How can I improve/what are my chances at Georgetown, Dartmouth, Brown, UVA

The bulk of my application so far. What do you guys think?
Georgetown: SFS (School of Foreign Service), I want to study international relations and get a minor in US History
Dartmouth: Gov’t Studies or IR
UVA: Foreign Studies or Political Science
Brown: Political Science
GPA: 97.64 we’re a really weird school with a 100 point scale
SAT: 1440: 700 R&W 740 Math (yeah I get it’s a little on the lower side}
SAT II: Biology E freshman year (770) US and World History (790 and 800, respectively)
APs: World History (4) (5) {I retook it, I know it’s sort of stubborn) Self-studied Comparative Government (?) Psychology (?) US History (?) Biology (?) Scores come out July, but I’m feeling optimistic.
Senior Year Course Load: AP European History, SUPA (Syracuse University Project advance; college course with more limited credit opportunities) Sociology, SUPA Economics, AP Calculus BC, SUPA Public Affairs, AP Latin, our Chorale (Tenor 2’s baby!), Advanced Journalism, Facing Genocide (fun class which I’m only taking since it’s the last social studies class offered by my school I haven’t taken and none of the other AP classes would fit my schedule)
Just for a look at the rigor. That schedule is about as rigorous of a course load for anyone interested in social studies at my school. I declined to take AP Physics since AP Euro is offered only as an elective and I’d prefer to take all my AP Histories. Side note: Is that a good idea? I still have times to change it and I already have my usual 4 years of science complete.
Awards: Maureen O’Donnell Award (4 Summa Cum Laude’s in a row on the National Latin Exam) Only among 200 people in the world. Honorable Mentions at MUNUC (UChicago), BUSUN (Brown), CNYMUN (Syracuse University) High likelihood of at least AP Scholar with Distinction

Subjective

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Multiplex Politics. A political debate club which tries to detox the toxic nature of politics and just focus on the issues We’ve organized voter registration drives and held a mock debate during 2016 (co-founder and current President) International Education Club Junior Classical League (Consul aka President) SHS International Thespian Society Model United Nations (Club VP and Director of Crises {a crazier form of MUN} for our conference we run, CNYMUN, two years running) Mock Trial (Witness on our trial team, 3rd in the state this year and State Champions 2 years ago) Student Council (Site-base team representative: pretty much I run town halls for the school every month) School Newspaper (Opinions Editor and Columnist) YMCA Leaders program member High School Ambassadors ‘Link Leader’ Some promotional work for a few campaigns Local town Republicans member Fall Play (Our Town:Howie Newsome, Hamlet: Guildenstern) Women’s History Month Assembly (Main planner)

Job/Work Experience: Tutoring Latin to middle schoolers. Camp Counselor at a YMCA camp. On-and-off volunteer at our local public library since 6th grade. Brief stint as a mascot for a Credit Union school outreach program. Pretty thin in this department overall

Volunteer/Community service: Helped organize a couple of voter registration drives in my area (BOE said I got the most they’ve ever seen in one drive) Volunteer through YMCA Leaders program about 10 hours a month. Tutor struggling Latin students in the middle school. Volunteer at Public Library

Summer Activities: Worked as a summer camp counselor the past summer at a camp I’ve gone to since I was 8 years old. This summer, I’m going on a road trip across the continental US. Hopefully increasing my awareness of the various issues faced by those in our country. And may have a job lined up shadowing my neighbor, a Public Affairs and Law Professor at Syracuse University. In talks to help out the Representative Katko re-election campaign

Essays: Still spitballing ideas. Probably something having to do with my deeply unsettling obsessions with either RFK, Rand Paul or Emmanuel Macron lol. But all of my english teachers have said I have one of the most distinctive writing voices they’ve ever read.
Teacher Recommendation: My MUN coach, Psychology and Econ teacher, and politics club advisor. I spend almost everyday after school with him debating policy. He’s gotten progressively liberal since 2016, and I’ve grown more classically liberal (read: libertarian) 10/10 (I forecast)
My student council advisor and APUSH teacher. Had a rough start to the year but have earned each other’s respects and wants to help me convey my opinions in the most constructive outlet. 8/10
Counselor Rec: We’ve been fast friends since she started this school year; so I’m expecting great things.
Additional Rec: I have a lot of people I could ask. Haven’t thought that hard about it. Is it necessary/advised?
Interview: I either come off as a charming intellectual or a bit of a social clutz. Truly a toss-up so fingers crossed.

Applying for Financial Aid?: Hell yeah
State (if domestic applicant): New York
School Type: public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: Just got into the $100,000 bracket! 2 new jobs
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Idk. In the process of converting to Catholicism.

You should be a competitive applicant.

Only send in the recommendations that are requested by the universities.

You are a competitive applicant. Your stats and ECs are pretty good. Write great essays and you could get accepted to any of these schools

What does one look for in a Dartmouth peer recommendation? For example, I have a really good friend who’s done a lot of the same EC’s as I have and he got accepted to Harvard. Would he be a good choice for a recommendation?

Are the Ivies too much to apply? I’m hoping to improve by 40+ points in August on the SAT but if I don’t improve, am I fine?

Are you considering UChicago? You seem like a person who would really, really shine in the quirky/thought-provoking short essays they ask for… https://collegeadmissions.uchicago.edu/apply/uchicago-supplemental-essay-questions
And you also seem like a person who would truly thrive on the intense intellectual discourse there.
http://collegecatalog.uchicago.edu/thecollege/publicpolicystudies/
http://collegecatalog.uchicago.edu/thecollege/internationalrelations/#jointbamaprogram

Also Stanford: https://internationalrelations.stanford.edu/degrees/about-major

And perhaps William & Mary? https://www.wm.edu/as/internationalrelations/index.php

You might give the ACT a try. Sometimes a particular individual is just naturally better suited to psyching out one test than the other. If the ACT is your test, might as well find out. (And then if you still feel like you need to re-test, you can be strategic about which one you feel you can most efficiently improve.) One way or the other, it would help to solidify these top-tier applications if you could crack a 1520 or a 34. If not, you still have a shot, but the scores would be a help.

As to course selection, if you have your four years of science, go ahead and do what you love. You’ve checked the “well rounded” boxes; from there, it’s being “pointy” that will make you stand out. (But maybe don’t stand out by saying in your essays that “facing genocide” is “fun”… lol…) I think your applications are going to “pop” and be very well-recieved - curious to see where you end up!

97/100 equals 3.8 and the SAT is 1440. Both are likely too low for the ivy leagues. UVA is good, but the question is whether you can afford it if it’s out of state. Affordability comes first. If you get too exotic with your college list, you either end up with a long list of rejections or accepted to a bunch of colleges you can’t afford. If you have to take out any more than $30k in loans for your bachelors degree, you can’t afford it. Prestige won’t help you because your degree is still accredited as a bachelors, no more, no less, and employers know that.

I had taken a look at UChicago early on but felt I was out of their range once I got my SAT score back. But yeah I love their thought process and the quirky intellectual vibe. But since only our super-genius valedictorian got in there I figure my chances are moot.