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I come from a small, junky, mid-western, rural highschool school and would like to go to the Ivy League. I have:
-720V, 760M (1480) SAT I
-33 ACT
-1st in class (inflated and unweighted out of ~70)
-Hardest classes available, although that is not saying much. Calculus, Physics, Chemistry, French IV, Spanish III, etc..
-Football 4 years and Track 4 years
-No AP's and no honors because we do not have any

I haven't taken the SAT IIs yet; nobody around here does. My question is, should I even bother to take the SAT IIs and to apply to Ivy League schools? Also, there is no need to tell me to follow my dreams. I just want to know if there is a chance that I could get in without any AP/honors.

Thanks a lot.

BTW, I'm rich and white.

By Jongleur (Jongleur) on Thursday, June 19, 2003 - 11:28 pm: Edit

The ivies and schools of similar prestige LOVE rural valedictorians, so I think you'll be in with those test scores. Your ECs are the only thing holding you back. But, you took the hardest curriculum possible at your school, so that'll suffice.
If I were you, I'd take the SAT IIs just to be on the safe side.

By Soozievt (Soozievt) on Friday, June 20, 2003 - 12:19 am: Edit

Where did you hear that they love rural valedictorians? Just curious. Have a child in that situation. Her school is bigger than the orignal poster here and they have tracking in classes....they have honors classes that are very demanding, but they are not called AP. BTW, the colleges do not care so much if you are in AP but rather that you took the most demanding courses that your school offers. It is not the student's fault about the offerings. They want to see that you challenged yourself to the fullest in your environment.
Susan

By Savoirfaire87 (Savoirfaire87) on Friday, June 20, 2003 - 12:51 am: Edit

GO FOR IT!!! Just make sure you have interesting essays and show them that you did the best you could, given the circumstances. I live in a small town; our graduating class this year was around 140 and we only offer one AP, so I can -*kind of*- understand your situation. YOur test scores are high, just take some SAT II's to round it out and you'll be fine.

By Savoirfaire87 (Savoirfaire87) on Friday, June 20, 2003 - 01:02 am: Edit

Susan---
Have your daughter take AP's independently!! Many people have done it and it's what I'm planning to do. As I said, my school only offers one AP (English) which I will take and, as I forgot to say , a "College in High School" class in Calculus (through the University of Pitt). I'm going to take the US History AP, the French AP, and the US Gov/Politics AP independently. Instead of taking the CHS tests, I'm going to take the Calc AB AP. I figure that even if I get a lower score on one of them, the college I apply to will appreciate my effort. I'll take a few SAT II's as well.

Good luck to your daughter!!

What year is she in? I just finished my freshman year.

By Quakerboy2 (Quakerboy2) on Friday, June 20, 2003 - 02:25 am: Edit

Yes, if you want a prayer at the Ivies, take the SAT IIs. Now before I get blasted for having such a strong opinion, that's just b/c most of them require some number of SAT IIs (usually 3). The AP thing won't hold you back, just take (and hopefully do well on) three SAT IIs. Your best bet is to do writing, some type of math, and something else. That should cover all the picky requirements.

Good luck!