<p>Lots of kids are in the newspapers. That’s about local interest. RIF is good to recognize you, encourage you. Businesses are good to partner with you.</p>
<p>But, you’re asking about college interest in you. And, you haven’t mentioned whether you actually work with these needy kids or basically work at a distance. Whether yours is the only idea of it’s kind (it’s not, from what you’ve mentioned) or somehow superior in its reach. Your context, your sense of what you have done, is limited to the kids you know, maybe what’s being done in your community. Some feedback from some adults. Adcoms will see kids from across the country. </p>
<p>Sorry for our being blunt. But you don’t have this wider perspective yet. They can look at an app from a kid who did all sorts of nice things and say, too bad about the grades. You need to find a college that will love you, as you are, will think 3.5 and lots of APs is just their cup of tea, just the sort of academic competitiveness they know works at their schools. Not hope the icing will do the trick at a school that routinely cherry picks higher gpa and test scores.</p>
<p>Don’t worry about grading differences. The GC will report your results out of th scale used at your hs.</p>