<p>Personality, personality, personality. You need one (if you don’t have one already). And I’m not being sarcastic or facetious here. Grades, extracurriculars, test scores are all fine and dandy. In the final analysis though, there will be plenty of applicants like you applying at the ivys. Many WILL get rejected despite their skills, talents and sheer brilliance. Advice: consider the personal essay as a very important part of the package or presentation of self to the universities. They will look at the essays very carefully. Ivy leagues also want to see that a student has a distinct personality (that is something interesting, individualistic, perhaps quirky). Universities no longer look at ‘cookie cutter’. You need the grades, APs, high test scores, and then again more high AP test scores, National Merit Scholar designation, recommendations, extracurriculars, top school ranking. Yeah. You and everyone else. What makes you different? What makes you stand out among the rest? Do you have anything you are passionate about or are you going through the motions? </p>
<p>The reason I’m being so negative is because my daughter just went through the process after having graduated top 5% of her class from one of the top college preparatory high schools in the nation with one of the highest percentage of high ranking school admits. She was accepted EA (and now attends) her first choice, University of Chicago. She was also accepted at EA at both Georgetown and University of Virginia. She was later rejected at Yale. She was also rejected from UCBerkeley, wait listed at UCLA which is surprising, but then again, not surprising. From my experience, applying to Ivys (and UCs, for that matter) is a bit of a crap shoot insofar as it’s a it unpredictable. There is no sure thing. If you think you have ‘the formula’, you’re probably wrong. </p>
<p>There were a few of her classmates that ended up at Stanford, Harvard, Columbia and Yale. However, there were others that ended up at UCBerkeley and Cornell. In these case, the lower ranked schools were definitely NOT their first choices! I’m not saying these are bad schools. They are obviously top schools with excellent reputation and merit. My point is that these were considered their safety schools and they probably could have done “better”, that is, been admitted to a higher ranking school (or more importantly, a more suitable/better fit school) if they had done their ‘homework’. Her classmates were rejected pretty much across the board at every Ivy League they applied. Like my daughter, they were top 5 percent of graduating class, perfect test scores, blah, blah, blah. The reason they didn’t get into their first choices (Ivy Leagues), I believe, is because of the personal essay and the way they presented (or marketed) themselves. Their parents, although well meaning enough, were also a bit unrealistic I believe. They were dead set on their kids attending top Ivy Leagues - but they each had only ONE or TWO particular schools in mind. They didn’t carefully consider all the choices or what would be the best fit for their kid. Neither parent of child was very open minded. They refused to listen to the college counselors who knew better based on years of experience who told them to do research on A LOT of schools and apply to AT LEAST 10 to 12 schools! They did not listen, and instead had their hearts set on one (Princeton, in one case, Yale, in the other). They paid to have others write their kids essays (or helped them write the essay!). I think another factor was that the kids presented themselves as kind of one dimensional, uninspiring, uncreative, blasé and boring. They participated in high school activities that would ‘get them into schools’ but they had no personal passion or heart. Just kids going through the motions of high school and jumping hoops – that only gets you so far (unless you’re legacy, in my biased opinion). Ultimately, these kids did not get into the schools they wanted. And I don’t believe it wasn’t that they were not good enough. Think long and hard about the schools you think you might want to attend, what you want to study, do research on schools, visit schools. I’m saying this because it’s not just about getting into an Ivy. </p>
<p>Perhaps you think my comments are irrelevant since you are asking specifically what your chances are for admission based on the criteria you provided. My argument is that admission decisions are much more complex than what you <em>might</em> assume. Ultimately, you want to attend the school where YOU will be the happiest and feel most successful. If that is your goal, then I suggest, you work to figure out who you are, where your passions and interest lie (I didn’t see that in your post) and what you envision as possible careers once you graduate.</p>
<p>Good luck! I know this is a daunting task. Prioritizing and maintaining a sense of balance and realistic perspective are keys here.</p>
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<p>Additional comment: teacher raising your grade to A based on AP performance is unethical. If you get a five on an AP exam, you shouldn’t be so concerned (or obsessed) with a B in a class. My daughter got an A minus or two, maybe a couple of Bs. It wasn’t a make or break thing, and Harvard still wanted to interview her. Try to act ethically. Being a good person is just as important (if not more important) than being a brilliant person (or being perceived as one) ;)</p>