How can I improve my chances to T20s? (Harvard, Dartmouth, Stanford, etc)

Chance Me / Match Me!
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Hey CC,
I am heading into Junior year and I’d like to hear what I can do to improve my chances at T20s, as well as how my application can be improved.
white male (first gen, parents are immigrants), ~70k annual household income, public school with ~80% latinos, I want to study international relations or political science

SAT: haven’t taken, but my PSAT 10 was in the 99th percentile and I am actively studying for it so it should be good enough (1540+)
ACT: I also plan to take the ACT since it is scheduled conveniently and I can do some studying over the summer
SAT2: I plan to take Physics and U.S History, U.S History should be very good because I have a strong memory and love history, Physics should also be good because I was very good in pre-calc and I am taking AP Physics this year.
GPA: 4.0 UW/4.4
AP Classes: AP Seminar (4) AP Government (5). This year I’m taking AP Physics 1, AP English Language, AP Calculus, AP Biology, & AP U.S. History

Awards: Won a few Model U.N things, hoping that this section of my application expands as I enter more competitions Junior year. I will also try to get an NMSQT qualification & apply to be a Questbridge scholar.

ECs:

Oboe player, district-level, I play in local private college band, as well as my school’s jazz program

Founding debate team starting this year, hoping that I can make a decent showing at the state competition

Currently working on a book (biography) about a famous political figure who does not have much written documentation

Blogger for the local Libertarian party’s website within a large U.S city. I post about 1 article a month, but I like to take my time with them.

I have volunteered in my state’s gubernatorial race for the republican candidate in 2018 in the summer before my sophomore year. I volunteered for about a month, which consisted of phone banking and knocking door to door and having discussions with folks. I plan to volunteer for Trump during the general election, for now there are not many opportunities since nobody is running against him in the primary.

President of UNICEF, organize community service and fundraising efforts.

Section leader of the cymbals in marching band, teach new members, organize sectionals, etc.

Varsity golf team, have been doing it since the beginning of high school like most of my activities, I will move up from junior varsity to varsity this year. I am not great at it, but it is a hobby that I cherish and dedicate lots of time to during the season.

Model United Nations, have won some awards.

Employee at Culver’s, I work about 35 hours/week in the summer, and 20 hours/week during school time.

As for my essays and recs, I can’t predict those. I have great teachers who could give me recs, and I will bust my ass on my essays, believe me.

What can I improve, CC? I am genuinely looking for ways to strengthen my application.

Thanks!

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bump

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You’re actually off to a good start, the political volunteering is good, definitely do it again. (You could always vol in a rep’s office.) But what community service? Try for something where you commit, work for local needs and the needy. (Not just a hs club. You could also consider a local advocacy project benefitting the community.) Teens writing books isn’t a tip, you’d need to finish have it published (not self) and reviewed by pros, to make it count. Blogging isn’t an “it,” though it may be interesting in your case.

Make sure you look at what course prep the targets recommend. It’s unusual that you took Govt already- make sure you aren’t missing the other core history courses- world, Euro, etc.

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@lookingforward School doesn’t offer world, I am taking APUSH this year and euro senior year. I may actually look into volunteering for my local rep. I am considering pushing the book into college - I really want to put my best effort into it and take my time with it, I don’t really want to crunch it out for a college app.

I have sunk my volunteering into political oriented stuff, therefore I have missed out on some community volunteering that you are talking about. It is definitely something I will be on the lookout for.

Thank you for feedback.

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I agree that you have a great start. I’m glad you discovered Questbridge. If you take advantage of the resources it offers, it will help you get through the college app process. To your best advantage.

If you are eligible for free lunch or other such program, sign up. In QB a very low, or zero EFC are what most kids have that get matched and the full scholarship. You might want to run your parents financial number through the FAFSA eFC estimator along with looking st some NPCs on each college website to get a good idea of what colleges are going to expect you to pay

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@cptofthehouse Thanks, I will definitely apply for both Questbridge programs, but I think my chances are slim because 70k is a bit high of an income for the program.

Thanks for the feedback.