<p>I was in the same boat a few years ago, I went to the kind of school where someone getting into an ivy was something that happened maybe once in a decade. I knew that I really wanted to go to a top caliber college, but whenever I brought it up to my guidance counselor or teachers I just got a lot of blank stares. What I had to do was simply ignore it, look past what everyone else was doing and make a decision for myself. I remember being extremely frustrated when all of my wealthy private school friends got a private SAT tutor to get the scores they needed, and all of my parents could afford was a test prep book from Barnes and Noble. Nevertheless, I worked my butt off, got into the ivy I now attend, and honestly I never looked back once.</p>
<p>With that being said, I always have had a huge amount of respect for “diamond in the rough” stories. I think it says sooo much about your character when you come from a crappy high school, extreme poverty, or something similar and you still manage to get straight A’s, stellar test scores, and did a ton of ECs. It shows a huge amount of drive and that you were willing to do whatever it takes to transcend your circumstances. </p>
<p>Think about it. Lets say you were an admissions officer. You have two applications in front of you. One of them was born with a silver spoon, went to a wealthy private school, did everything their guidance counselor told them to, and marched down the already paved path that many of his/her classmates did before them. The other dug his own path. He had to work part-time to help his parents pay the bills, had to babysit his younger siblings constantly, went to a noncompetitive high school, yet still managed to graduate first in his class and wrote in his essays how he dreamed to go on to do amazing things if only he had the opportunities. In my opinion, I think the second applicant has a much more interesting story.</p>
<p>You are completely right. It isn’t fair that the wealthier have it easier. However, my point is you can spin this to work to YOUR advantage. Besides, being wealthy isn’t so glamorous. My private school friends complained constantly how hard it was to be in the top 10% of their class, even the top 25%, simply because how competitive their high school is. At your school, you are in a league of your own and I imagine your class rank is very high. You also have the choice to write an essay about all of the hardships you faced, whereas private school students may not have a powerful topic to write about. </p>
<p>Admission officers take circumstances into consideration when they are making decisions. So in a way, it all balances out in the big scheme of things. Just keep working as hard as you can, and in the end it might all work out.</p>