Chance a MESS

Colleges and Universities A-Z Stanford University
1

<p>Alright, now that I have your attention...</p>

<p>White male, a junior from a competitive area in the Northeast, top income bracket. I don't think I'm getting any help from Affirmative Action to say the least. My school sends A LOT of kids to top schools relative to our class size, which is a tad under 200. I don't think our school's valedictorian has ever been turned down from a HYP school (no joke) and the top 10-20 students usually end up in a tip-top university or LAC. </p>

<p>UW GPA Cumulative: 3.88 for all high school classes I've taken, including two in 8th grade. I was an absolute and utter slacker until sophomore year but I did have so much fun. </p>

<p>UW GPA (grades. 10-11): 3.98 (one A-). I have also taken the toughest courses possible.</p>

<p>SAT: 2400 (second attempt, single sitting score)
PSAT: 231, well into NMSF territory</p>

<p>SAT II's: 800 on World History, scores pending on Math IIC and Physics, probably 760-780ish on Math II and 760-790 on Physics</p>

<p>AP's: 5 on World History, scores pending on English Language, Physics B, US History. I'm reasonably sure I got a 5 on APUSH and English but I'll have to hear my score on Physics to be sure. I go to a pretty small elite public school so the number of AP's I've taken is the most pretty much anybody takes without "skipping" a grade level. Next year I will be taking Calc BC, Spanish, English Lit, Econ, Psych. </p>

<p>EC's</p>

<p>-Editor of a creative writing publication at my school all four years
-Officer position in Speech and Debate (don't want to identify myself)
-Very high officer position in a peer-to-peer writing program at my school that has won state awards (again, don't want to give too many details)
-MUN and several other other EC's and honor societies that I don't hold an officer position in and am too lazy to list</p>

<p>-I've wrestled Varsity for four years, got some kind of honor/award for being good every year (All-County, All-Conference) but I'm not really talented enough or dedicated enough to wrestle well on the college level. </p>

<p>-I go to the gym regularly and have been working out consistently since 8th grade, if that counts for anything. From 8th-10th grade I would spend hours a day reading articles, books, etc. about weight lifting so I'm a walking encyclopedia about every different routine and scientific nuance of working out, although less so than I used to. Heck, I used to know the differences in the amino acid profiles of whey and casein protein powder and exactly what this meant for development.</p>

<p>Awards</p>

<p>-National Silver Medalist, Scholastic Writing Awards. Around 1% of applicants get a national award and the ceremony is in Carnegie Hall so I thought this was a pretty big deal.</p>

<p>-Gold Key Winner, two categories of Scholastic Writing Awards.</p>

<p>-3rd in category, Brigham Young University Writing Contest</p>

<p>-Nominated for NCTE Achievement Award, status pending</p>

<p>-A boatload of local writing awards and contest winnings</p>

<p>-National Spanish Exam Silver Medalist</p>

<p>-Winner of a school math contest where, to the surprise of many people in my school, I dominated several people who have gotten these big regional math awards and are pretty much math/science geeks. </p>

<p>-Got a Book Award from my school's Social Studies Dept. they basically give to the junior who's best in history and social sciences</p>

<p>-Got a local science award in physics</p>

<p>-Will be going to Boys State in a week or so, this is a pretty big deal in my school.</p>

<p>If this means anything, I will be submitting a political psychology project to the Intel Competition this fall through my school's Social Science Research program and will also be applying for a Presidential Scholarship in the Arts in the writing division. Also, I'm still waiting on several national and regional competitions in writing and the humanities with my fingers crossed. </p>

<p>Summers</p>

<p>This summer I am traveling extensively in several Asian nations, some of which are pretty "rough". Through a student travel organization. Mostly it's for touring/cultural purposes but a week of it is community service based. I did something similar last summer and prior to that it was just wrestling camp. Traveling, along with writing, really is a passion of mine. Even though you do have to be in one of the upper income brackets to have the opportunities to do so, I'm hoping to show this passion in my application. </p>

<p>Rec's/Essay</p>

<p>I don't want to waste anyone's time by talking about what I think my rec's will be because that's just too subjective and speculative for the purposes of this thread.</p>

<p>My essay will most likely be centered around traveling or writing, as those are my true passions. Overall I think I've done pretty good in the EC world because I always remain true to myself and never really do anything just for the sake of doing it. Hopefully this will help my passions to show through. </p>

<p>Chance me for STANFORD!!! I really love the school and would love to migrate Westward, I've been on the mean ol' East Coast for too long and it's time for a shakedown.</p>

2

<p>Well - who am I to chance you? I'm applying this year as well, if that counts. (I have about the same GPA as you, although 200p lower SAT (thinking about retaking it, dunno, since 2200 is quite strong for an international). Otherwise we are quite similar, top income bracket, good school and a good bunch of summer activities.</p>

<p>So... If I were an admission officer I would seriously consider you - you seem like a really smart guy with a good bunch of activities - summers included. More importantly your acitivities really show your passion for writing - that's a good hook.</p>

<p>If we both get in we can go lift weights together! (It is my "passion" as well - although I haven't been lifting weights for that long I can do a decent set of push/sit/hang-ups and run quite fast). </p>

<p>Just spend a good amount of time on those essays - communication is the key to success (or at least that's what I believe).</p>

<p>Good luck! (please forgive any spelling mistakes - I just got home from a 16 hour shift at work..)</p>

3

<p>now how are you a "mess?" i wouldn't call you a mess, but i would call you stellar! i would say you have a great chance of getting in. my sat was below 2100 and i got in.</p>

4

<p>You've got a great shot.</p>

<p>Lot's of awards though, make sure they can distinguish those that not only are most valuable (i.e. hardest to have gotten), but those that you yourself see to be most valuable (those that you are most proud of). In other words, don't get the reader of your application mired in a mess of so many awards, etc. that they lose site of what you really see as valuable and meaningful.</p>

5

<p>I got my final two SAT II scores</p>

<p>Math Level 2: 770
Physics: 700 (surprised about this one)</p>

6

<p>What's your class rank? (sorry if you posted it and I didn't see... =P)</p>

7

<p>School doesn't rank officially but I'm probably top 5% or so.</p>

8

<p>AP scores are in. 5 on USH and English, 4 on Physics B.</p>

9

<p>Your EC's are scary. All those awards for writing and history, just wow :O
i mean this in a very good way of course</p>

10

<p>holy eff! Yet ANOTHER forensicator on the CC forum with excellent stats! We are just plain superhuman :D</p>

<p>Did you go to Vegas this year? 18th in OO right here!</p>

11

<p>Oh, and as far as chances go, here's my take:</p>

<p>Judging from your scores/grades/ECs/awards, you sound like the perfect candidate <em>on paper</em>. Stanford is notorious for turning down 2400s in favor of 2000s, based on personality and essays. Now, obviously you're a fantastic writer and very dedicated, so I don't think you should have a problem. However, to avoid being another wacky, odd reject statistic, I would advise you to avoid trying to look "perfect," and instead, show Stanford why you are a <em>person,</em> a passionate human being with drive and personality who recognizes his own faults, but pushes himself to excel. You'll be fine ;)</p>

<p>P.S. Love the name. I actually did part of "The Miller's Tale" from Canterbury Tales for Poetry Interp once!</p>

12

<p>Thanks for the advice everybody. </p>

<p>I recognize that I must address the stereotype of the faceless perfect SAT scorer. I was hoping my not-4.0 GPA and not-all-perfect SAT II's and AP's would make me seem like less of a machinistic testwhore. I have some essay topics in mind but I am going to wait till I return from my travels and reflect on my life (I know that sounds too profound, like im Marco Polo or Ibn Battuta) to really attack that part of the app. Again, thanks soo much for the input! College apps are a stressful thing and this helps alleviate it. ~ Geoff</p>

13

<p>back from The Dead. I am going to throw a party after election day if Obama loses, hopefully that just helped your Internet forum evaluation of me.</p>

14

<p>Well, now that admissions decisions have come out, you might find this interesting.</p>

<p>Rejected.</p>

<p>Surprisingly, I don't really care all too much. I slept well afterwards and it just means I'll have to write a few more essays for a few more colleges. Some things are meant to be, and others aren't. I guess I just didn't have what Stanford was looking for.</p>

15

<p>Jeez, that is shocking... But all that means is that you won't be mentioning Stanford when you deliver your acceptance speech for the Pulitzer or the Nobel prize, right? No one would ever doubt that you are an absolutely amazing student and an amazing person, and even if you went to a non-competitive school I think you'd still have an incredible future awaiting you. Not that that'll happen of course; you should still be able to go to a school just as good as Stanford.</p>

<p>But it is truly bizarre, the top schools all have a pattern of rejecting high SAT scorers this year for their ED/EA cycles... Though it may mean they'll look upon them more favorably in the RD cycle, no one can honestly have a chance of predicting the results. I personally would have admitted you at first glance.</p>

<p>Anyway, just continue on what you're doing, and great places await. You are the sort of exemplary student who truly deserves to be "top class", so use your abilities for the good of mankind, not just to go to a top school. Not that that's bad, of course.</p>

16

<p>You'll be rejected because Stanford is reducing their acceptance rate to 0% this year.</p>

17

<p>dang of everyone who applied I was certain you'd get in!</p>

18

<p>i dont understand this whole chancing concept. Asking your peers who are competing against you to sit here and tell you either your flaw or how jealous they are of you to your face seems kind of stupid. The admissions office isn't a bunch of 17 year old hopefuls. </p>

<p>but if you do end up on the west coast, word of advice is get rid of the drab colored wardrobe and spice up your life. and as for stanford, even though its a prestigious school, its still in california, so expect to accidentally pick up on the words hella and/or hecka. take from someone living in CA, it will happen, so just accept it :)</p>

19

<p>^ Do you wardrobe literally or metaphorically? At any rate, I dress well.</p>