Importance of EC's

<p>Hello, I'm a high school junior eying the top colleges (primarily the Ivies) in the country. I'm becoming concerned that my extracurriculars are lacking, especially because I discontinued a lot of my musical activities... However, I'm confident that I have good academic stats (even by Ivy standards). Do you think that my academic achievements and financial situation could balance out my lackluster extra-curriculars?</p>

<ul>
<li>4.0 Unweighted GPA (4.45ish weighted) (1st in class)</li>
<li>Most rigorous courseload possible at my school</li>
<li>2400 SAT superscore (2380 best individual testing date score, though I hear the Ivies only care about your superscore)</li>
<li>800 on the SAT Math II and Chem (Literature score pending)</li>
<li>White</li>
<li>Lived in the lowest income bracket for all my life</li>
<li>Taken 4 AP's (school doesn't offer too many)</li>
<li>Gotten 5's on all 10 AP exams (self-studying for most of them) taken so far</li>
<li>Taking 6 more AP exams this year and feel confident they'll all also be 5's</li>
<li>Just turned 16 and I am around 20 months younger than my classmates (moved up a grade - will colleges look upon me more favorably because I've done what I've done at a younger age?)</li>
</ul>

<p>Extracurriculars</p>

<ul>
<li>2 years of marching band</li>
<li>2 year of jazz band (1st chair my second year)</li>
<li>2 years of debate club</li>
<li>volunteering at my church (~50 hours a year)</li>
<li>3 years of Model UN (President in my junior year and most definitely again next year)</li>
<li>2 years in the school newspaper</li>
<li>tutoring for 2 years (nothing serious)</li>
<li>1 year of track</li>
</ul>

<p>I stopped with music after two years in high school because due to my financial situation, I could not afford braces or routine dental care, which led to one of my teeth growing in a spot quite a bit off where it should have grown. Now, playing my instrument (saxophone) quickly becomes painful.</p>

<p>Assuming that I score 5's on all the AP exams I'm taking this year and maintain my academic performance in my senior year, what are my odds looking like? I'm solely interested in the Ivies and the few other universities with need-blind admissions and a guarantee to meet full demonstrated financial need. Will my age or economic situation (which I intend to focus my essays around) influence my chances?</p>

<p>Thanks in advance for reading through my post and giving it your consideration. I understand that my situation is a bit atypical and therefore my admissions odds are difficult to gauge, but I appreciate your input regardless.</p>