<p>I'm a current female high school junior who is going to major in either physics or mathematics, and my problem is pretty much what the title states. I have good grades and test scores: my ACT score is a 35 and my SAT a 2400; my GPA is a 4.0 unweighted. I've taken a fairly hard courseload--sophomore year I did AP Calculus BC and now I'm going to take math classes at my state university, so I'll be done with multivariable calc, linear algebra, diff. eqs., some number theory and topology before I graduate. I've also done AP Physics, AP French, AP Spanish, all with 5s, and I'll continue on this AP-laden path for the next two years.</p>
<p>However, I read the decisions threads for schools like Harvard and MIT and it seems like everyone has won ten state competitions and done Siemens and Intel and volunteered 300 hours for the local hospital &c. &c. I have never done any statewide competition or USAMOs or anything. I'm not completely bereft of extracurriculars: I've done the required 50 hours of service learning each year for my school, I did have a pretty cool 40 hr/week research job over the summer and I'll probably be captain of the varsity track team next year and president of the cultural club, but you get the point--nothing spectacular and Harvard-worthy.</p>
<p>I was just wondering what colleges I should be setting my sights on at this time. What would be schools that would be best for people like me, who don't necessarily have the awards and recognition, but still have solid numbers and courseloads?</p>