Medical Malpractice

What are practical suggestions for getting into these selective universities?

I'm a white, male, high school sophomore in New Hampshire, but I'm already looking into the college process. Given the following: -4.0 GPA (3.98 cumulative) UNWEIGHTED (4.4 to 4.5 WEIGHTED) -7 courses EVERY year (maximum) -3-4 honors courses EVERY year -1920 PSAT -640 Biology SAT, but a 5 AP Biology -Three Varsity Sports (Freshman Year: 1 Varsity, 1 JV) -Member of Class Committee I would just like to know what plan of action would be most beneficial to me in terms of: 1. Raising SAT/ACT score 2. Taking more SAT Subject Tests/AP exams 3. Community Service (I'm volunteering at a hospital this summer) 4. Clubs (more than being in "Class Committee") 5. Extracurricular activities in general (I'm going to Spain for 6 weeks for a Spanish language program) if I'm going to apply to (potentially) "reach" schools such as: 1. Stanford University 2. Columbia University 3. Cornell University 4. University of Chicago 5. Johns Hopkins University 6. Duke University 7. UCLA/UC Berkeley Thanks! I just used those schools as an example. I do have fun, but it's my nature to get overly/unnecessarily anxious about things. I work hard in school, so my grades are fine; I just don't do well on standardized tests. I just wanted to know if I should be doing more extracurricular activities and know if they're worth it or not, considering my other credentials. I plan to study for the SAT over the summer. Thanks, though.

Public Comments

1. First of all, cut down your list to no more than three. Schools compare notes and when they find someone applying to seven schools like you claim, they know you're not serious about their school. Your PSAT and SAT scores are low for where you want to apply. And seriously, you seem to be taking the "misery" apporach to going to school. You want to overextend yourself to build a better resume. Sounds like no fun at all. Lighten up.
2. Write a killer essay. Apply to few reach school, a few reasonable and at least ONE you know you will get into. Only the schools can decide who is going to get in. A lot of the schools you listed have summer programs for high school students. I know Hopkins does at least. You could look into doing one of these. It might help give you an edge up that you are missing by being a white male.