<p>Well, I can’t really say any one thing really helps. It’s all a combination of everything. SAT I feel is basically a benchmark. If you are past a certain level (700’s in everything I should think), I think you’d be fine. An important note on the ECs is that one should be really committed to a particular EC. Go for quality not quantity. You should continue ECs from freshman year in high school. And grades matter a great deal as well. Not just the grades, but the rigor of the courses that the grades were earned in. Hope this helps!</p>