<p>I'm a junior, and I got a 34 act...I'm getting my sat scores tomorrow (I've been waiting forever), and I'm hoping I did pretty well on those. I'm an IB diploma candidate at a small, small (91 kids in my class) Catholic school in the Chicago area. My grades are high--straight A's all three years so far, weighted GPA about 4.74 (and it will go up next year because I have mostly 5.0 scale classes next year). Right now I'm the top in my class, and I'm hoping it will stay that way. I'm involved with a lot: 4 honor societies (NHS, Spanish, Thespian, Quill and Scroll). I'm going to be an editor of the school newspaper next year and possibly assistant editor of yearbook. I'm running for leadership role in either NHS or Thespian or both as well. I act in two plays a year and am involved in two choirs at school. I sing in the choir at my church, play handbells, and cantor at church. Volunteering=tutoring and volunteering for an animal shelter.</p>
<p>I have been considering places near home--University of Chicago, Loyola, possibly Knox College (my mom's alma mater). I'm pretty sure I can get into all of them, but I'm not sure about scholarships, etc. I was also wondering what kinds of chances I would have at an Ivy League--it's always been a secret ambition to get into Harvard or Yale; however, I would never be able to afford it. Based on my qualifications, what are my chances? Also, where can I get IB credit?</p>
<p>Oh, yeah...I go to an all-girl's school (don't know if that helps). Also, I was wondering if I should take any sat IIs? I didn't know anything about them until this year. And...I take IB exams next year, but now some of my friends are talking about taking AP exams too. Should I bother with those, or will the IB credentials be enough?</p>
<p>Your stats are great. In terms of SAT IIs, you need to look at your schools. Some schools will waive the need for SAT IIs is you have the ACT, some want them regardless, some don't require them at all.
Your ECs are kind of weak (the mantra of CC!) for the tippy-top schools, but fine for just about anywhere else, assuming your essays and recs are very good.</p>
<p>Now, about IB...my school has all IB students prepare for and take the corresponding AP tests as well, so I don't have any first-hand experience with how acceptance is for pure IB. However, there certainly are plenty of people who gain admission into top schools with IB and not AP.
There certainly are benefits to taking the AP tests. It will be seen as even more rigorous for you to do this. Plus, there is the matter of placement/credit. While most schools offer some credit for IB, it is generally much less than for AP--generally only for HL tests, and often only for a 6 or 7.
However, it would be unwise to enter the AP test with only your IB knowledge in hand. Whether AP or IB is harder varies greatly by subject. I tend to say in general, SL<AP<HL, but it really depends. More so then overall "hardness", though, is the fact that AP has certain nitpicky things that you just might not know. If you're willing to invest the time into reading an AP prep book or looking online to fill in any little knowledge gaps, then taking the AP would certainly be feasable and likely wise.</p>
<p>If you have any questions on specific classes, I've taken:
SL Psych + AP Psych
SL Physics + AP Physics B
HL English + Both English APs + English Lit SAT II
SL French + AP French Lang + French SAT II
HL History + AP US History + US History SAT II
HL Chem + AP Chem
HL Math + AP Calc BC</p>
<p>...not that you probably care.</p>
<p>Okay, I just saw my SAT scores. I got a 720 critical reading, 690 math, and 760 English. How good is that? Is that going to help or harm my chances? I still haven't decided whether or not to retake the ACT.</p>
<p>Oh, yeah, so I forgot about some of these other ECs: I'm also on the Scholastic Bowl team and I will be the captain next year, I am on the executive board for our math mentors club, and I will be a science mentor as well. Also, what kinds of awards count to colleges? Do they look at awards given to a student at the high school level? We just had our honors convocation, and I won a school scholarship based on a history essay, I got a Presidential Excellence award, IHSA award, scholastic achievement award, leadership award, and Bausch and Lomb science scholarship for university of rochester. I have won other awards in the past years, too, including an Archdiocese of Chicago youth leadership award and other school-based scholarships. Do these make any kind of a difference?</p>