<p>Hi. I'm currently a junior who lives in Council Bluffs, but I go to school in Omaha, Nebraska (btw will my location hurt me?). Even though it's kind of far off, I was wondering what my chances are at: Stanford (where I'll probably REA at), Duke, Penn, and Northwestern (where my sister currently attends). I also want to know where I can improve and which Common App essay topic sounds best. Please help. Here are my stats:</p>
<p><em>School</em>
-Unweighted GPA: 3.98 (I got a B+ in Biology first semester of freshman year, which I am worried will look terrible since I want to become a doctor, but hopefully they can look past a minor bump)
-Weighted GPA: 4.06 (assuming I finish this year with all A's, which I got first semester)
-school limits amount of AP's I can take, so I should finish with 7 AP's by the end of my senior year (euro, chem, bc calc, lang and comp, spanish, stats, and literature)
-private school, doesn't rank</p>
<p><em>Testing</em>
-ACT: 33 (35 E, 33 R, 32 M, 31 S, 33 E/W... plan on taking again)
-SAT: i just took it yesterday</p>
<p><em>Extracurriculars</em>
-Varsity forensics (9, 10, 11)
-Varsity tennis (9, 10, 11)
-JV golf (9), V golf (10)
-Math Club (9, 10, 11)
-Basketball (10, 11)
-Acadec (10, 11)</p>
<p><em>Awards</em>
-forensics: 1st in state in individual event (9), 2nd in state in individual event (10), 1st in districts in individual event (9, 10), 1st in conference in individual event (9, 10), 16 total regular season medals in individual event so far (9, 10, 11); 2nd in state in duet event (9), 3rd in state in duet event (10), 1st in districts in duet event (9, 10), 1st in conference in duet event (9), 3rd in conference in duet event (10), 5 regular season medals in duet event so far (9, 10, 11); 1st in state as team (9, 10), 1st in districts as team (9, 10), 1st in conference as team (9, 10); received Novice of the Year award (9)
-tennis: academic all state (11)
-golf: received Most Improved Player award (10), received Best Sportsmanship award (10)
-math club: 1st in UNL statewide math contest as team (9, 10, 11), competed on 1st place quiz bowl team (11)
-acadec: 5 medals so far, including: 1st in math at regionals (11), 2nd in economics at regionals (11), state is coming up in a few weeks
-other: I should be able to get National Merit this year, but idk for sure it'll be close (I got a 209 and go to school in Nebraska, whose cutoff was 207 2 years ago and 210 last year); eCybermission national science fair regional award in application of science, math, and technology (9); headmaster's summa cum laude</p>
<p><em>School/Community Involvement</em>
-applying for a biomedical research program at UNMC this summer
-forensics: coached middle school students and judged at middle school contests
-math club: wrote test questions for middle school math contests
-national honor society
-hospital volunteer
-other minor stuff</p>
<p><em>Common App Essay Topics (please help pick which sounds better!)</em>
-watching my dad perform surgery and how it inspired to want to become a doctor (very passionate about this, want nothing more than to become a doctor, honestly)
-how my brother shaped me to be a very competitive person</p>
<p><em>Personal Note</em>
-Ok so I realize that Harvard/Stanford/Princeton, etc. are kind of unpredictable, but what about Duke/Penn/Northwestern? I know that those aren't exactly "predictable", but I should be able to have a better note as to if I'll get into those or not. Please help! Thanks.</p>