<p>
</p>
<p>(I’m a senior now, for what it’s worth.) For a freshman you’re doing brilliantly on the SAT. You can study more for the SAT and when you take the PSAT your junior year you’ll be likely to get National Merit (look it up!) which will be fantastic. Take honors/intensive/AP classes at your school and take as many AP tests as you can without dying (;)) and plan out what classes you’re going to take all four years — if you can take an AP test (or two) starting in your freshman and/or sophomore years it’ll look great. Remember, you don’t have to take the AP class to take the AP test — self-study (which I was I did because my school doesn’t offer AP classes) and you can get those high scores. Work on studying for your SAT Subject Tests early (end of sophomore/beginning of junior year) so you can take them once and do well on them and not feel inclined to take them again.</p>
<p>As for the “tiny town in Oregon,” that’s all the more reason to be the leader of the pack and start something big. Start a club at school (knowledge or geography bowl, math or science olympiad come to mind) and then get some awards for it at the state level. Get a job. Start a business. Basically, find what you like to do and then get really good at it. We’re talking state-level awards here!</p>
<p>About the “necessary summer programs and classes,” start researching summer programs for high school students at your local universities and see if you can get merit or need-based financial aid to attend these. One particularly prestigious summer program that comes to mind is TASP ([Telluride</a> Association: Our Programs: For High School Students: Summer Program for Juniors (TASP): General Information](<a href=“http://www.tellurideassociation.org/programs/high_school_students/tasp/tasp_general_info.html]Telluride”>Telluride Association Summer Seminar (TASS) - Telluride Association)) and if you get in, but can’t pay, you’re likely to get aid from them.</p>
<p>Last but not least, if your parents aren’t going to pay for your Ivy education but your family makes enough money that you wouldn’t qualify for financial aid from an Ivy, start researching scholarships. CollegeBoard.com is a great resource for finding these. If your family’s income is such that you would qualify for financial aid, double-check with the schools you’re looking at to make sure.</p>
<p>All in all, colleges (particularly the Ivies!) love to see promising students beat the odds and do awesome things despite their average surroundings. Looks like you’ve got the drive to take yourself somewhere — and that’s the first step. Best of luck to you!</p>