<p>Something of a hopeless/very weird situation, but what the heck. Give me your worst, CC:</p>
<p>Female, citizen and resident of El Salvador (Central America), need tons of financial aid. (parents making ~20k this year)</p>
<p>-junior GPA 3.38 (should be 3.5 by end of senior year)
-top 25%
-SAT 1890, awaiting retake scores, should be a few points higher, but not much.
-only a handful of APs (Economics, Calc, Physics)
-[edit] taking SATIIs in december: World History, Math2c, Spanish (guaranteed but inconsequential 800 for that last one)</p>
<p>ECs:
Student Government for two years, academic varsity teams, Model UN for three years (outstanding delegate in three simulations), yearbook editor 2 years, runner-up in national spanish literature and language competition, science fair gold medal for all four high school years, 3-dan in kendo, fluent in japanese (but no tests to prove it), some logo and branding design jobs in personal portfolio, one short story published in a collection and one illustration published in an anthology.
(I think I listed absolutely everything- such is my desperation.)</p>
<p>My school up until junior year was a tiny, incestuous place where many teachers were grossly underqualified. Yet it is amongst the only "Bilingual Schools" in the country. I quit this year to pursue homeschooling via Keystone Online High School, which for the first time in my life allows me to take AP classes.</p>
<p>I'm pretty confident in my ability to whip up a decent essay and present an overall cohesive application, but I know my GPA is relatively abysmal and the fact that i need 75%+ of expenses covered is an immediate turnoff to adcoms.</p>
<p>I'm currently looking into
-Amherst and maaaybe Swat or Duke as a super-super-super reaches
-Holyoke
-Rhodes
-Goucher?</p>
<p>-and there's this little place called Notre Dame College in Baltimore, MD which I'm tempted to make my safety school, but honestly I'm wondering if I can't do a little better.</p>
<p>Basically I think those schools are a bit too much of a gamble and would like a couple slightly more luck-proof options?</p>
<p>I'm thinking to major in physics, and hoping for decent research opportunities. I don't care if if I have to pry for them, so long as they're there.</p>
<p>Any and all help is a godsend! Thanks in advance.</p>