Can I get into Emory University?

Emory is one of those schools where you need to be more than just an awesome student. Everyone who applies has excellent grades and scores. First of all, you should improve the ACT score to AT LEAST a 30. You should try having leadership positions in your extracurricular activities, and try to distinguish yourself by emphasizing any extracurriculars that you think are interesting. Don't get too attached to Emory though. I feel this is a problem many students have- they get attached to one school and don't consider the other thousands of schools in America. Emory is so competitive that admissions is actually against most people. If you want to stay in the south, look at other excellent schools like Wake Forest, UNC Chapel Hill, Tulane, and Duke (even harder than Emory).