<p>Hi thorn, I really do wish you well. I hope you find the perfect school FOR YOU. I simply think you need to realize that your stats put you at the bottom of the applicant pool for every Top 25 school–even for athletes and URMs. There are times when EC’s, life circumstances, etc. can pull an otherwise borderline student through. However, we would be doing you a HUGE disservice if we unfairly convinced you that your chances of getting into most of the schools on your list were even remotely promising. They aren’t. </p>
<p>If you look back through some of my previous posts, you will see that I am generally the person offering reality checks for students who are on the opposite side of the fence from you–they have perfectly commendable stats and are being told that they don’t have a chance at top schools. I don’t know everything, but I do help a lot of students who have difficult stats apply to top schools, so I have a pretty decent idea of what it takes (I am not a “professional”, I just care a lot about some of these amazing, borderline kids whose GPA’s/test scores don’t tell their whole stories). Last year, DS was one of those borderline students and we were VERY realistic about his situation. He was borderline with a 3.7 GPA. But he also had 13 APs (Scholar w/Dist. 10th grade, Nat’l Scholar 11th grade), 35 ACT, NMF, 700+ service hours, founded two service organizations, won over three dozen state/national awards in almost every area of study (most awards were national), was an inventor, researcher, etc. And, HE was borderline.</p>
<p>I don’t think you have a very clear picture of what the students you will be competing against are accomplishing AT THE SAME TIME AS they are keeping decent grades and scoring high on tests. I am not saying you will not be accepted. And 1-2 of your ECs are potentially interesting. I’m simply saying that schools want to know that you have the aptitude to excel at the highest levels academically. 2.7 GPA, a 3 on your only AP and 1850 on the SAT doesn’t produce confidence in schools that you are prepared for rigorous college coursework. Where in your academic record have you shown any propensity toward academic success? Unless you come from an underprivileged/impoverished background (which doesn’t seem to be the case, at all, given the cost of participating in some of your ECs), you need to understand that your academic record probably will not be overcome by any of your ECs to gain admission to top schools. </p>
<p>You should definitely apply everywhere you wish. You really never know who at the school might take an interest in you. I simply want you to construct a list of schools that will result in your getting admitted to the best school that you can afford and where you can thrive academically. It looks to me as if you may be looking for FA. If so, that is another hurdle for you to overcome at top schools. With your GPA and test scores, you won’t even be eligible for merit money at most schools. So, be realistic in constructing your list so that you aren’t one of those students who is devastated in April when they either have nowhere to go, or are railroaded into going to a school they believe is “beneath them” because they were so sure that schools were going to overlook their mediocre applications to see their innate awesomeness. Unfortunately, anything that isn’t readily apparent on your apps isn’t going to get you past other more qualified, more interesting students. So apply where you want, but plan for rejections from Top 50 schools. Then, if you get into one, Yay for you! :)</p>