<p>Hello all,</p>
<pre><code>My name is Dan. I go to one of the top private schools in the country and plan to apply to some of the best schools (Harvard, Princeton, Johns Hopkins, etc.). At my high school I have a 3.94 unweighted GPA, am in the top 10% of my class, and had a decently rigorous schedule with two APs – Calculus BC and Chemistry – in my junior year (although I had no English or History AP courses). Next year, my schedule will be more rigorous as I am taking all Honors and AP courses and plan to take four APs ( English Language and Composition, Bio, Stats, and Spanish). I only got a 2140 on my SAT (760 CR, 700 Math, 680 Writing) in March. After intense, focused studying this past summer, however, I got a 2320 on my last practice test on the college board website, (800 CR, 780 Writing, 740 Math) and plan to get that or a higher score on the real SAT in October before sending in my college apps. I also got two 5s in May on the Calculus BC and Chemistry AP Exams and a 740 on the Math II SAT Subject Test, along with a 800 on the Chemistry SAT Subject Test.
I am an African-American but more strongly identify myself as an Ethiopian-American due to the strong influence of my parents’ culture (they are both immigrants from central Ethiopia). Still, I am worried about my college admissions chances because of my lack of extensive extracurricular involvement and leadership positions, as I’ve only focused on a few things in my high school career. I have played football for the past three years in high school and plan to play again this year (just JV/ Intramural Football at my boarding school) and did track for two years in my sophomore and junior year (Varsity Track but no letters). Furthermore, I go to my local community church, as faith is important to me. Over the past two summers, I have volunteered at a nearby hospital, completed a neuroscience internship, and gone on a Spanish language immersion trip to Mexico for a month. I have no leadership positions but plan to participate in the Programming and Math clubs this year, as I’ve managed my time better to allow for more e.c. involvement. At top schools such as Harvard and Princeton, will they automatically reject me because I don’t have five APs and three major leadership positions, or will they understand that I am a rather quiet guy dedicated to the math and sciences with a rich cultural background but only does a few activities that he really cares about? Am I just worrying too much and are there any tips for presenting my college applications?
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<p>To all who read this very post and respond, thank you so much!</p>