Hi, I have a difficult situation and will be happy if you can give me any advice.
For 10 years I’ve been studied in Russia and had about 3.7 GPA in 9th and 10th grade.
This year I moved to the US and now I’m studying here as a junior.
But my problem is: before moving to the US my English was bad and during first months here it was really hard for me to study. The result is - I got 2.3 GPA for the first quarter. Now I have huge improvements but my semester GPA won’t be much better I think - probably about 2.7. I’m of course not taking any AP classes because with them I would probably had about 1.0 GPA haha)
But my dream college is Stanford, and I’ve moved to the US because I believed I’ll have better chances of getting into Stanford from the US school.
I won a lot of competitions in my home country in programming and computer security, for example, a contest conducted by Microsoft. I founded 2 my own startups (they wasn’t very famous, but it had some success). Shortly, I started programming when I was 10. And now I’m working as a freelancer to gain money for my education and living, and launching my new project, and also going to participate in the Google Science Fair this year.
Do you think I get into Stanford, if I’ll get a good GPA next semester (and of course will have a good SAT)?
No one can say for sure, but in my honest opinion your chances are very, very low. Stanford receives thousands of overly qualified applicants each year, including students with stories similar to yours who have recently moved to the US. It is one of the hardest US universities to achieve admission to- you need to stand out, and not just in your grades and test scores. Unfortunately, outside of the programming things you have listed, I don’t see much in your app that would catch the eye of a Stanford admissions officer. You can of course apply as a “reach/throwaway” app, but you should focus your college search on places where your cumulative GPA is in range.
Throw your hat in the ring like everyone else, but broaden your search. Stanford is a reach for everyone, including the best of the best.
@ilyaspark I have a different opinion. I think you have just as good chance as anyone else. The fact you had to adapt to the US culture and that English is not your native language but you overcame that difficulty is HUGE imo. Therefore, play up this angle, get good scores and continue to get good grades and try to write very honest and likable essays. I think you have an excellent chance. I think you are the type of applicants that Stanford will give another look so go for it. The fact you speak Russian and English in itself is a huge advantage imo for any college and jobs.
Most of the students who are accepted at Stanford or HYPM are not out of this world “special”; your achievements are just as good if not better than a lot of them. But having said that, do apply to other good colleges and safeties. If you don’t get into Stanford at undergrad level, you can always try again at grad level. Go for it if that’s your goal. There is no shame in trying and failing. Go with your strengths rather than dwelling on your weak points. You can have all kinds of weaknesses, but if you want to succeed, you have to ride your strong points. Don’t listen to nay-sayers. I have gotten into an Ivy and top law school with 3.0 gpa. I even applied to Harvard with this grade and didn’t get in. You have to have guts to achieve your goals.
An example: My kid is IMO just a smart, helpful, pretty good with languages and motivated kid with not out of this world stats or achievements but still got into Stanford with likable and sincere essays. IMO I think he had good chance to get into Yale also but didn’t apply because he likes warm weather. So IMO you have just as good chance as any other applicants to get into Stanford.