Any shot at all?

Colleges & Universities A-Z Stanford University
1

<p>Ethnicity: White Female
An underachieving public school in Vancouver, WA. Only roughly 60% of our students passed the state required exam to graduate in the math, similar numbers for reading, etc.</p>

<p>GPA: 3.94/4.0
Rank:7/306
SAT I: 1790(very bad, but I didn't study) Am studying and retaking in Oct/Nov
-CR:580, M:600, W:610 (essay-8, mc-62)
Very bad AP scores Jr. Year: AP Lit.:3, AP Us history:2</p>

<p>Senior Year Schedule:
AP Comparitive Gov't
AP Calculus
AP Environmental Science
Intro. to visual art (req'd)
Aerobics (req'd)/Teachers Assistant(no other classes this period)
Ap English language
-currently considering an extra class at the local community college, but not sure since im getting a job</p>

<p>-I took/am taking most of the AP classes offered at my school, minus one or two</p>

<p>EC's:
-3years class council
-3 years mock trial (varsity last year and this coming)
-2 years NHS (officer last year and this coming)
-3 years legal magnet (officer last year and this coming)
-1 year math club (officer)
-1 year red cross club
-volunteer at various places (local library, local homeless shelter, etc.)</p>

<p>-Job at local burger place for 9months jr. year. (currently looking for another)</p>

<p>Summer Experience:
-Economics for Leaders sponsored by the Foundation for Teaching Economics
weeklong intensive camp at the university of washington in seattle.
-I also visit my family in alabama when i am able.</p>

<p>Hoping for really good recs and essay.</p>

<p>Economic disadvantige: I come from a really disadvantaged family. I live alone with my mom and she is disabled so we only get about 12,000 dollars a year.(hopefully will make me stand out)</p>

<p>Possible essay topics:
-the experience of living with my mom being in the hospital while she was fighting for her life. (why she is now disabled)
-visiting my dad in prison
-growing up in a family that is surrounded by drugs and realizing that i don't want that life.
-...among other topics im considering</p>

<p>Basically, I do not have a lot of opportunities available to me. I would love to do some of the stuff that i see on these sites, but i have no connections to get me in and i am clueless about how to try. </p>

<p>I really want to go to a top 20-25 school, but at my school my counselors are more aiming to get students into washington state or western washington, not vanderbilt, if you know what i mean.</p>

<p>I would greatly appreciate any and all input on all areas of my stats and how i can really stand out without having to aid in microbiology research or some of the things i see on these sites. Also any good websites you know for scholarships (fastweb hasn't really given me anything useful) would be appreciated.
So...do i have a shot? (I feel greatly inadequate)</p>

2

<p>The scores on the SAT I and II are really setting you back. On top of that, while your ECs are good, they don't show much passion or focus. However, you do seem to have overcome quite a bit of adversity, so perhaps they will be somewhat forgiving. I'd say you have a shot, but bear in mind that there are some really competitive applicants against you.</p>

3

<p>Your scores (SATs and APs) are very low for Stanford.</p>

4

<p>Your SATs are extremely low.</p>

<p>From your statement about your public school and your low AP scores, your school is not competitive at all.</p>

<p>Stanford: REJECT</p>

5

<p>I answered your Georgetown one, and the same advice applies here.</p>

<p>As for Gaffe, saying a school is not competitive means a reject is faulty logic. You don't need dozens of graduates going to top schools to get into Stanford or the Ivy League. The one applicant that has met massive adversity and manages even to apply to top schools while the rest of their high school is using cocaine and getting arrested is a very large accomplishment itself.</p>

<p>While I agree that the SAT scores are low, the fact that this person completed several AP classes at a school that is NOT competitive is really the more important part.</p>

<p>I say Stanford: Neutral. Your essays are going to make or break you.</p>

6

<p>I think you should definitely study hard for the SAT, retake it, and hope for the best. If you don't bring that score up... I can't see you having much of a chance. Still apply, but don't get your hopes up too much. Absolutely write about going to see your father in jail, mother's disability, and family income of 12,000. I think that will be a big marker. Look at Carnegie Mellon as a possible match (for certain majors) if you bring up that SAT. </p>

<p>Carnegie Mellon SAT Middle 50%</p>

<p>SAT CR: 610 - 710
SAT Math: 690 - 780
SAT W: 610 - 700</p>

7

<p>I based my rating mostly on the SAT, much less so on the non-competitive nature of the school.</p>

<p>Completing several AP classes is important, but scoring low on the standardized AP exam indicates that the school curriculum is not comprehensive. A 2 or a 3 means that she answered less than half the questions correctly (my estimation, since an AP score of 5 could mean getting a minimum of 70% correct). The A that she earned does not equal an A at a more competitive school; she could be putting in half the work of another student but still getting the same grade.</p>

<p>Yes, she has overcome many difficult obstacles in her life with a disabled mother, a father in prison, and a low income. However, this perseverance does not compensate for a low SAT score, a test that measure academic potential (not everyone agrees, but colleges use the test). It is not just about being admitted that admission officers take into consideration; an attending student should also demonstrate the ability to do well at Stanford.</p>

<p>Posters should know that 'chances' are not always correct. I base my rating on what I see, but essays (which I don't see) and other factors such as luck may give you an acceptance.</p>

8

<p>
[quote]
scoring low on the standardized AP exam indicates that the school curriculum is not comprehensive.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>No, that doesn't mean anything. It could be a myriad factors that caused a 'low score,' which is why colleges don't weight AP exam scores heavily.</p>

9

<p>"No, that doesn't mean anything. It could be a myriad factors that caused a 'low score,"</p>

<p>-so if it's not the school...it's the student, which looks even worse. </p>

<p>I've posted on your other threads...same advice.</p>

10

<p>would your assumptions be any different if she got 5’s and 4’s on her AP’s as opposed to 3’s and 2’s, still with the same SAT score?</p>