<p>I have straight A's in all honors and AP classes and got a 2300 on the SAT but I was wondering how important are extracurricular activities when applying to the top schools? I've been president of my class of 300 for all my high school years, member of NHS, member of 2 varsity teams for 4 years (capt of varsity ski team too), been in the best a capella group at school for 2 years, have taken piano for 10 years, worked in Harvard lab for past 2 years, volunteer at local hospital weekly, gone on several service trips and more. How much will these activities help me get into a top notch school?</p>
<p>Because of the Ivies have so many high stat applicants, in order to pick the best of the best they typically look at ECs/Essays of the applicants for their final decision. </p>
<p>And those ECs look good, a lot of diversity. Just make sure your essays are up to par and you’ll have a pretty decent shot at any ivy of your choosing.</p>
<p>@QuadMaster "Just make sure your essays are up to par and you’ll have a pretty decent shot at any ivy of your choosing. "</p>
<p>Easier said than done. What is this “par” you’re referring to? If one were to hypothetically place the 30K Harvard applicants on a bell curve where the horiz axis is “quality”, you’re def’n of par would be what? 20K essays? 25K?</p>
<p>Almost no one has a “decent” shot at schools that admit ~6% of applicants. That obscenely low admit number is a function of the flood of apps this handful of schools have gotten in the last ten years.</p>
<p>Granted, the OP’s stated metrics and ECs are very good and he/she will have many options open – but “decent chance” is a phrase I fear using in this context</p>
<p>Are you kidding me, dude? You’re going to get into an a top 20 school as long as you don’t totally screw up your essays. </p>
<p>According to Steven Pinker, who teaches at Harvard, only 5-10% of Harvard admits are there purely on academics. That means that 90-95% are selected not only on academics, but essays, ECs, athletes, developmentals, legacies, URMs, celebrities, politicians, faculty kids, etc. So the other stuff definitely counts.</p>
<p>I would be interested to find out the answer to this, myself. My questions would be whether you were named on any research papers that came out of the summers at the lab? Everything on your resume is stellar. What I don’t know is how much Ivies value that city-wide, or nation-wide bold step into the limelight. I know there are more and more people who win accolades that are from a larger pool than a single school, and the ivies have some of those students applying to continue their studies with them. Do they bring in students who stay within the bounds of their school? Are you also trying to be recruited for your athletics?</p>
<p>My two cents - lots of kids have “stellar” grades, test scores and ECs. The question is when the college app reader is done with your application, and that reader was asked to describe you in one sentence, how would the reader describe you? Does your application “package” in its entirety tell a story about you? If you can do this, then you have improved chances at the “top schools”. If not, you will just be another stellar student and there are way too many of these for a limited number of spots. I say this all the time here, but remember, you are welcome to play the lottery (by applying to colleges that accept less than 15% of their students) but don’t plan your future on winning the lottery. </p>