Am I on track for Stanford University?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Stanford University
1

<p>Am I on track for acceptance to Stanford University looking at my first two years of high school? Here is a list of things I have done in my freshman and sophomore years of high school:</p>

<p>Freshman Year</p>

<p>Academics</p>

<ul>
<li>Two Honors Courses (Chemistry Honors and Geometry Honors) </li>
<li>Two Electives (Multimedia Design and Concert Band) </li>
<li>Maximum Number of Credits </li>
<li>Community Service Honors (50+ Community Service Hours) </li>
<li>GPA - 2.957</li>
<li>Chemistry Honors (usually taken by strong juniors at my school): C+</li>
<li>Geometry Honors: C-</li>
<li>World Civilizations: A-</li>
<li>English I: B</li>
<li>Spanish I: B-</li>
<li>Multimedia Design: A</li>
<li>Concert Band: A+ (counted as half of a course)</li>
</ul>

<p>Extracurricular</p>

<ul>
<li>Elected Ninth Grade Class Council Officer</li>
<li>Volunteer at the Children's Section of a local library </li>
<li>Judge in the Elementary School Science Fair</li>
<li>Performed in the School Spring Drama Production</li>
<li>Member of a Church Youth Group </li>
<li>Host at a School Open House</li>
<li>Wrote and Acted for two different short plays in the Instant Drama Festival (less than 24 hours to write lines and less than 12 hours to learn lines)</li>
<li>Member of the Chess Team</li>
<li>Summer Volunteer at a hospital</li>
</ul>

<p>Sophomore Year (so far)</p>

<p>Academics</p>

<ul>
<li>Two Honors Courses (Biology Honors and Algebra II Honors) </li>
<li>One AP Course (World History AP) </li>
<li>Two Electives (Computer Science and Concert Band) </li>
<li>Maximum Number of Credits </li>
<li>Community Service Honors (50+ Community Service Hours) </li>
<li>GPA - ? </li>
<li>Biology Honors: B+/B</li>
<li>Algebra II Honors: B/B-</li>
<li>World History AP: B/B-</li>
<li>English II: B+</li>
<li>Spanish II: B-</li>
<li>Computer Science: A/B+</li>
<li>Concert Band: A+ (counted as half of a course)</li>
<li>PSAT - 184 (without prior preparation)</li>
<li>PLAN - 22 (without prior preparation)</li>
</ul>

<p>Extracurricular</p>

<ul>
<li>Elected Executive Council Secretary (Highest Student Council Position Available to a Sophomore)</li>
<li>Elected Tenth Grade Class Council Officer (served until elected Executive Council Secretary)</li>
<li>Member of the Cross Country team</li>
<li>Member of the Swim team</li>
<li>Member of the Tennis team</li>
<li>Weekly Volunteer at the Children's Section of a local library</li>
<li>Performed in the Fall and Spring Drama Productions</li>
<li>Member of the Set Construction/Technical Crews for the Fall and Spring Drama Productions </li>
<li>Member of a Church Youth Group </li>
<li>Founding Member of a Junior State of America chapter (Appointed to the position of Chapter Secretary & Director of Debate for next year)</li>
<li>Appointed to lead the chapter at the JSA Spring State Conference</li>
<li>Model United Nations delegate</li>
<li>Wrote and Acted for two different short plays in the Instant Drama Festival (less than 24 hours to write lines and less than 12 hours to learn lines)</li>
<li>Staff Writer for the School Newspaper</li>
<li>Staff Writer for the School Literary Magazine</li>
<li>Member of the Community Service Board </li>
<li>Member of the Future Business Leaders of America chapter </li>
<li>Founding Officer of the 30 Hour Famine Chapter </li>
<li>Member of the Chess Club </li>
<li>Host at School Open Houses and School Orientation</li>
<li>Vice President of the Sports Writing Club</li>
</ul>

<p>Summer Plans </p>

<ul>
<li>Teen Leadership Summer Volunteer at a hospital</li>
<li>Mission Trip in Nicaragua for one week during the summer</li>
<li>(Hopefully) Attending the Junior State of America Northeast Institute on Leadership and National Security at Princeton University in the summer</li>
<li>(Hopefully) Attending the National Student Leadership Conference in Intelligence & National Security</li>
<li>Attending the U.S. Naval Academy Swim Camp</li>
</ul>

<p>My overall goal is to go to a good law school, enter the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General Corps Student Program, serve in the the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General Corps as an Attorney/Officer, then transition into the U.S. Navy Reserve after serving on active duty for a few years and work at a private law firm. </p>

<p>Thank you for your time.</p>

2

<p>PSAT is pretty low, but you have time to improve. I went from 176 PSAT and 1760 SAT, to 2150 over a few tests.</p>

<p>You should cut down on a few ECs and focus on the ones that demonstrate your inclination towards Law. I’d suggest that you continue with Model UN and gain a leadership position, JSA, attempt to gain some sort of leadership position in FBLoA, and continue with all of your athletics, as well as your summer plans. Community Service is a must, and can heavily influence admission decisions. A friend of mine with lower academics and extracurricular activities was accepted to Stanford with 1000 hours of community service.</p>

<p>Don’t stack up on sub-par ECs just to fill up your resume (Stanford will only see five of them on the Common App), but instead focus on improving your existing ones.</p>

<p>With more time focused on fewer ECs, you will have time to study and improve your grades which are, at this point, well below Stanford’s average.</p>

<p>Make sure to not fall behind on the application, and to get it done well ahead of time so that you have as much time as possible to perfect your essays. Get them reviewed by others for spelling, grammar, and clarity, but DO NOT let them change any content. Your voice MUST be genuine.</p>

<p>You certainly have potential, and a clear purpose. The chances of you being accepted to Stanford are extremely slim, as they are with anyone. You have time to improve, and I suggest you do so. Know WHY you want to go to Stanford. And finally, do not state what your passion is, but demonstrate it through the language and tone of your essays.</p>

3

<p>Your extracurricular activities are good, but no one will overlook your easy schedule and blatantly a below 3 freshman GPA kills. As well as nearly straight B’s. I’m sorry but even with everything you do outside of school, Stanford is incredibly unlikely unless you get your GPA to at least 3.5 UW and 4.0 W.</p>