<p>Well, a few comments here--first let me discuss ryan2288's post.</p>
<p>First, most colleges are practically ethnicity-blind unless you are a URM (under-represented minority). All this talk about being held to a higher standard since someone is Asian is bunk. Yes, they try to balance the class, but the standards for Asians is almost exactly the same as for Whites. If your Asian friends were rejected, it wasn't because they were Asian, it was because there was something else about their application that didn't cut it. Many Ivies reject 90%+ of their applicants--and I guarantee you that at least 25% of the applicants at the top Ivies probably have better test scores than fabrizio--meaning that he is actually more likely to be rejected than accepted if you don't look at the ECs. Yes, he has good scores, but if he is only 10/350 rank in his class, his Academic Index is only 220.5, which puts him borderline at about a 6.5/9 on the ranking scale--meaning about 28% of the applicants will rank higher than him, and 72% will rank lower--but like I said only about 10% to 20% get in.</p>
<p>Secondly, ryan2288, where do you get your stats that math competitions don't count and won't make you stand out? That's ridiculous. That's exactly what competitions do--they separate the excellent students from the ones who merely got the "A" in the class. The excellent students are the ones competing in the Siemens fairs, Westinghouse science competition, Intel competitions, College Olympiads and the various other math, science, and literary contests. Schools do care. A person who places first in the Westinghouse Science fair can pick any school in the entire country and be sure to get in. Show me any person with just a 4.0 GPA and without any awards who can say that and you'll be showing me a liar.</p>
<p>Thirdly, what are you talking about that Asians are rejected based upon geography because they aren't "natural southerners"? Do you know anything about the admissions process at all? Admission boards try to cross-section the class based upon ethnicity, gender, and geographical location. When someone says they live in Georgia (or California, or Texas, or New York), they are treated for admission purposes as someone from that state---period. Nobody says--"Oh, I think this person moved there from China", or "this person's language skills says they are probably really a Mexican, not a Texan". How the heck would anyone know this stuff anyway? </p>
<p>Fabrizio--like I said above--there will be people who apply to the Ivy league schools who will have better test scores than you--but your ECs are quite impressive--and could very easily be the deciding point in getting you in. You do need to decide whether you would go if accepted, however--and whether you and your parents could afford it. I noticed you discussed your chances of getting scholarships at Georgia and Georgia Tech.</p>
<p>Sometimes it makes more sense to go for the lesser school with a full-ride scholarship possibility. One of my son's good friends will be the valedictorian at tomorrow's high school graduation ceremony. He could have gotten in at a lot of higher ranked schools, but chose to go to UCSC (which is local for us) because of its proximity to his parents and friends, and because he thought he could get a scholarship. In the past month or so, he was awarded a Regents Scholarship from UCSC (the best scholarship given by the University of California system), and he will be going there for essentially no charge now. If the same applies to you relative to University of Georgia or Georgia Tech, there is no real reason to apply to the Ivies (or Duke or VA)--but, of course, only you know the answer to that question and can know where you should or should not apply.</p>
<p>Good Luck to you.</p>