My parents don’t really know a lot about the college process and people in my area don’t really care so figured I’d post here. I have a 31 ACT score which i took about a year ago without prep, and I’m planning on taking it again in a few months and based on my practice test scores I’m optimistic for a 33. I’m a black female and live in a VERY underrepresented state. I have a 4.6 gpa and am currently #1 in my class of about 500 people. I don’t want to get into my EC’s right now but they’re decent, nothing extroadinary like a national award but I have state and regional awards and am part of several groups and clubs. Based off of this info, what are my chances at schools like Columbia, Georgetown, UChicago, etc.
Your chances are really good at all three of those, especially if you bump that 31 up to a 33. Just off of stats alone, you’re a competitive applicant at any top school!
If you haven’t already, take a look at a bunch of colleges on a list like US News and World Report or Niche rankings. Find some that you connect with that are reaches (below 15% acceptance rate or so- like the schools that you named). Make sure you have some matches, too (16-40% acceptance rate) and a safety (70% acceptance rate or higher).
Basically, your chances are above average at any school, so just pick ones that you like without worrying about whether you qualify or not.
Ignore what I said if you’ve already made a list, but I figured I would put that in there just in case you hadn’t done that yet.
Best of luck 
Reaches and matches don’t work like posted above. The top schools are reaches for everyone, although if you can get a 33, by all means apply. You would have a shot. But, don’t fall in love with one school.
Back to reach and match, google the Common Data Set for schools that you are interested in and you will find the 25th and 75th percentiles for schools on test scores and GPA. You want to be at the 75th percentile for it to be a match. Top schools tend to be at 33 or 34 for 75th percentile but they are still a reach because there are more qualified candidates than spots.
For a safety, you want a school that you are guaranteed admission for your stats. That won’t be hard with your GPA and a 31 but it should be a place that you are happy to attend if you don’t get in to other schools. Safety should also be a school that you can afford.
Have you talked budget with your parents? Every college has a Net Price Calculator (NPC) that your parents can use to find your cost at that school. Every school determines aid a little different so you need to do it for each school.
Last, what year are you? If you are a rising senior, you need to take the earliest fall SAT or ACT that you can. If you are a rising junior, you are in great shape and have plenty time.
I’ll add that Harvard, Princeton, and Yale are the most generous in financial aid of the top schools. If you are applying to that tier, I would pick at least one of those. Again, run the NPC and you will know more.
Yes, you are competitive for top colleges regardless of the 33.
Most applicants who are competitive at top schools will get denied. Hence they are reaches for everyone.
You are definitely competitive for those schools because of your academic qualifications. Your GPA and rank are outstanding and your ACT score is definitely pretty good, but I would suggest you aim for at least 34 the next time you take it to increase your chances. All of this being said, these schools would still be reaches for you only because they are reaches for everyone and look for other things besides GPA and test scores. Your geographical location will certainly help as well as state awards (regional awards won’t help too much). If you can show these colleges that you are focused on one certain subject area (as should be indicated through your ECs) and have the willingness to pursue it no matter how scarce your resources, you can definitely get into at least a few of these elite schools. I would suggest choosing your college list based on you area of interest or intended major. For liberal arts and journalism I would suggest you take a look at Yale, Brown, and maybe Dartmouth. For STEM I would recommend Princeton, Columbia, and maybe Cornell (which is good at medicine but they also have a hotel school thing). For business/finance and politics you should look at Harvard and Penn. Your college list is pretty good so far, but just in case, you may want to add more safety schools (such as a state school). Good luck! I would really appreciate if you could chance me back here: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1995754-chance-me-low-gpa-rank-cornell-rice-wash-u-ucla-etc-p1.html
These are the keys of good applications (I already went through the process with my daughter. 12 applications, 8 acceptances in 8 top universities).
Scores: ACT >33
SAT > 1520
GPA: >4.5
Spike (arts or athletics)
Leadership positions
Great essays and recommendation letters (in different disciplines)
EA or ED in your favorite one
Good luck
And don’t forget…there is more than one dream school.
Your profile looks pretty good!
AP courses, and having 4 or 5 on the tests (better 5’s) are very very important to get into the top schools. These are the best way to prove your readiness to succeed in a very competitive college.
Leadership positions, excellent essays, remarkable recommendations letters, a good “spike” in arts or athletics, a good GPA, and you will have a winner application. Anyways, good luck also plays a role during the process.
Don’t hesitate to do EA or ED in your dream school.