<p>Like many here, I'm an upcoming senior and I'm excited to apply to colleges in the coming months especially. I know there are literally hundreds of threads like this, but I would love some advice. </p>
<p>I'm in a position where I'm not entirely sure when I should be applying. As of now, my application will look somewhat like this:
4.0 GPA (my school is unweighted)
33 ACT (maximums: 35 English, 35 Science, 34 Math, 33 Reading, also a 10 of 12 on the writing portion)
I've taken a rigorous schedule at my smaller-sized school.
The thing is, my extracurriculars do seem a little generic:
NHS
Science Olympiad (placed in state, won districts if that matters)
Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD)
LEO (charter member of this volunteer club at my school, 30+ volunteer hours last year)
Church volunteer
engineering camp at a prestigious university (which provides me with an official transcript)
Baseball
Soccer (team captain)
Basketball
Track/field
My school offers 1 AP class which I'm taking this year</p>
<p>That's mostly my transcript at the moment. I'm the first of my siblings to apply to college, and my parents didn't have the options that I feel I may have. My school councilors don't have a clue what they're talking about either. In other words, I don't have that much experience or help.</p>
<p>I'm wondering if it would be smarter to apply early and cross my fingers or wait a few months when I may be able to add a few more components? How would that look to an admissions council?</p>
<p>Also, is it worth applying to an Ivy League school, or would that be pointless with my transcript?</p>
<p>If this is in the wrong forum, please let me know and I'll repost it there.</p>
<p>As far as extracurriculars go, it’s all about how you present them. Make yourself sound interesting. Here’s an article which uses Bucknell University as an example: [When</a> Applying to Bucknell University](<a href=“■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■”>■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■)</p>
<p>How much can your family afford to pay towards college? Do you plan to play soccer in college? What kind of environment/experience are you seeking?</p>
<p>Even more thanks guys. Good advice. I don’t think it’ll be too hard to make the ECs sound personal, because (even if I’m not in a “leadership position”) I am passionate about each and every one. We’ll just have to see how everything ends up down the road.</p>
Unless you need it for National Merit or something, I don’t understand why you plan to take the SAT at all. Your ACT scores are good–good enough to get you taken seriously at any college in the country.</p>
<p>For a handful of the snootiest colleges and universities in the country, you’d need SAT 2 scores on top of ACT scores. But many colleges, even many selective ones, will accept ACT in lieu of SAT Critical Reasoning and subject tests.</p>
<p>So, IMO, if you don’t need SAT 2s for any colleges you plan to apply to, and you don’t need SAT Critical Reasoning for National Merit or some other reason, you should just submit the ACT scores you have, and move on to writing excellent essays.</p>
<p>Alright. That sounds reasonable. Apparently I’m not too knowledgeable about the whole admissions process and that’s why I’m here. </p>
<p>I’m just left with the feeling that my 33 ACT is not the score it should be to truly compete for admission to the upper-tier universities. Do you know any of those universities that allow you to submit all of your ACT scores and then look at your bests in each category? It would greatly be to my benefit if the university were to do this because it would give me the 35, 35, 34, 33 combination. Through my eyes, those individual scores look much better than my 33 composite.</p>
<p>Upon scouring the site, I’m coming to the conclusion that Ivy Leagues will be out of my reach unless my essay is extraordinary or the quality applicants from my state are sparse. If there are any high-level schools that would seem fitting for me, I’d love to hear opinions; particularly for engineering.</p>