<p>I think the previous posters are very much exaggerating the difficulty of getting into UW. There are well-known criteria that the admissions people look at when evaluating your application. These are, in approx. order of importance:</p>
<ol>
<li>GPA</li>
<li>Course Selection</li>
<li>SATs</li>
<li>Essays</li>
<li>Extracurriculars</li>
<li>'diversity factor' (i.e. do you have any special talents or unique background that the UW is interested in?)</li>
</ol>
<p>If you can fulfill four of these categories well, then you should be in excellent shape.</p>
<p>Your GPA is more than enough to get you in, provided that your high school is not known for grade inflation. UW does take this into account, so I would research the extent to which your school does this. They measure the drop from avg. hs gpa to first quarter UW gpa. The schools with the least drop therefore have the lowest grade inflation.</p>
<p>SATs could improve, of course, and I would encourage you to retake if possible, but if you don't raise them too much it's not the end of the world.</p>
<p>Extracurriculars seem pretty good, just make sure you describe their significance well on your application. They don't want to read anything mundane, i.e. don't tell them what you did at debate team, show them how it influenced you as a person or prepared you for college.</p>
<p>Essays should be your saving grace. If you express yourself well here, it should be a slam-dunk for you.</p>
<p>I got in w/a 3.5 gpa, 800verbal, 600math, 720writing, and reasonably good essays. I'm also white and suburban, so I'm definitely not benefiting from under-the-table affirmative action. </p>
<p>Just make sure those essays rock their socks off and you should be fine!</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>