<p>Your initiative and attitude sound amazing. Your test scores and grades don’t seem to match up with your accomplishments, I wonder if you are not a good test taker and might need help with that? I would encourage you to apply to some smaller private schools such as Saint Louis Univeristy, Butler…schools where your leadership abilities would allow you to thrive, and where you would get a lot of personal attention. You seem to have targeted extremely competitive schools where many of the students will easily have much higher grades and test scores. You, however have documented leadership, and will want to be in a good academic situation in order for this to continue. I am so sorry for the loss of your mom, I’m sure it made it very difficult for you. Keep the faith, you will find your perfect match and thrive. </p>