>And how’d you get that internship doing cancer research? That sounds awesome.</p>
<p>Riot, I can tell you that you have a “good” chance but what does that actually mean to you… even if you get higher SAT scores (which you should if you want more of a decent shot), most of it is still up to chance. Yale, especially, is a crapshoot school. Nowadays all the top colleges turn down applicants with stellar everything. I don’t know how competitive the admission process is going to be during your year. You’re pretty accomplished as a sophomore, but you have a long way to go. When the time comes, spend a lot of time on your application and put the right package together, and you’ll be fine.</p>
<p>I’m going to be volunteering at a summer camp as a Teacher’s Assistant/Camp Counselor. The camp is for students k-6, basically math, science, social studies, etc. at a local college. I’m going to organize activities/meals for the students, as well as help out in the classroom. I’m going to work four hours a day, getting paid $8 an hour for the first half, and community service for the second half. I guess that makes it both volunteer work and a job. Is that something that’d impress Yale, or is it just something to do over the summer?</p>
<p>you REALLY must raise those SAT scores. GPA is decent, but I hope the grades in the classes reflect your AP score grades-so in general good scores are preferable (duh). </p>
<p>You have alot of ECs-it’s important to have a “hook”-ie major national/state awards. Actually a professor at Yale who gave a lecture on ivy league admissions, esp. Yale, said that it was REALLY improtant that you show that whatever you’re good at you can be compared with other people and show that you come out in top statewide/nationwide in it.</p>
<p>I took notes during his lecture, but it was back in october so i’ll see if I can find them and give more help on specifics</p>