Can I dig myself out of this hole?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Objective:
ACT: 31
GPA: My average is a 90. My unweighted (out of 4) 3.2 (Yes I know this is very low for where I am applying however, every single class I have taken has been honors or AP, and my grades are on a very consistent upward trend to the point where at this point junior year, I have 4 A's and 2 B's.) Weighted: 3.8
Class Rank: Unavailable
AP's: I will have taken 8 by senior year, I have gotten a 3 on my AP World exam, and my teachers this year all project me in the 4-5 range for the ones I am taking this year.
Major Awards: William T. Hornaday Badge, Eagle Scout
Extracurriculars: Varsity Track ( I can consistently run a sub-55 sec 400m which is almost Div 3 level; I can probably get to Div 3 level if I work hard enough), Cross-Country,Trap and Skeet Shooting, Boy Scouts.
Job/Work Experience: None
Volunteer/Community Service: 200~ hours through my scout troop
Summer Activities:Working as part of an OA Trail Crew at Philmont Scout Ranch
Essays: Excellent, I'm a good writer, and I've already started working on them
Teacher Recommendations: Both excellent
Counselor Rec: Probably good
Additional Rec: From Scoutmaster
Other
State: TN
School Type: Top 100 Public
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 200,000
Schools I am looking at:
Williams
Amherst
Cornell
Haverford (Legacy there)
Northwestern
Dickinson
Whitman
Grinnell
Boston College
UVA (Legacy there too, I heard that legacies get compared to in-state applicants, I'm not sure if that's true or not)</p>

<p>Did I really dig myself into a deep hole with my grades? Should I lower my expectations for what colleges I can get into?
Other than improving my shoddy freshman and sophomore year grades, which is impossible, is there really anything else solid that I can do to improve my chances?</p>

2

<p>Yes, you need to change your list. Choose among (or keep all of) your super reaches (Williams,Amherst, Cornell, Haverford Northwestern, UVA) ONLY after you’ve designed a list with matches and safeties. Right now, only Dickinson is a match and you have zero safety. BC, Grinnell, and Whitman are all reachable reaches (odds are against you, but not impossible). Most of your matches would be national universities and LACs ranked 45 to 75 or so plus regional universities ranked 3-10, reachable reaches would be ranked 30 to 45 plus regional universities ranked 1-2, safeties would be your in-state flagship plus universities/LACs ranked in the 75-125range plus regional universities ranked 11-25 and regional colleges.
Getting to a clear D3 level in Track would probably shift a few possibilities.</p>

3

<p>Get some safeties and matches. Shouldn’t you climb out of your hole? Digging will make you go further down the hole.</p>

4

<p>Too many reaches…</p>

<p>Grinnell: High match
Whitman: High match
Dickinson: High match</p>

<p>Get yourself a safety or two…</p>