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?
Stanford is a huge reach for everyone. Sure you can get it, but it isn’t likely. Apply if it is something you really want. Jr year grades are the most important year, though.
Stanford looks for people who do something on a national level, along with near perfect scores and GPA’s so they are a reach for everyone. Right now, your SAT score isn’t high enough for Stanford. Why do you want to go there?
@aunt bea Stanford is looking for originality and special drive. Last year we had a 1950 SAT get into Stanford; she stood out because she had done a special teaching related activity.
Yes and with a holistic process, test scores are not everything.
Grades, SAT, ACT, ABCs… they all have to be good enough to get into that “top applicant” pool. Once your GPA is above 3.85 or so (this is arbitrary, I have no idea), SAT is above 2200ish, and everything else is fine, it comes down to your ECs. People worry about GPA and SAT too much… you simply can’t stand out through them. You need to have ECs.
So to answer your question, your Bs probably won’t stop you from getting in. I got in with 3 Bs total (one B every other semester).
@stanaccepted what made you stand out?
Science research (Siemens/Intel), rec letters, and the typical smattering of clubs/ECs (three of which I founded). I posted my stats to the EA thread. Honestly, luck. Probably geographic location as well. Basically, chances are you (and I) won’t get in, and that’s how you have to approach it. Do your best on the app, submit it, and then stop thinking about it. You already put in the work for the last four years. You can’t be genuinely disappointed that you didn’t get into Stanford… that’s the status quo! It’s considered abnormal if you do. Trust me, no matter what anyone says, everyone who got into those crapshoot colleges (Ivies, Stanford, MIT, etc.) felt lucky and nobody (except for LITERALLY maybe 10 people who have placed first in the BEST national competitions) is guaranteed admission.