Let's hope I'm not being too optimistic

Kanced
Mon, 12 Oct 2009 03:32:41 +0000

I’m a senior this year, gauging my prospects. Since I don’t really know what the colleges prefer if the application isn’t perfect (as I imagine few are), I thought I’d ask you folks. I’m hoping to try for one or two Ivys; but before I get into that, my stats:

For starters, I’m a white male from California.

GPA:
3.8 Weighted
3.4 Unweighted (I screwed up more than once with grades)

Rank:
50 of 600

SAT I:
2360 - 780 in reading, 800 in math, 780 in writing

SAT II:
Physics - 800
Biology E - 790
Math II - 780

AP exams (how large of a factor are these, anyway?):
Four 5s.

ECs:
Various research projects involving lab work
Science bowl (2 years)
Band (4 years)
Drum major for the band (2 years)
Freshman orientation group (3 years)
Various honor bands
Tutoring (3 years)
Active participant with a position in 4 clubs (3 years)
Over 100 hours of community service doing various jobs

Awards:
National Merit commended scholar

Current schedule:
French 4
Band
AP Psych
AP Calculus
AP Government
AP Physics

Prospective colleges:

UC Davis
UC Irvine
UCLA
UCB
Harvey Mudd
Claremont McKenna
University of Chicago
Brown
Harvard
MIT (I consider this and Harvard completely out of my reach, but there’s no harm in trying, right?)

Would a good application essay sway the decision for any of these schools?

Thanks for the help.