chance an artist!

Colleges and Universities A-Z Stanford University
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<p>SAT: 2290 superscored (730 cr, 770 m, 790 w, 12 e)</p>

<p>uw GPA: 3.83 (ouch! i moved in high school from a very easy public to a tough private, so i had adjustment issues. this, easy-A electives included, is on a 4.0 A 3.0B scale, the equivalent of 12 trimester academic B+'s)</p>

<p>weighted GPA: ~4.5/4.7 (only calculated for junior/senior year; this, i know from school's college counseling dept, is higher than the avg weighted GPA for HYPSM...)</p>

<p>rank: unranked, but if i had to guess, then somewhere along top 10% (in a school where 16% attemd ivies + stanford/mit) for my WEIGHTED gpa.</p>

<p>ECs:
art (seven years of professional private instruction; finalist in national/international contest; internationally published artwork; x2 professional gallery installments; designed for school programs)
varsity swimming (captain; x8 state qualifier; x3 scholar-athlete; x1 school record holder; not being recruited)
science research (500+ hours; research assistant during two summers)
three culture/charity clubs (president of two, minor leadership position in another)
community/school service (teacher's assistant; peer tutor; on a school board)</p>

<p>Essays/Recs:
essays will be great, probably one of the strongest parts of my application.
recs will be great (from top 10% to top 1%), and probably hinge off of some of my ECs, namely art, b/c they've seen my work before. my counselor rec will also address my adjustment issues.</p>

<p>Supplements:
definitely an art supplement, which is going to be very very strong. possibly a supplemental rec, which will probably be one-of-the-best-in-career.</p>

<p>Others:
I'm an ORM, second generation college applicant, and will be applying RD.</p>

<p>thanks guys!</p>

2

<p>As you likely know, it is very tough for an Asian applicant to get accepted. Also, your GPA is somewhat subpar for Stanford, but given the seeming stature of your school, this may be a non-issue.</p>

<p>Everything else looks good. Your ECs are not great in quantity, but they seem of significant quality. I’d call Stanford a low reach for you, which is about as good as it gets for almost any Asian applicant! </p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

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<p>Also, have you taken the Subject Tests? I know Stanford does not require them, but they are often helpful.</p>

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<p>thanks for the response! and for clarification, a “low reach” chance is better than a “high reach” chance right?</p>

<p>and yes, my subject tests stand at 800 math/800 bio/720 ush</p>

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<p>bump 10char</p>

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<p>You do realize that Stanford does not have a studio art major (or at least they didn’t till 2 years ago)? (They have an art hist major, and a minor in “art practice” or something like that; you could major in art, but would need some special arrangements to do that…)</p>

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<p>well, i looked on [Undergraduate</a> Major Unit Requirements](<a href=“http://www.stanford.edu/dept/registrar/bulletin/4892]Undergraduate”>http://www.stanford.edu/dept/registrar/bulletin/4892) and i see that Art is a major. however, i’m not aware of the prestige of the program or the amount of resources or opportunities. if it’s only been around for two years, i’m guessing it’s not amazing? what i do plan to do (at my eventual college) is to either double major in art + something or major in something + minor in art.</p>

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<p>“internationally published artwork;”</p>

<p>what?! that alone should be a big enough hook.</p>

<p>if you can convince adcom that the rest of you is equally well rounded, you’ve got a fabulous chance.</p>

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<p>Chair,
As much as I LOVE Stanford, I really don’t thing that the art program is their strength.</p>

<p>If art is of great importance to you major-wise, in addition to other academic subjects, you should probably look into Yale, Brown, WUSTL and CMU.</p>

<p>Brown now has a 5yrs combined program with RISD, if that’s your kind of thing. WUSTL has an Art School, and makes it relatively easy to get a double-major, or double-degree with non-art major. CMU has a special Art + Science program. Yale is known for good art program (not sure how double-majoring works there).</p>

<p>If you see art more as a hobby, then Stanford is a fine choice as well.</p>

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<p>fliang–i don’t know how big of a deal that is, but hopefully a big one! I’m not some internationally-renowned artist, but i do have some international recognition/awards here and there for art.</p>

<p>nngmm–thanks for the other recommendations. I’ve looked into all of those except CMU, which i’ll check out later. I’m mainly looking at stanford for the science dept. plus, who can say no to NorCal?! :)</p>

<p>another question: stanford reviews all art supplements. do you know how the admissions process works with that?</p>

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<p>Music auditions are reviewed by the music dept, and graded on 1-6 scale. The ones that get 1-3 get “recommended” by the dept, which helps a lot. </p>

<p>I would guess that art supplements are treated similarly.</p>

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<p>nngmm–i’m assuming 1-3 is good? what percent would you assume make it to that rating? do stanford’s peer schools use a similar system?</p>

<p>also, this is on stanford’s website:
Q: Can I submit a portfolio with drawings, paintings, and photos?
A: Yes, you can include different media, but the strongest portfolios demonstrate talent in one particular area (drawing and painting can be submitted as one portfolio). The maximum number still cannot exceed ten images.</p>

<p>what do they mean by “talent in one particular area?” my portfolio has drawing and painting: is that two areas?</p>

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<p>Drawing + painting will be a fine portfolio. You worry too much - just send your stuff, wait, and hope for the best :).
I have no idea what % make the ratings - I would guess that lots of people send lots of junk…</p>