<p>I posted this in the Vanderbilt thread, but I just realized that there is a whole section dealing with chances so I thought I'd stick it in here, too. Any help would be appreciated!!</p>
<p>Okay so here's a few things about me...</p>
<p>Class Rank: 1/572
GPA: 3.97 UW, 4.54 W
ACT: 27
SAT: Not that great... 620, 620, 590
Classes: I've taken or I'm taking pretty much all the AP classes offered at my school and Honors classes.
EC: Varsity tennis 4 years, NHS, StuCo 4years, volunteer at hospital and church, and other things that I just don't feel like typing at the moment...</p>
<p>I guess I'm wondering if I've got any chance at all since I know my SAT scores aren't that great and I just go to a public school in Indiana. I love Vanderbilt though and it's my dream school. But can I make it a reality? Any advice would reallly be appreciated. Thanks!</p>
<p>Your class rank/GPA are amazing. Your EC's, though, are pretty average/fluff. Are you a leader of any club? If not, and you're just writing "member" as a rank, that's not going to cut it as a good EC. ACT and SAT are very low for a top 20 school. If you can retake it to break 2000 you might have a better shot. Otherwise, the only thing going for you (until you feel like typing out more of your ECs) is your GPA, which isn't an accurate measurement of ability unless either coupled with a strong standardized test score and/or if the school you attend is recognized as a competitive HS. </p>
<p>Since you've taken many APs, if you have mostly 5's and 4's on those, it will confirm your ability when held against the large gap between your class rank and SAT scores.</p>
<p>Again, like Peppers said, bringing that SAT to +2000 will help you a lot. Taking your ACT to +30 will do the same thing.</p>