Can I get in Stanford with this?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I’m a current junior in a public Arizona high school. I’m planning on using the following ideas for my essay and personal statements…

I have always been proud of my ethnicity as a South Korean:

Asian Cultural Club – co-founder & co-president, school & public community events

Excelling in math – award regional individual math contest 4th place / math tutor every Thursday

Piano – award regional solo performance 2nd place / serving 2 churches every Sunday for the past 4 years

Energy Engineering – South Korea has one of the most rapidly developing Energy Engineering field… it makes me excited, I want to learn about it, and I believe Stanford can help me with that. :slight_smile:

Engineering (general) – chosen CTE legislative tour guide for Arizona senators / F1 car contest / active Engineering Club member

***My struggles as one of the few Asians, and the only Korean student at my school

Other notable qualities:
Active NHS member
SAT score 2220 (planning on raising this to 2340 by next month)
4.0 : 4.2 GPA / salutatorian or valedictorian
Poetry Out Loud – poetry recitation contest, award state competition 4th place (demonstrates public speaking abilities)

Pro: I like who I am, and I’m proud of myself as a person.
Con: I’m afraid of my capabilities. Am I really the best I could be? Can I reach my full potential?

Can I get into Stanford with this? I’m applying for Early Action next year, since Stanford has, is, and always will be my top choice.

2

I hate to break it to you but being asian isn’t going to help you get into Stanford. Do you have any more ECs? the ones you’ve shown so far don’t tell me much about why you are pursuing energy engineering (besides engineering club). I would say your chances are the same as all the other high scoring applicants unless your essays and recs set you apart.

3

You just started Junior year, if your school is competitive you really have no idea who will be valedictorian.

You have no idea if your SAT score will be 2340.

And your self reported highlights are you are Asian, have high grades, high test scores, like math, play piano.

Not to burst your bubble that isn’t special. You have a year, and a summer to gameplan how to position yourself as a memorable candidate. Good news you have done nothing to disqualify yourself for Stanford. Now is the time to work hard to make it so the admissions committee fights for you.

4

The main issue is not your score or GPA, but how do you stand out from the rest. They reject near 95% of students with similar credentials.