<p>So I'm looking for some advice on colleges and where I should be aiming. At the end of this post I'll list colleges that I'm looking at and ones that I'd like to be chanced for (I'll chance back...). I'll be a senior in August of this year at a private, Jesuit preparatory school with 1,000 total students. </p>
<p>Sex: Male</p>
<p>Race: White/Caucasian</p>
<p>Location: Washington State</p>
<p>Major: Completely Undecided</p>
<p>GPA: 3.931 (school does not weight GPAs or assign class rank)</p>
<p>SAT: May--2080 [660 CR, 640 M, 780 W], June--2220 <a href="Should%20I%20consider%20retaking%20in%20October%20for%20Math,%20given%20that%20I%20need%20to%20take%20Subject%20Tests%20as%20well?">750 CR, 670 M, 800 W</a></p>
<p>SAT II: I'll be taking US History, Biology, and Literature (or Math I) in October or November. </p>
<p>Course Load: Completely ridiculous. My school has had a six period schedule for over fifty years, but is adding a seventh next year. I have taken every AP available that fits into my schedule and all Honors otherwise. My AP list will stand thus and is all possible at my school:</p>
<p>World History (5)
US History (scores pending)
Biology (scores pending)
Spanish
English Language (combined with...)
English Literature
US Government
Calculus AB</p>
<p>Plus I'll have a whole list of Honors and required electives (Theology and Art classes) and Honors Physics (my school does not offer AP).</p>
<p>Extracurriculars: Many. I like service work and volunteerism, so that's what I've tried to focus on. Here's the list:</p>
<p>-Knights of the Leash (a service group for Junior and Senior men; I've committed 75+ hours so far and am a co-president)
-National Honors Society (includes a tutoring lab, to which I have committed over 25+ hours tutoring struggling students. I have earned the award of "Commended Tutor")
-Retreat Crew and Crew Leader (I have led retreats for students and led the group that leads the retreats)
-Youth Group at my parish Freshman/Sophomore years (this is making me sound way more religious than I am...)
-Volunteer Group with my parish (shoveling snow/raking leaves/mowing lawns for the disabled and houseridden, 50+ hours)
-Senior Class Councilmember (plan events for the Class of 2012)
-WDFY (Washington Drug-Free Youth; submit to random drug testing in exchange for local discounts and opportunity to work on service projects)
-Skiing (weekly on weekends during the winter, not competitively)
-Swim Team (freshman year, not through my school)
-Track (grades 9-11, JV)</p>
<p>Hook: The summer after Freshman year, I got a job lifeguarding at a local City pool. For three straight summers, I will have worked 40+ hours per week. Last year I expanded my domain to teach swim lessons. I now teach five days a week and essentially hold a full-time job over the summer. One that I would willingly do for free because I love it so much.</p>
<p>Recommendations: I have three teachers lined up that I know would give me good recs. In addition, my counselor and my manager at work would do likewise.</p>
<p>Essays: I have several ideas. I could talk about my summer job and why I enjoy teaching kids to swim. I could talk about how I can organize mass events via Facebook (i.e. completely orchestrating a Spirit Week win for our class). I could talk about how in first grade, when I found out that a replacement Costco store in my city would no longer have pretzels in its food court, I asked my class to write letters to Jim Sinegal, the CEO of Costco. The pretzels remained, thanks to the letters. I have a few good ideas. </p>
<p>So here's the question: am I aiming too low? I have looked at the following colleges:</p>
<p>Gonzaga University
Seattle University
Loyola Marymount
Santa Clara
U of San Francisco
Stanford
U of Portland
Notre Dame
U of Southern California</p>
<p>After visiting these universities, I rejected USF and USC. Notre Dame and Stanford evolved as stretch schools in my mind. Santa Clara became my top pick. But then my June SAT scores came back, and I am asking myself whether I should be aiming higher. Indeed, my SAT scores are pretty high and if I were to retake, I could probably get a higher math score, in the 700s. But is that necessary? It might complicate plans to take Subject Tests in October. But it could open a few more doors--if I could score just a bit higher. </p>
<p>Anyway, I'm just dreaming here. But pretty much, the following is the list that I would like to be chanced for (please...). Assume current SAT scores are the ones used. Recommend a retake or not if you want. And recommend potential matches if you want. I'd prefer schools west of Denver, except more competitive schools on the East Coast. Bonus points if it's a competitive school near mountains. So, the list:</p>
<p>Santa Clara U</p>
<h2>U of Portland</h2>
<p>Stanford
Notre Dame
UC Berkeley
UC San Diego
U of Southern California (for kicks)
U of Washington (for kicks)
U of Chicago
Boston College
Georgetown
...your suggestions?</p>
<p>Thanks for your help!</p>