<p>Here are the basic stats:
White
crappy (avg. ACT=20) small-town Illinois public school
Live on a farm in the middle of nowhere
Major: Poli Sci, maybe Econ too
SAT: 2240 (800 M, 730 CR, 710 W)
GPA: 4.0 uw, 4.something weighted (hardest courseload possible)
Rank: 1/250
ECs: ok, no national awards or much to brag about, but a few successes and a couple minor leadership roles
held down a job at pizza place about 10 hours a week during school
CC Psych course during summer
Illinois Pork Leadership Institute this summer (maybe quirky enough to be worth something?)
APs: expecting a 4/5 on APUSH and US Gov (gov was a self-study), a 3/4 on Chem, and 2/3/4 on Literature, taking Calc AB (school doesn't offer BC), Bio, and Language next year, which will be every AP my school offers + the gov self-study
SAT IIs: remain to be seen, will take Lit, USHistory, and Math IIC
Essays: Should be very good
Recs: Good to excellent
Interviews: I'm pretty good at these</p>
<p>EA Schools:
UChicago (#1 choice)
Georgetown
UNC-Chapel Hill</p>
<p>RD (if I get in to Georgetown or Chicago):
Harvard
Princeton
Dartmouth</p>
<p>RD (If I am rejected by Gtown and Chicago):
UVA
William and Mary
Dartmouth</p>
<p>THANK YOU PEOPLE!</p>
<p>Hmm.. where's the safety?</p>
<p>Looks good though - decent shots, but definitely need a safety or two</p>
<p>UNC EA, UVA, and W&M were as safe as I was willing to go. Do you think I need somewhere lower? Any good ideas about a safety for an IL kid that's ok in Poli Sci. I really don't like the looks of Maryland, and UIUC's program doesn't get me all that excited.</p>
<p>Love Your Safety!</p>
<p>UChicago--match (write an amazing essay and your in)
Georgetown--match
UNC-Chapel Hill--safe match</p>
<p>Harvard--reach
Princeton--reach
Dartmouth--reach</p>
<p>UVA--match
William and Mary--safe match</p>
<p>Darn it. I also forgot to mention that I'll be applying to Rice ID. And I realize how competitive every school is getting nowadays, but honestly, I know I am OOS, but William and Mary's SAT range is 1250-1440. Me? 1530. And valedictorian. I've heard all about randomness and whatever over reason for kids like me getting rejected/WL. But honestly, if I get rejected from William and Mary it's not because I wasn't qualified, it's Tufts Syndrome. Or am I totally off here?</p>
<p>And at UNC: 1190-1390, more than 1/4 kids weren't even top 10% in their class, plus that fact that I'll be applying EA there. And UVA, which I agree is a match not a safety, still only has a 1230-1430 range. Surely you'd be shocked if I applied to all three and was rejected by all, no?</p>
<p>I would be very suprised if you where rejected by all three. Remeber, flagship out of state publics can be hard to get into. However, you should still have a clear cut safety.</p>