<p>Hello everyone, I am currently a Jr. attending an Oregon public high school and have a few questions about colleges. I have asked a similar question a while back, and would like an updated answer.
To start off with, the high school I attend is considered to be a top college prep (public) school in Oregon. I mention this because I have heard that the courses in general tend to be harder than other schools and that colleges will take note of that. Another thing I am concerned about is that I have not taken too many honor/AP classes up to this point, however, I do plan on taking 3-4 APs along with 2-3 honors next year (senior year). This is because of a few reasons, one being that I, unfortunately, was quite lazy my freshman and sophomore year, another is that with my school being difficult as it is, non-seniors are strongly advised against taking more than 1-2 a year and no more than 1 sophomore year. In fact to be allowed to take more than 2 you have to receive permission from many different faculty members. Also, after my sophomore year the school added 3 extra semesters of required history credits, which took up some of my time. The last reason being that my school doesn't offer as many APs as some other schools.</p>
<p>Also keep in mind that since I have not yet finished my Jr year a few things I mention are not guaranteed but highly likely and I only mention them so that I can look at my chances in a best case-scenario. Lastly, I know that some schools give extra points for honors classes, mine does not. That being said, here is my unofficial transcript:</p>
<p>Freshman year GPA - 3.86, no honors/APs
Sophomore year GPA - 4.0 no APs, but I think 1 honors
Junior year unweighted GPA - 4.0, weighted- 4.155, 1 AP(AP chem) and 1-2 honors (again the honors system is strange at my school so I am not entirely sure)
Seniors year classes and probable grades - AP Calc AB - (B - A), AP Computer Science - A, AP English - A, French 4 - A, Physics - A, World history Gold (required class....) - A, Teacher assistant - A, Possibly another AP I haven't decided yet.
Judging by my diagnostic test and the work I am putting in my SAT score should be in the range of
2000-2250, I am not sure if I will be taking the ACT.
Class rank- top 5-10%
Probable AP Chem test score- 4-5</p>
<p>Extra curricular activities:
-NHS member
-French NHS member
-Founder and President of the school Film Production club, for which I have created a website myself. Also, I have been doing things inside and outside of school with film for all of high school.
The club recently entered in a International youth silent film festival. (no results yet but just assume best case-scenario in which we win first, second, or third).
-Member of the school link crew (leadership program which helps freshman get used to high school)
-One of four of NHS board leaders.
-Played freshman year soccer
-On five varsity events in track and have been in track since freshman year.
-Varsity letter in track
-Part of the CO-ED soccer team
-Participated in a french skills competition (did not win anything :P)
-By the end of next summer I will hopefully have 150-200 hours of community service
-I am also planning on going to a foreign country to volunteer for 1-2 weeks this summer</p>
<p>Last thing is college essays, I know of course that there is no way for me to predict how good they will be but I have a few ideas which I think will be quite compelling. So again just as a best case-scenario lets assumes my essays are received very well.</p>
<p>Now that I've said all of that, what I'd like to know is how much the lack of APs will hurt me... ? Also what kind of shot I have or if I have any shot at all at getting into schools like UCLA, UCB, NYU, etc. Also I know that there is little to no chance of this but I am also planning on applying to Stanford simply because my grandpa went there and I've heard legacy can be helpful. Then also what are my chances at University of Chicago, again I know it's a very tough university but both my parents received MBAs from there and I have heard they favor legacies as well.</p>
<p>Also, any extra advice on things I should be doing or other universities that I should consider would be great!</p>
<p>I would prefer answers from people who have applied, been accepted to, graduated from any of these schools or a similarly prestigious university, or simply have knowledge in this area.</p>
<p>Thanks very much for all of your answers, I very much appreciate you taking the time to help me out.</p>