Can I get in??

I am a high school sophomore in virginia. I have a 4.080 currently (Im taking all honors and 1 AP, with the exception of my electives and P.E.). I am planning on applying early decision to duke, early action to georgetown, and early action to uva. I have been a ballet dancer for 9 years and participate in key club (planning on becoming secretary/president/some leadership position next year). Over the summer after freshman year, I went to a medical camp at georgetown, a sports medicine camp at william and mary, and a competitive stem camp at uva. This summer, I plan on doing an internship at either the nih or george mason university (whichever I get in to). Next year I plan to take 5 APs, and senior year I plan on taking 6 (a student at uva told me that uva looks for students who take the most challenging classes available to them). What are my chances of getting into any of my top 3 colleges? Any advice is appreciated.

You have a good chance, but do realize that the competition will be tough regardless of how prepared you are. Take your time with your application and write good essays, and I’m certain that you’ll get in somewhere on your list. Good luck! :slight_smile:

How could anyone possibly predict whether you will be a competitive candidate in 2 years? It depends on your achievements and your scores. Sounds like you have a template for “how to get into competitive colleges” and you intend to follow it. Also sounds like you are filling your spare time (summers) with programs that are designed by others as predigested methods to appear competitive for competitive colleges. This is the first time I’ve read about someone paying for 3 such programs in one summer though! I’d say that except for a few very competitive (and usually free) programs, these summer programs don’t really help your chances at getting into a competitive school. In fact, they may do the opposite. Note my comment that they are “predigested” (aka “pablum”). On the plus side, the schools you list are not extraordinarily competitive and they admit a fair number of students who fit the demographic I imagine is true for you (good student, upper middle class, high end suburb outside DC). My advice is to read Chris Peterson’s blog that has been widely sited on these threads and that is relevant even though you don’t plan to apply to MIT. http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/applying_sideways

Actually, I only paid for the Georgetown program over the summer… The W&M camp was only around $100, and the UVA camp was a free one, and admission was competitive and based on merit. I just thought those programs would be better to do than to just sit around at home. Also, I know that ethnicity plays a big role in acceptances. I am an Indian girl who has done ballet for the majority of my life. Do you think that will hurt my chances, since other Indians are typically inclined to more academic extracurriculars, or would it improve my chances, as it is unique for an Indian to pursue an artsy afterschool activity? Thanks!