also can you chance me http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1866139-what-are-my-chances-for-these-schools.html#latest
Before I answer your questions dk I feel compelled to clear up some misinformation. First and foremost, an AP score of a 4 vs. a 5 is essentially indistinguishable at the schools you are applying to. The reason for this is simple: AP scores are expected to the point that individual scores are barely noted. Rather, the AP Scholar awards give them a basis for your performance and the TYPES of AP courses taken are considered (mainly STEM. liberal arts, or a mix), difficulty of tests, self-study vs. class (self-study scores are more relevant because they show personal motivation; that being said a low score on a self study is less bad than a low score in a class because it is harder, provided you only have a couple low scores).
This brings me to my second point: the AP scholar awards are not in any way, shape, or form rare at the schools you are applying to. Finding a student that isn’t either an IB alumni, AP scholar (at least distinction), or recipients of credit through a local college is incredibly difficult (I’d hazard a guess and say they account for less than 5% of the student body at my school). That said, you will still place above average in this regard if you execute your plan.
To answer your actual questions, winning (as in first place) two national level tournaments is good news. That elevates the value of your debate performance over what I said previously (all national level awards in non-niche arenas are valuable boosts). Without actually being an adcom, I would struggle to tell you if that now surpasses the other two (one shows the ability to work at something and succeed nationally (more so than literally everyone else who tried) while the other demonstrates ingenuity, industriousness, and organizational acumen. Which is better? Hard to say. Are both solid points worth mentioning? Absolutely. Debate accomplishments make for a great resume while self-started clubs make for great essays. Capitalize on both (remember that the self-starters only matter if you bring them up and highlight the thought process that led you to create the club, what challenges you faced, why you did it, what you learned, etc.). Make sure to leverage your rare accomplishment to full advantage.
Your early/action - deferral plan is something I cannot comment on (I could belabor you with statistics but the truth is it doesn’t seem to matter a great deal which path one pursues). I also don’t know how heavily things are weighted after the deferral (I’ve heard conflicting claims that they are the most important consideration and that they are literally completely ignored by overworked adcoms).
As to your service project; that depends on what you can make of it. If you are able to leverage that to demonstrate a personality trait or skillset better than another element of your application then it is important; otherwise do it for the ethical reasons but focus on other aspects for your application.
You are in the fortunate position of already having substantive contributions to your resume. You don’t need to pad it with “I worked for 50 hours at the soup kitchen but don’t ask why I did it because I was only thinking about a number on a college application.” This means you can focus on the elements that will turn waitlists into acceptances.
To put it in the parlance of my counselor, you are in the 20% that get 80% of the admission offers (consider that at top schools with 5-10% admit rates, this still puts the odds against you at any one school at the top of your list, while your odds of getting into one of the top 3 are pretty darn good). People in this group don’t need quantity, they need to show why their already high quality achievements show a high quality person underneath.
I’ll leave you with those words from a woman far wiser than I on such matters.
@hellothere1334 Thank you very much for all your help. It’s very nice to hear feedback from someone who knows some of the intricacies of my resume and has some experience. I will definitely take into consideration your advice on how to approach my essays. Thank you once again.
I’m actually just considering UC Berkeley as my top choice. It’s much cheaper, and I like the vibe of the campus.