Bump
Should have, not of. That will help you on the ACT. 
Am I the only one asking about your match and safety schools? Please don’t think I am horrible, but the only schools on your list that you have a realistic chance at are Northeastern, NYU, GWU, maybe Emory, IMO. You definitely need some match and safety schools. You have no safety school at all.
31 is better than 1400. Not sure why you aren’t submitting the ACT instead of the SAT.
@Lindagaf thanks for your response. I don’t think you’re horrible… but I’m assuming that the schools you mentioned are matches so I’m not exactly sure why I need to add more matches. For safeties… Is GW not a safety… nor northeastern? Won’t my GPA help? I’m in the top 4%… essays?. ECs?
I’ll submit the 31 too probably.
I still think it doesn’t hurt to have a few more safeties.I don’t really have much to add, but I’m taking the safe approach since I know my family will not be able to pay for super expensive college tuition- I’m only applying to places I know I most likely will be guaranteed admission and to some extent may receive some scholarship. I’d say maybe two more safeties would be good for you, but it’s really up to you and whether you want to pay the application fee. Eugh. Also, just a question- I’ve been wondering this for a while as I read the comments. I’m assuming your family is going to pay for all of your tuition, correct? And I think you should just submit ACT score. Yes, definitely your top 4% rank will help.
Those schools are not safeties. A safety, loosely defined, and for someone with your stats, would have more like a 50%+ acceptance rate, and your stats would fall above the 75th percentile. Your grades are great, but your test scores are your weak link. In reality, of course they are good, but schools like GWU and Northeastern are notorious for deferring kids like you.
My Ds best freind had nearly identical stats to you, applied to GW ED, loved and adored the school. Deferred, then denied. D’s bestest friend had far better stats than yours, deferred EA, then accepted RD. None of your schools are a safety. Not one. Others may beg to differ, but in your shoes, I would add a safety. You need a school that you are 99.9% certain to get into, that you like, can afford, and would be happy to attend. Be sure to express interest.
GW probably is a safety for admission since GPA >> scores. https://www2.gwu.edu/~ire/fa.htm
Northeastern, no. http://www.northeastern.edu/oir/pdfs/CDS%202015-16.pdf
Then @“Erin’s Dad” , doesn’t the word “probably” mean it’s not a safety?. I defer to your experience, but I would be very uncomfortable in this student’s shoes. GWU is deferring excellent applicants like crazy.
Should clarify, the second student I described was deferred EA, then accepted to Northeastern.
There are a number of other things that are important like ECs, essay, and recs that prevent it from being a solid safety
OP, not sure how motivated you are to get into a tippy top college, but in your shoes, I would take a gap year, as @intparent suggested. You are young, and it can be hard to be a lot younger than everyone else. My own freshman college kid is on the young side, still 17, and she has met a ton of kids at her small LAC who are already 19, even a couple who are 20. College is a huge adjustment. Taking a gap year would enable you to bring your test scores up and do something really cool that would make your application even better and more competitive for top colleges. Trust me, there is no rush to grow up. Consider it, even when you do get accepted somewhere.
@AnxiousHam, do you have the time and desire to increase your ACT Science score?
It looks like Northeastern, Tufts, and NYU superscore the ACT, and Northwestern and Barnard do not. I’m not sure about the rest. If you just focused on the Science section, and didn’t worry about studying for the other parts, you might be able to get your score up.
I suggest you find a couple schools in the 35% to 50% acceptance rate and add them to the list. You do not have to apply early but if things don’t look good in December then you will be ready. You are obviously an accomplished student but you never know how the colleges will look at you. Barnard might think you don’t quiet fit (nothing to do with your credential). I believe GW will most probably accept you but still do you want to have only one choice?
@MuffinLord1 thanks for your response! Idk if you like philly but how about Drexel? Great location, academics, and basically guaranteed admission. McGill? And yes, I’m very blessed that my family will be paying for college…and I did get a teeny bit of financial aid because I have siblings in college. Highly recommend trying, even if you think your family makes too much,
@ErinsDad thank you for your insight
@Lindagaf I’m very motivated to do well, and get into a top tier school… it’s what I’ve been preparing for since adolescence. I’m also completely done with apps, and at this point, am just nervous and in cc
I will be 17, which is young, but not unrealistically so. How did your D feel being younger?
I also have at least 12 years of schooling ahead of me…
You have decades of living ahead of you. Waiting a year to start is nothing. Of course, it is entirely your choice. How does my D feel being younger? Well, truthfully, she has had a hard time adjusting and now wishes she had taken a gap year. Academically no issues, but socially, it’s a little uncomfortable at times, only because most students are already at least 18. Also, she couldn’t vote, and everyone else could, so perhaps more noticeable to her in a presidential election year.
If tippy top colleges are your goal, I am going to be blunt. You have a very slim chance at any of the colleges on your list except the ones we have already discussed. H’ford and Swat are tiny. It really might be awkward there being younger than the other students. I cannot see any of those schools admitting you, with your “decent” ECs and your unexceptional test scores. There is no incentive for them to admit a student with your tests scores who is younger than most kids they admit. I promise, I am not trying to be horrible.
I am not an AO so I could be totally wrong. If I were you, I would retake the SAT and submit it when you can get your score up to 1480. You will be a much more competitive applicant.
Alos, Mc Gill is a better university than Drexel, IMO. As it stands your SAT is about average there. They want SAT subject test scores. Have you taken any? You need to check which colleges want those. I am pretty sure the Ivies want subject test scores if you are not submitting the ACT.
Since you are not worried about tuition costs, then yes, I suppose Drexel would fit as a safety. I was looking at Drexel, but man the tuition is expensive for out of state students! 50k per year almost if you live on campus. I’m not super familiar with McGill- it’s the one in Canada, right?
“ED-Barnard
EA-Northeastern
Others- Haverford, Swarthmore, NYU, Northwestern, GW, tufts, brown, Harvard, Penn.”
I think that this is a really good and sensible list. I would be surprised if you did not get into Barnard and shocked if Northeastern rejects or defers you. In that unlikely event, I would add one or two more safety, maybe schools ranked near GW, such as UMiami, Fordham or Syracuse. Good luck and keep us posted!
Also, I would not worry about the SAT. In my humble opinion, anything at 1400 or above keeps you in the game and those holistic schools will also focus on the essays and other parts of your application.
@londondad , NE is aggressively deferring EA students with great stats. Admittedly, they are accepting a lot of them RD, but right now, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if this student was deferred EA. This happened to several students in our HS last year. These were great students with great test scores. I always err on the side of caution though. NE considers test scores as Very Important. These test scores are right at the 50th percentile.
I mentioned two students earlier in this thread. Both now attend NE. Well, one will be attending, this spring. She was offered study abroad for her first semester. NE is doing all it can to bump up its stats. I am sure this student will get into NE, but the student really should have a safety, and doesn’t. Fordham and U Miami are good ideas for safeties.
@Lindagaf Thanks. I had not seen your earlier post when I wrote mine. I was basing my view solely on my children’s friends which placed a number of kids Early Action into Northeastern over the past 3 years, but the British kids all go test optional for NEU, so that is not really a direct comparison for the OP.
Your experience is more relevant here, particularly if OP is from the Northeast USA.