<p>I am applying to Stanford. I've already taken my ACT and I got a 25, I have a 3.2 grade average, and I am like 50th in my class out of 150. I played football, wrestled, and ran track. I was the president of the Student Council, and in several other clubs. What do you think my chances of getting in are?</p>
<p>just about 0%.</p>
<p>^ That was rather blunt, so I will explain why.</p>
<p>Your ACT score and your GPA are almost certainly too low. If you can retake the ACT and do much better, then you miiiiight be able to explain why your GPA is low. A decent GPA would probably be around 3.85 unweighted... I don't have the exact statistic on this one.</p>
<p>It's difficult to tell what your committments are to clubs from your brief statement. You would have needed to be in at least a few clubs for a couple of years and demonstrate leadership and initiative, as well as excellence. Community service is also extremely valuable, as it demonstrates good citizenship and an ability to recognize the needs of the greater world.</p>
<p>You're by no means a bad student, but I don't think the stats you presented make you strong enough to go to a top-tier school, except maaayyybee if you get recruited for a sport. It's your choice to apply and by no means will I try to stop you, but I think to give you any chance, you must write excellent essays that illuminate your personality, what you value, what you have learned, and why you have made the choices in you life that you have. If your essays sound like your post above (a short, personality-less, laundry list), then your chance is indeed about 0%.</p>
<p>That's bad. Do you think I have a chance of getting in if I go somewhere else and then apply for grad. school at Stanford?</p>
<p>It will depend on how well you do in college, GREs, recommendations, etc. Your HS record won't count at that time.</p>
<p>IMHO, your GPA and ACT put you in a category of "similar campus culture" schools to Stanford such as Georgia Tech, Lehigh, NYU, Rochester and possibly USC. If you're a Californian, then there are UC schools like Davis and Santa Barbara. Also, Cal Poly SLO and such private schools as Santa Clara, Pepperdine and Occidental might be of interest.</p>
<p>Sweet. That's the plan then.</p>