<p>I don't think I'm competitive for any top schools but I don't know where to go from there...</p>
<p>Background: Residence: South Carolina Ethnicity: Caucasian Income (family of 3 children, 2 dependent and both in college): ~$145,000 Academic: Rank: School does not rank GPA: ~4.6 unweighted, ~4.0 weighted ACT: 34 Composite (34 English, 31 Math, 35 Science, 36 Reading) ACT Writing: 10/12 AP: (not many available at school) 9th Grade: -- 10th Grade: AP Euro (5) 11th Grade: AP US (?), 12th Grade: AP Psych (?), AP Eng (?), AP Stat (?), AP US Gov./Politics (?) Honors: 9th Grade: English 1, Biology, Geometry 10th Grade: American Literature, Chemistry, Algebra 2 11th Grade: French III 12th Grade: (?) Extra-curriculars Yearbook page designer 9th and 11th grade; editor 12th grade Played JV Soccer 10th grade NHS Member Beta Club Member ^150+ volunteer hours Class President 9th and 11th grade; 2nd place for President in 10th Student Body President 12th grade Accepted to and attending Davidson College summer program *ALSO: I am type 1 diabetic; will this hurt my app at all? P.S. I have really good recommendations and essay</p>
<p>Being Type 1 diabetic is no one’s business but your own unless you choose to share it and it should not make a difference.</p>
<p>As for where you should apply, we need to know more about your selection criteria - or you need to do more homework to come up with some criteria:</p>
<p>1) size and type of school (liberal arts colleges, tech schools, public universities, privates)
2) urban/rural/suburban, what part of the country, how far from home, climate
3) academic and/or professional interests, major ECs you plan to continue
4) culture - liberal/conservative, single sex, religious, vibe, etc…</p>
<p>There are literally hundreds of schools that would be happy to have you, so you need to figure out what you are looking for. And don’t rule out all the selective schools - a reach or two is certainly reasonable.</p>
<p>I agree, you are competitive for any school. But I would think about and discuss with your family if, with the diabetes, you are more comfortable being within a certain distance of your home. My D has a chronic illness which is well-controlled but we still decided it would be best if she were in driving distance of home in case an unexpected emergency came up where she needed to see her specialist. Fortunately she had many wonderful options within four hours of home and will be going to a great school in the fall. There is NO right or wrong answer to this, but it is worth some thought.
And it will not hurt your application to disclose it, but disclosure is up to you. My D’s essay (which I thought was very well written) was about how her illness helped to shape her as a person and how it impacted her hopes for the future and she got in to her top choice ED.</p>