Could I get into these schools?

[livinglively]

<p>So my main schools in consideration are UC Berkeley, UC San Diego, UCLA, Georgetown, Carnegie Mellon, UMichigan, USC, and NYU. I know I'll be shooting for the moon here, but a recent visit to Duke was love at first sight, and I'm considering applying ED. I'll be applying for majors with a business study in mind, depending on the school. </p>

<p>GPA: 3.7 UW, 4.2 W
SAT: 2300 (740 math, 760 reading, 800 writing)
ACT :34 (planning to retake, fairly certain I can manage a 35 or possibly even a 36 this time around)
SAT II's (720 Bio-E, 720 US History, planning to take Math II and Lit)
AP Scores: AP European History (4), AP Calculus AB (5), AP English Language (5), AP US History (5), AP Psychology (5)
PSAT: 237 so I understand I'll get some kind of recognition from the National Merit, hopefully it can help?
California resident, Indian male, solid income, both parents went to university in India so nothing too special haha</p>

<p>5 AP's, 7 Honors (freshman-junior year, pretty close to the maximum possible)
Senior Year Courseload: AP Statistics, AP Chemistry, AP Macroeconomics, AP Government, AP English Literature</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
Speech: My true love from sophomore year, finalist at several big tournaments on the national circuit, placed top 3 in my district which qualified me to NCFL Grand Nationals and NFL Nationals, both of which I made it to elimination rounds at, chanced upon a speech company online and saw myself ranked in the top 20 in the country if that counts for something?
Tae Kwon Do/MMA: 2nd degree black belt, teach classes for younger students around age 5
Classical Guitar: Been playing for 7 years, doesn't really go by any formal system or competitions like CM for piano but I'm a finale performer for my academy and I feel like classical guitar isn't too common, plus it sounds absolutely divine, I've also played contemporary music and sang at some school events
Interact Club (Board Member): Nominated for Rotary Youth Leadership Award, was recognized by the local Rotary and invited to attend Rotary meetings
Radio Club (Board Member): Managing the school's radio station and training DJ's
Stock Market Club
International Club
Teen Awareness Program
Science and Engineering Club
Ran cross country and track for two years </p>

<p>Essays: I've started and I think they're pretty solid, I'd call myself a good writer and I'd like to think of myself as a pretty quirky person :)
Recs: From my AP English teacher who I was very close with, my speech and debate coach who has travelled with me a lot and knows me very well (possibly better than I know myself), and my fantastic counselor, should all be pretty strong</p>

<p>Summer/Work Experience:
Stanford EPGY
Summer camp counselor at a camp for autistic children
-Currently interning with the city council for a very well known city (paranoid about this government stuff so I won't give the name away haha), working on some big projects including rewriting the city's banking policy. I've given speeches to city council, drafted my own council items, set up meetings with various organizations, and directly worked with residents that call the city council & mayor's office seeking help. It's daunting to realize that people's lives depend on even what the interns in the office do. It's been a very intense "real world" experience that will hopefully show as one </p>

<p>So my "big three" are UC Berkeley, Georgetown, and shooting for the moon with Duke. Carnegie Mellon and UCLA would also be amazing. Any chances would be greatly appreciated! </p>

<p>If anyone would like to recommend other top-tier schools I should apply to, feel free to do so! I want to challenge myself with some big schools, and you never know right?</p>

[MYOS1634]

<p>Before you choose your dream schools, look for 2 safeties that are similar to your dream schools but much less selective. This way, if your dream schools don’t accept you, you’re sure to go to a school you like rather than having your hand forced for a CSU nearby.
Once your safeties are secured (and you can contact them, show interest, etc) you can focus on your match and reaches, adding your dream schools to top it off. it’s much easier to find dream schools than match and safety schools so you should start with those.
Look at your local library for a Fiske Guide or Insider’s guide to the colleges.
Put a post it next to every school that looks interesting.
What makes them “interesting” to you?
Right now, it’s hard to tell you how well you’d fit any of these schools. Granted, UCB doesn’t really look for “fit” but Duke does. Duke, UCB, and Georgetown have very little in common. If you like them all equally, it means you need to refine what interests you (beside size and rankings, because that will NOT fly as “fit”.)
Then classify them depending on how likely you’d get admitted ( if your scores place you in the top 10% of applicants = safety; if your scores place you in the top 30% of applicants = match; if your scores are in the middle of the 25-75 range, it’s a reach. Applicants at the 25 level are only admitted if they’re legacies, faculty/donor kids, or heavily recruited athletes. THEN you have to factor in cost, with most schools being need-aware; so that’d modify your odds.)
How much can your parents afford? Have you run the net price calculator at any of these schools?</p>