Caltech said no-- should I bother with Stanford?

<p>Hi,
I was rejected EA at Caltech-- should I bother with Stanford?
My parents think I should stick to my safeties: Cornell, CMU, Michigan and add one more safety much lower down RPI, possibly two: Adding Northeastern or RIT....</p>

<p>Here's my stats:
GPA 3.84 unweighted 4.61 weighted
SATIIs MathIIC 760 Chem 800 Bio 760
APs Chem 5, CompSci 5 Have Physics, Calc and Econ now
ACT 31 (I blew it ...)
ECs: Loads including FIRST Robotics, Math, sports leadership and meaningful community service.
Applying as an Engineering student
Hook: URM - AA, Took summer courses at Cornell and earned As
REcs : AMAZING</p>

<p>SHould I bother with Stanford knowing Caltech flat out rejected me EA?
Any other schools I should consider?</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

<p>Yes, I think you definitely have a shot. Caltech’s known to be more focused on math/science achievements and scores. Stanford’s admissions process is definitely more holistic. You have decent academic stats, good EC’s, good recs, and you’re a URM, so I’d definitely apply. Getting in to Stanford RD is obviously difficult for anyone, but I’d say you have a better chance than most.</p>

<p>how is cornell a safety? especially for engineering…</p>

<p>tbh, nothing looks that impressive on your resume. it’s all fine, but nothing stands out, and it seems stanford looks for stand-outs in passions and essays more than just good numbers (and your numbers aren’t ridiculously outstanding either. your sat ii’s are good but many math/science people have similar and better sat ii’s in those areas). however, you’re a urm…and that could possibly make all the world of difference in this case. i’d say apply, but to have a really good shot, you’re gonna have to make your essays shine and your passion for engineering come through. good luck! :)</p>

<p>How do you apply as “an Engineering student”? Stanford students typically don’t choose a major until their second year. You can say you want to major in anything, but it doesn’t make any difference because you are free to choose any major you want after you start school.</p>

<p>Definitely apply. I was rejected by Carnegie Mellon and accepted at Stanford. Different schools look for different things in applicants. For all you know Stanford wants a student like you.</p>

<p>yeah, with any of the top schools, getting in is like rolling dice.
So it certainly can’t hurt.</p>

<p>I have a friend who was rejected from Stanford, Yale, Harvard and MIT but got into Princeton. You never know</p>