@writergirl0316 You are absolutely right. top colleges do not look for well rounded students, they seek to create well rounded student bodies by recruiting students that are focused/ very talented in a specific area or two.
How do you all know this? I work for one of those and an individual’s balance/rounding is one of the things sought. As one easy example, see what MIT said about the kid who built the nuclear reactor in his garage. You take a chance when you apply. Would you rather assume they “don’t” want rounding when they might? Or add a little something in there, in case the common assumption is wrong?
This isn’t about wanton padding. It’s about being the sort of person who can do more than just the few things that “passionately” interest him/her, be willing to try or commit to other things, as well. Adcoms can look at your hs record to see if you have this quality. Or not. Be wise. Unilateral is a huge risk.
i think u will get into all those colleges and more Sammy i believe in u
i think u have a good chance at Kingsborough Community College that is my thought .
I concur with your dogma
UPDATE: I was just informed that my Nabokov literature research paper is a national finalist in the MIT research competition! I was invited to present my research to the panel in Cambridge during April. 
Wow, you look really impressive!! even if you can’t pull up your act (though it seems likely that you could), you have a great shot at all of the schools! you have great grades, course rigor, wonderful ecs, and it seems like you’ll have good essays and recs too. good luck!
@Faultystart Thank you! Best of luck to you as well.
@lookingforward I get what you are saying. maybe a better wording would be that they are looking for “well-pointed“ students. i.e. people that are not one-sided but also are not spread too thinly all over the place. They want people with great focus and talent in a couple/a few areas but also willing to explore new things and be open-minded.
My college counselor used to say that well rounded is usually code word for someone who is decent/good at many different things but exceptional at nothing. Over the years both as a student in a ivy feeder high school and an alumni interviewer for an ivy, I have observed that well-pointed students are preferred over well-rounded ones.
Your writing ECs certainly make you a strong candidate, but I’m worried that your weak-ish standardized test scores and grades will make you a weaker candidate for tippy-top schools. I’m personally in the STEM field so don’t know how good your awards/ECs are (they look really impressive to me, though) and probably can’t chance accurately for your schools, but I definitely think you can get into all schools except for Harvard, Princeton, and maybe Yale and Penn. Brown is probably in the bag for you/maybe a low reach; others are matches/safeties. Just write really good essays and show your passion, and you should be fine.
I agree on the ACT, but I’m not sure what you mean by grades (I have a 98% UW or 4.0… not too concerned in that department, haha.) Thanks!
@juliag18
@writergirl0316 Whoops, your grades are good. Never mind then 
I was just a little concerned about the lack of AP’s sophomore year, but if you took the hardest/harder classes available to you then you are good and should ignore that comment.
Yes, there’s only one other AP (Bio) offered sophomore year & I didn’t take it because I had to fulfill art requirements for graduation. (If I took the class, I would have had to sacrifice a humanities AP this year to take an art class.) I will take 10 AP exams, and 9 AP classes, by graduation, and my counselor should definitely check off most rigorous. @juliag18
Your 33/36 35 33 are good. It’s the sci that’s a toss up. But you aren’t going into stem. And you have the solid writing experiences, plus (as you know, I previously commented,) the campaign and the debate. I can’t give an opinion on retaking just for the sci score. You need to make the decision you trust.
Penn95, maybe “well-pointed.” But not “spikey.” I know some use well-rounded as false praise, but in top admissions, the idea is the kid who can explore, who is open to new ideas an experiences, willing to take on some things because it’s right or serves some good, whether or not it’s is “passion” or career goal, has that sort of energy…that kid is likely to continue that in the college community. Not just hang in the lab or whatever. It’s a kind of spirit. “Show, not just tell.”
I don’t think there’s much harm in retaking it, especially since the score is due to one curveball passage. I have a friend who is very much going into STEM and also took the February ACT. He received a 34 on Science on his prior ACT, but he also got a 27 on the February one. I do believe that I can practice until I get the section down with five to seven minutes to spare, which I can use in case there is a passage I really need to read thoroughly.
Further ACT Update: I got a perfect score (12 or 36) on the essay section.
You are obviously extraordinarily qualified. I’d say youll certainly get into every school except the Ivies, whichever you will still most likely get into
Ah, thank you! Best of luck next month. @Boston21
Only listing the ones I know very well
Princeton- reject
Brown- not sure/ might waitlist you
Harvard- reject
BU- accept
Emory- accept
Georgetown- accept
Vassar- accept
Wellesley- accept
You have a strong app, and you seem to have a very clear focus of all the things you have done so far. I see that you’re pretty hardworking and there aren’t any flaws with your application.
Chance me back?
Is there anything I could do to improve my chances for schools like Princeton/Harvard, or is it just because you think they’re looking for a different type of student? I will chance you back now! @softiestudies