Sorry to ask..but what are my chances?

Chance Me / Match Me!
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<p>GPA Unweighted 3.7: (3.75 if i get a 4.0 this semester, and i am fairly certain i will with my schedule)
GPA Weighted:I'm not sure about the current score, but 4.1 if i get 4.0 this semester.
My HS is about the top 5% among public schools in CA, just to give more perspective.</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
4 years on school newspaper. Have served as staff writer, opinion editor, copy editor.
Co-founder of Amnesty International and JSA Clubs at school.
Associate of Asian Club
Spent Summer of 2010 at Stanford. Took U.S Foreign Policy (A-) and Linear Algebra/Multivariable Calculus (Passing, *****ty i know)
Spent summer of 2011 in Beijing (11 Days) teaching children English
100 hours volunteering at my local elementary school. </p>

<p>Scores:
SAT: 2160 (Expecting higher, taking it in November and am getting 2250 ish on practices)
SAT II: Math II= 740 (Retake in October), Literature= 720, U.S History= 800.</p>

<p>Recommendations: My journalism wrote me a VERY good recommendation when i applied to Stanford, so i hope he will do that again. And I also performed very well in my last English class. </p>

<p>I am planning to apply to UCLA, UC Berkely, UC San Diego, UChicago, Northwestern, Princeton, Yale, Cornell, Harvard, Columbia, Washington STL, UPenn, Stanford, NYU. </p>

<p>I have no idea about what my chances are. I can see myself getting rejected by EVERY school on this list. So should I add some more safety schools? I don't really want to write more essays though. </p>

<p>Lastly, will I be given an opportunity to explain my low grades? I had a really difficult year outside of school between the end of my sophomore and beginning of my junior years, and that's the main reason some of my grades are lower.</p>

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<p>I’m betting you get into UCLA, UCSD, and NYU. Won’t bet against you for UCB-- if you are ELC eligible. Outside shot at Northwestern, WashU, and Cornell. All the others are long-shots-- even with a 2200 plus SAT score. </p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

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<p>Thanks for the reply!</p>

<p>Good Luck with whatever you may have going on!</p>

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<p>^I’m the parent of a Cal freshman…</p>

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<p>Other than UCSD and NYU, the schools on your list don’t look like safe bets. Obviously HYP will be very tough. First thing to note are the Academics; gpa nor SAT would be considered “strong” though they won’t automatically put you in the rejection pile. But ECs aren’t great, especially for a California Asian applying to such schools. What such school want to see is genuine interest in an activity, not students who do activities for their resum</p>