Hey so I got a B for my first semester of AP World in freshman year and an A second semester with straight A’s for every other class. I got straight A’s all through Sophomore year, but now I’m a Junior in IB and I’m about to get 2 B’s for my first semester grades in Ap English Lit and APUSH… I was 10th in my class out of 369 and I go to a top 10 school in the nation. My SAT is a 2060 right now but I’m going to bring it up… I do Lacrosse, XC and am the president of a few clubs. Can I get into Stanford?
For a school like stand ford, you do need to be in the range of gap which you can still achieve. The main concern is what sets you apart? Work on pursuing a real passion and you will find your self in a much better position next year.
Your numbers put you in the bottom 20% of the admitted class. Did you have something else that would make you stand out?
Thanks for the response! By something tjat would help me stand out do you mean extra curriculars or passions or what. Please explain
@JustOneDad
Well, yes. I guarantee you that students falling into that lowest 20% at Stanford have something else pretty big on their record. For example, a passion that they’ve demonstrated they’re pretty good at.
@JustOneDad oh, well I have more EC’s i just didnt list them all. But on an unrelated note, would you say even if I possibly get into Stanford, is it worth it to go there and spend all of that money or go to a different school like UF with a good med program and focus on getting into a good med school after?
I was like you. I wanted to go to an extremely competitive school because they were awesome and schools such as Stanford and MIT would provide me with so many opportunities. However, consider this these schools cost around 30,000 to 40,000 dollars to attend and unless you can dish that kind of money out is it really worth stressing over applications to attend. All you receive is an acceptance letter. Don’t let me dash your dreams but really think about it. I have seen so many people get in and not be able to afford it. But if you really want to here is the deal. Most of the acceptance rates to these schools are below or right around 6%. Which means if you take 100 intelligent and accomplished individuals, cut out all the individuals who meet the criteria, high ACT’s SATs and great GPAs 3.9s, and generally great all around students put them in a hat and draw out 6 you have your statistical Stanford class. Their is not a one formula technique or trick into the ivy’s you have to deserve it and be lucky.
@TT2341 i gotcha, where did you end uo going? Should I save my money and try going to a Stanford/Harvard caliber med school?
Med school is expensive. If graduate school or med school is the ultimate goal then I would recommend it. The benefit of going to an ivy league really comes from the experience and the prestige. Everyone wants a million dollar house its just not worth going into debt to pay for it. I would not worry about the Bs either. And yes if that is your ultimate goal save the money. I ended up going to UT austin. Applied for all those schools, MIT, Duke, Stanford, Cal Berkley, got in to some got rejected by most. You see I am an engineer and UT offers an awesome college experience, with a top 10 engineering program. I lot of schools are really good schools. You can go to UCS, UCLA, or UC Berkley. Maybe even San Diego and pay a fraction of the price, get an awesome GPA, and go to med school. By the way I’m a senior this year.
More doesn’t do much at all. I already assumed you showed the best ones.
If you are full pay, but need to save your money for grad school, then yes, go to a larger university where you can get some merit aid as well as a good preparation for medical school. By the time you are applying, a good fit medical school will be much more apparent. It’s not necessarily Harvard or Stanford although Stanford has been clawing it’s way up the rankings…
Good students get admitted to medical school from all kinds of colleges.
As schools like Stanford don’t take B’s in freshman year that seriously those shouldn’t matter too much. Try to avoid other Bs in junior and senior year. GPA is always number one. Stanford’s acceptance rates are super low, so try to make yourself look as unique as possible through your essays and extracurriculars. Essays are very important, so put a lot of time and effort into them. Definitely bring up your SAT score.
There’s always a chance for every school. Just remember that in the applicant pool, there are going to be hundreds of students from all around that have the same or better specs than you have-- so the key is to be unique. Good luck 