<p>black female, parents can't afford college, one parents working, i've been taking care of my mom who had a stroke in '03</p>
<p>Stats:</p>
<p>gpa: 3.9
lots of Honors classes (including AP Bio, Calc AB, Government and Brit Lit)
SAT: 1640 (yes i know miserable..absolutely miserable)
ACT: 24 (...ahh..miserable)
EC: sax player for 8 years, marching band (4 yrs), concert band (4 yrs), band section leader, conflict mediator (4 yrs), mentored jr. high kiddos (2 yrs), Fisk University national scholar, Honor roll (4 yrs), led a hall mural project at my school, peer tutor (2 yrs), had poetry published in national publication in '02</p>
<p>Is the gpa unweighted or weighted? Also, what is your class rank?</p>
<p>From what I can see, you have a very compelling life story and solid (but not extraordinary) extracurriculars. Here is my advice:</p>
<p>Study for the ACT ALL SUMMER. Seriously, the ACT is way easier to study and master than the SAT. I first took the ACT my sophomore year and got a 32, then studied-not hard at all- and took it again at the start of my senior year and got a 35. Go to the SAT/ACT forum and ask which is the best book- I used Princeton Review, but there's probably some better ones out there. If you can get about a 28 and write a great essay about your mother and your poverty, I would bet you'd get in if you applied Early Decision.</p>