<p>Yes, WUSTL is a good safety for HYP, not to mention being one of the best schools in the country.</p>
<p>It's too late for me to "start a club" and I really don't think that's what sets you apart anyway. Anybody can start a club for the hell of it as long as it has a valid topic. And adding to my activity sheet at the beginning of Senior Year will only make me look bad, wouldn't it? Ganggreen can you tell me what your experience is.</p>
<p>Also, my recommendations should be the best there are. I had one teacher for Math three years in a row (my best subject, 99 as a cumulative grade for each year so far) and we got to know each other well. My other is a French teacher who I would have had for three years, but she left. Still I think she's very friendly, liked me pretty well, and will give me a great recommendation.</p>
<p>As for my rank, I said it will probably get better. But even if it stays at seven I don't think I should have to explain myself. I saw that people going to Yale are all in the top ten percent, not all in the top ten. At some schools I'm pretty sure top ten can go up to thirty. Actually, a student at my school this past year was number 14 out of about 100 and still got into Yale. And I'm not going to say I could be valedictorian because that's just conceited. I'm not, so I'm not going to get someone, especially someone who colleges know are biased towards me anyway, to say I could be the valedictorian. I also heard a lot of extra rec's are detrimental to you application anyway.</p>
<p>I think you're right, and you're on the right track. And like I said, I wouldn't worry too much about the rank, I'd be more concerned with developing a good application overall, by including great essays and recommendations (and not making any typos!). I didn't mean that you should get someone to directly say you could be the valedictorian, what I meant was that if you can, you should try to get someone to indirectly suggest that you are a brilliant, thoughtful, compassionate student and one of the best, if not the best, in the class. They can do that not by saying directly as much, but by illustrating some of your personal qualities with anecdotes and stories. As far as the extra rec goes, I would only include it if it was from someone who could really make a great case for you along those lines - that is, from someone who would not be likely to write a recommendation letter for any other person.</p>
<p>I don't think I'm going to include an extra recommendation because I think it'll just look bad. And don't worry, I definitely won't make any typos on my apps or essays, I just don't proofread my posts here.</p>