<p>There’s a lot of substance in obsessedparent’s post:</p>
<p>"He said that they didn’t care what the passion was–sports, arts, community service, etc–but wanted to see a spark of commitment and devotion to something during high school that suggests that the kids would do more than talk in class and do homework in the library. He repeated the common statement that they are not interested in compulsive joiners who appear to be padding their resumes in anticipation of college applications. In other words the kids who impress them the most are the kids who are not trying to impress them, whose record speaks for itself, and who can bring with them enthusiasm for something that they can contribute to the student life. "</p>
<p>This sounds right on par with the WashU student body. You really want to be doing something you love and hone it into a talent. DON’T do something just because it ‘looks good.’</p>
<p>OP, you have a good list of schools. But again, do take the advice of some of the other posters here (including mine) and that is you are applying to all the TOP, most competitive schools and they should not be counted as ‘safeties.’</p>
<p>Thank you to those who made helpful comments, and no thanks to those who did not, you know who you are. I talked with my high school counselor and he told me I can aim high for these schools. However, like several of you advised, he said I probably should add a few more safeties to my list. He said I most likely will get into UC Berkeley and Northwestern with what I have so far. Since I want to do bio research or premed, he also said maybe I could add Johns Hopkins as a safety. Also, thank you to obsessedparent for your insightful information. I have a passion in music and science and I will emphasize that in my application.</p>
<p>Your counselor is a moron. JHU is a T20 school. Its selectivity is about on par with that of Wash U (maybe JHU is slightly less selective.) It is a safety for no one.</p>
<p>For real safeties try schools like Rochester, Pitt, GWU, Tulane. Or one of the other UCs–less work for you :></p>
<p>Agree with haavain - Schools like Pitt and Tulane are your true safeties, because they have the med school/research environment you want, but are not as selective as Wash U or any of the others you mention. In addition, you could most likely get quite a bit of scholarship money from either, but maybe money is not an issue for you. Finally, Tulane also has a very nice campus, since you mentioned aesthetics. GW is all concrete, and Pitt is somewhere in-between.</p>
<p>So by all means apply to any or all of those schools, but Pitt and Tulane make the most sense for you as safeties, I think.</p>
<p>This is untrue, my friend just got into Dartmouth and I got into Washu…she had high ACT scores and is Valedictorian, but so am I, she did not do any EC…I did lots and ISEF and JSHS nationals and internationals. She got accepted ED. I ask myself, how can someone who did no EC or volunteer for anything get into Dartmouth, this says a lot for the college.</p>
<p>“Yale=Stanford > Duke = Washington University in St. Louis > Dartmouth”</p>
<p>Should be more like Yale=Stanford>Dartmouth>>Duke>=WashU</p>
<p>“She did not do any EC…I did lots and ISEF and JSHS nationals and internationals. She got accepted ED. I ask myself, how can someone who did no EC or volunteer for anything get into Dartmouth, this says a lot for the college.”</p>
<p>People like this get into HYP. Sometime they have one thing the college really want (i.e. from Idaho, from Alsace, etc.).</p>
<p>Keep in mind that the SAT 75% percentile for Yale is 800 and 790 in the three sections. The ones for Dartmouth and Duke are 790s and 780s (I believe two 790s and one 780 for each, not completely sure though). Like what someone already said, Dartmouth is a reach for most (with exception of some legacies, URMs, princes, etc.), and Duke is a reach/high match for most.</p>
<p>I happen to know a kid whose counselor told him that he could get into all the schools he applied to for sure with the exception of Harvard and Stanford (he applied to Harvard, Stanford, Dartmouth, Columbia, Duke, WashU, Swarthmore, Cornell, and UChicago); he got rejected by all with the exception of Swarthmore and UChicago.</p>
<p>A lot of high school kids feel a sense of entitlement these days until they get rejected by most of the schools they apply to.</p>