@ejcclc I can add on to what you said about UChicago, since I was admitted EA and will be attending there in the fall. Yes, essays are everything there, but you still need a reasonable GPA to supplement that. They tend to be lighter on test scores, but since your grades are the problem and not your test scores, nothing really makes up for the grades. No school, not even Chicago, will take you on essays alone. You would have to have some truly stellar essays to overcome that GPA and rank (which, to me, is more indicative of rigor than GPA is.) It is clear you go a rigorous school, but it will be extremely tough to get in to UChicago. It is possible, though, if that makes it any different. I know people who got in with that GPA.