<p>It is not too late by any means. I went through this whole thing last year and I can help. </p>
<p>Here is my analysis on your situation. I obviously don’t know your entire profile but a few things you said may be critical for you. I am writing this to help you not just as an applicant to BU, but as an applicant to ANY college you’re interested in.</p>
<p>1.) AP is not going to be a big part of your application, and this will probably hamper your chances for the very very top schools. APs are only in the equation when you score 4s and 5s in your junior year. Of course, still do well on them. </p>
<p>2.) Judging from your trend of general improvement, you have a chance at acceptance, but the major thing is that you probably won’t get as much financial aid as you would otherwise. I might as well have been rejected outright by UW and UM engineering with their offers. </p>
<p>The financial aid at BU is partially merit-based (there’s a link in one of the threads floating around here that leads to a graph at BU showing how much financial aid you can expect from your class rankings, for each income bracket). This depends on your family’s finances, may or may not be a concern to you. </p>
<p>Here are things you should do to raise your competitiveness as an applicant, for ALL schools, not just BU. </p>
<p>1.) Nail the SAT. Take it one more time in the fall, I think there are three dates left: September, November, and December. Pick up two or three practice books from the library, borrow them from a friend, and do the practice tests for the rest of the summer. It sucks and it takes a lot of discipline, but a 2100-2200 score is entirely achievable by anyone and can only help you. </p>
<p>Prepare in the summer, as in right now. With your workload you won’t be able to prepare while school is in progress. Then relax and do a couple of practice sections in the few weeks prior to the actual exam. </p>
<p>2.) Continue all the extracurriculars you’ve been doing in past years. Being congruent is incredibly important. If you’ve been doing something for years, now’s a good time to look around and choose a competition and show off with results. This is important not only just because it’s a personal achievement but also because it represents a culmination of talent, passion, and dedication, which the strongest applicants always have. </p>
<p>3.) Demonstrate above-average INTEREST in the schools you really want to go to. Believe it or not, this makes a big difference. </p>
<p>I’m Oregonian, and was waitlisted at Reed College, possibly because I never visited there, never spoke to anyone who went there despite living 30 minutes away. Showing interest is meaningful because it’s an investment of your time, and admissions officers know that. They are looking for that, because it’s a stronger commitment to actually enrolling than just submitting an application, which everyone else is doing. It can be the difference between you getting into the class of 2016 at your dream college or someone else. </p>
<p>Also, another example of the importance of congruence. No one can go on an airplane flight to every school they’re applying to, but if you can spend a couple of hours on the road to get to the campus of your dream college, do it. </p>
<p>4.) My spiel on APs being said, be in control of all your courses. Prioritize, manage your time to hell. You have one semester left to show where you stand as a student. </p>
<p>Bottom line is to figure out what is within your control and sweeping them, and you will be in one great college or another.</p>