Advice for Getting Into Stanford?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Stanford University
1

<p>So I'm planning on applying early to Stanford and I'd just like to know what advice you all have for me (regarding stats, essays, etc.)</p>

<p>SAT:
Math: 780
Critical Reading: 700
Writing: 750</p>

<p>SAT Subject Tests:
US History: 690
Math 2: 660
Literature: 640
(I'll probably retake US History and Math 2 in October. Will the scores be back in time for early application?)</p>

<p>AP:
European History (10th Grade): 4
US History (11th Grade): 4
Calculus BC (Self-study): 5
Calculus AB subscore (11th Grade): 4</p>

<p>GPA: 4.33 (does not include most recent second semester grades) UW: 4.0
Class rank: 2/70 (will be co-Valedictorian)</p>

<p>Senior Year Schedule (4-by-4):
Semester 1:
1. Honors or AP Chemistry (depends on what's offered)
2. AP English Literature
3. AP US Government (Independent Study)
4. AP Psychology
5. AP Statistics (Independent Study after school)</p>

<p>Semester 2:
1. AP Calculus Teacher's Assistant
2. AP English Language and Composition
3. AP Macroeconomics (Independent Study)
4. Yearbook</p>

<p>All A's.
I go to a highly diverse inner-city school with very limited AP/Honors course offerings.</p>

<p>State: CA
Gender: M
Ethnicity: White (Italian, Irish and Polish) - Should I leave this blank?</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
Calculus BC Instructor (11, 12)
-Started as a small group of 12 students who wanted to take the exam; I am currently writing curriculum for the course which will be taught by me next year after school; 65 students signed up for my class</p>

<p>Yearbook (9, 10, 11, 12); Writing Editor (10); Editor-in-Chief (11, 12)
-First junior Editor-in-Chief; 2010 edition won first place at San Diego County Fair</p>

<p>SAT Coordinator of Mu Alpha Theta (Honor Society/Math Club) (11, 12)
-Corresponded with the Collegeboard to organize the first ever SAT testing session at my school in January 2010; have since hosted the SAT in May and June 2010 with future dates scheduled</p>

<p>Class of 2010 (9, 10, 11, 12); President (9, 12)
-Fundraised for senior activities</p>

<p>President of Auroras (12)
-Seniors-only community service club</p>

<p>Volunteer (9, 10, 11, 12)
-Have volunteered at the San Diego Food Bank, Father Joe's Village, the Old Globe Theater and was a poll worker for the June 2010 Primary Election</p>

<p>Work Experience:
Summer Internship at UCSD Center for Theoretical Biological Physics
-July 6, 2010-August 12, 2010</p>

<p>Awards:
Jaime Escalante Memorial Award
-given for my work in teaching Calculus BC
Mu Alpha Theta Inductee
San Diego County Fair First Place Yearbook
Student of the Year 2010</p>

<p>Miscellaneous:
Parents are divorced
Both parents are unemployed
Mother receives unemployment
Father is legally disabled and receives Social Security</p>

<p>Planning to major in Mathematics to become a math teacher or professor.</p>

<p>Thanks for any and all advice.</p>

2

<p>Your sat ii scores are quite low for Stanford. However, if you can bring them up to over 700 and can elaborate on the adverse circumstances you’ve faced, like your parents’ divorces and unemployment, then Stanford might show some sympathy to you.</p>

3

<p>You’re apparently a very strong applicant … I mean, teaching BC Calc and getting a 5 on it as a junior is really impressive. SAT II scores are kinda lagging but hopefully you can pull those up in October. </p>

<p>I would say that you should really concentrate on your essays at this point; the situation with your parents and your experience with being an instructor interests me. Be very very very creative so that you can stand aside from other applicants. I’m sure that Stanford is really looking for people that take their interests and passions above and beyond so maybe something that’s very unique and catchy about your love for math would be pretty cool. But most of all, show that you’re human and that you’re a good writer. Stanford likes humans with genuine interests in attending; not the machines we see on CC haha =D.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

4

<p>Your SAT 2 scores are fine just focus on your essays. Academically wise you’re on the same level as many of the other applicants it’s your extracurriculars and showing your genuine personality that will help you get in and I’m not just saying that. I was nowhere near your academic standards and I got in</p>

5

<p>I dunno, I would really like to see that Math2 score up, given you stated interests</p>

6

<p>I would not leave the ethnicity blank. Put what you are-- White.</p>

7

<p>Thanks for all of the advice.</p>

<p>One more thing…
I just found out about the QuestBridge National College Match program. It seems like if I’m chosen as a Finalist, the process is essentially the same as if I submitted my application as Early Action. So I guess my question is should I do Questbridge or Early Action?</p>

8

<p>AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!</p>

<p>Definitely do Questbridge. I found out about the program from a friend of mine who was matched with Williams. After getting matched with Stanford, I was completely taken care of. AND, Questbridge will let you apply to more than one school.</p>

<p>If you want more reasons why to do Questbridge, just ask. </p>

<p>However, Questbridge may make the process a little more competitive. I’m not sure how many applicants get in early at Stanford, but I know that a very small amount of Questbridge finalists are “matched”.</p>

9

<p>Definitely. </p>

<p>I did QuestBridge this year and it was a phenomenal experience … I was connected with apparently great colleges that I’ve never heard of prior to. I think my finalist status gave me a leg up in admissions at a lot of places, even though I didn’t make the match. I highly reccommend it; however, the application is pretty intense , more so than the common app. Things have to be in by the end of September so I advise you to get crackin’ on it if you’re serious about it.</p>

10

<p>This is what I’m wondering about Questbridge though:
I’m really not that interested in most of their partner schools. Is it really worth it for me to apply through Questbridge and be paired up against all of those highly competitive applicants or apply Early Action without that title? I’d really like to hear more details about the program and the process from those of you who participated.</p>

11

<p>I feel you. I was only interested in Stanford, Yale and Princeton because they had EA programs. With the exception of MIT and a few other schools, the rest of them have ED so I ended up applying to Princeton and Stanford through QB. The fact that I didn’t get matched allowed me to still have my QB finalist status, which I listed on my application to Brown, Williams, Northwestern and Chicago as well as non-partner schools, such as Georgetown and Johns Hopkins. At the end of the day, my admissions results were perfect with no rejections or waitlists. I’m not sure how much I owe QB for my success, but I know that QB finalist status is definitely looked upon favorably by elite colleges all over the nation. I think it’s worth it that you apply yourself to QB.</p>

12

<p>So you weren’t matched to Stanford or Princeton but you were still accepted to both? Did you know about your acceptance in December or April? Did you use the same essay from your QB application in your other applications?</p>

13

<p>Yup. The good thing about applying to QB partner schools is that if you don’t get matched, the schools will still have your QB app with all of those great QB essays to look at, in addition to your common app and supplements. Essentially, the admissions counselor will have more essays from you than all of the other applicants, giving them more perspectives of you as an applicant; as a person. But unfortunately, you won’t know about your admissions results until RD time, which is late March/April 1st … that is if you don’t get matched in December.</p>

<p>I used my personal statement from QB as my common app and Georgetown essay.</p>

14

<p>And that’s why I stress essays a lot. They are the decision makers between Accept and Reject. They offer you opportunities to let your admissions counselor get to know you and your aspirations.</p>

15

<p>You might want to consider taking the ACT.</p>

16

<p>I did some research and it seems that Stanford’s QB acceptance rate is significantly lower than their EA acceptance rate. Can I apply for Quesbridge, but choose not to participate in the College Match program? That way I can write on my Stanford EA application that I am a QB finalist and still use the QB application during RD time if rejected from Stanford. I feel like I have a better chance of standing out in the EA pool than in the QB pool.</p>

17

<p>Also, what’s the acceptance rate for QuestBridge finalists who are not matched but get in on the regular decision pool?</p>

18

<p>Yes, you can still apply for QuestBridge and opt out of the Match. Perfectly optional.
I’m not sure of the exact acceptance rate of QB finalists in the RD round; however, I noticed that the website updated QB yield rates after the admissions cycle concluded and I found myself to be among about 30 finalists who had been accepted to Stanford by April so I’m assuming that either the acceptance rate is generally higher for RD (as would be expected in comparison to the Match), or that the 2010 QB applicants in general were super competitive, without QB finalist status.</p>

19

<p>OK, I think I get it now. Thanks for all of the advice.</p>

20

<p>You look like a phenemonal QuestBridge candidate. I was a QB Match at Stanford. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions. The real magic of QuestBridge isn’t in the Match; it’s in the RD round, where QB students see inflated acceptance rates at partner schools and plenty of success at prestigious non-partner schools with good to great financial aid.</p>