Chance and Question

<p>I hate to do another one of these...but I'm really looking into Stanford SCEA and I'd appreciate any advice!</p>

<p>I feel like I'm not competitive enough because of my scores...but could you offer me some advice? I'm taking the ACT in 2 months, and the Math II and U.S. History SAT II's. </p>

<p>Academics:</p>

<p>GPA: UW 4.0 W 4.87
Class rank: 1 in 354, shared with 0 others</p>

<p>SAT 2180 (770 M, 710 CR, 700 W) <---The bane of my application
SAT II: Biology E: 740, Math II: <em>_, U.S. History _</em></p>

<p>Extracurriculars:</p>

<p>:::Leadership in the community:::</p>

<p>Teen Representative (11th, 12th)
- Elected teen member on the district council. Serves as a liaison for high school students during Board meetings concerning issues in the community. Creates and hosts volunteer services, leads community events, and promotes other ideas on the welfare of the encompassing neighborhoods. Recognized in local paper. 4 hrs/wk, 40 wks/yr</p>

<p>Amnesty International (11th, 12th)
- One of the founders and appointed Treasurer. Raises money for donations and attends weekly meetings. 2 hrs/wk, 20 wks/yr</p>

<p>:::Fine Arts:::</p>

<p>Gifted and Talented Art Program (9th, 10th, 11th, 12th)
– Free art education on Saturdays provided by the Board of Education for an all-county class of thirty students. Applying applicants between the grades 7 through 11 must have portfolios critiqued by a board of evaluators. All work is displayed at the county Department of Education at the end of the year. 6 hrs/wk, 15 wks/yr</p>

<p>National Art Honor Society (11th, 12th)
– Founder and President. Hosts art galleries for the students and raises money for the art program at school. 2 hrs/wk, 25 wks/yr</p>

<p>Piano (9th, 10th, 11th, 12th)
– Over eight years of study with a National Guild member certificate in the Collegiate Preparatory B class, and an A on the High School Recognition test. 7 hrs/wk, 50 wks/yr</p>

<p>:::Science and Engineering:::</p>

<p>NASA National Space Club Scholars Program (Summer 2007)
– A program that selects twenty-five students across Maryland and gives them the opportunity to use the facilities of NASA to pursue engineering interests. Mentoring in the Applied Engineering and Technology Directorate (Optics Branch) and studying the design for the new James Webb Space Telescope’s image-based wavefront sensing. 40 hrs/wk, 6 wks/yr</p>

<p>Johns Hopkins Hospital Internship (12th)
– Serving at the hospital to pursue interests in biomedical sciences. 5 hrs/wk, 35 wks/yr</p>

<p>Rensselaer Medal
– Given to two thousand of the top students across the nation for achievements in mathematics and science. Comes with $60,000 scholarship to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.</p>

<p>Johns Hopkins Robotics team (10th, 11th)
– Captain. Constructed and programmed a Boe-Bot which uses infrared sensors to maneuver a course and distinguish specific targets on the ground. Mentioned in the Baltimore Sun newspaper. 3 hrs/wk, 7 wks/yr</p>

<p>:::Other Significant Hobbies:::</p>

<p>Soccer (9th, 10th, 11th, 12th)
- Played 7 years of recreational league and 2 years of pick-up on Saturdays. Planned to play varsity but can't due to mentorship at Johns Hopkins. 5 hrs/wk, 50 wks/yr</p>

<p>Ping Pong Club (10th, 11th, 12th)
– Played for school club as a hobby. Unavailable before 11th grade. 2 hrs/wk, 30 wks/yr</p>

<p>:::Community Service/Work:::</p>

<p>-Organized and led community events in my neighborhood, such as the Spring Fun Trot, Multicultural Day, Earth Appreciation Day, Breakfast with Santa, and Halloween Bash. Spends a couple hours a week planning with two other Teen Representatives to produce a project every month. Events typically last about 4 to 5 hours.</p>

<p>-Volunteered at a local kindergarten teaching young children Spanish for Spanish National Honor Society. Made projects to give to the children as learning tools, such as hand puppets.</p>

<p>-Tutored at school for both regular courses and Spanish on behalf of National Honor Society and Spanish National Honor Society.</p>

<p>-Worked at a fast food restaurant in a mall over the summer of 2006 to gain experience. Worked 15 hours a week.</p>

<p>Awards and Recognition:</p>

<p>Rensselaer Medal w/ $60,000 Scholarship
Washington Post Top Achievers
Piano High School Recognition
Member of National Piano-Playing Auditions (Preparatory for Collegiate Class)
National Merit Semi-Finalist
AP Scholar with Distinction
Outstanding Achievement in JHU Robotics
Recognition in local paper every month as Teen Rep
Student of the Month
National Honor Society
Spanish National Honor Society
Principal's Honor Roll</p>

<p>Senior Year Courses:
English 12 AP
Photography 2
Calculus BC AP
Psychology AP
Spanish 5 AP
Mentor/Internship GT
Chemistry AP</p>

<p>Profile:
Male
Asian
Maryland
Public School, 3rd in county, top 10 in state. Sends a few kids to Ivy League</p>

<p>*I plan to add a supplemental fine arts attachment. </p>

<p>And my question is: For the Common App, there's a place for additional info. Will Stanford read that section? There were parts of my EC's that I wanted to explain there. Not like a resume, or anything, just a small elaboration. Example: Activity - Description. If they don't read it, will they get mad if I had it filled out? I know Stanford despises supplementals.</p>

<p>Also, would anyone like to read my short answer elaboration? :]</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

<p>MY suggestion is: stuff all those things onto your application and I promise you that you'll get in. XD</p>

<p>lmfao @ worrying about applications with that resume. </p>

<p>I'll be applying to Stanford SCEA and your EC's are 10x better than mine (although I have a better SAT score and a really unique life story).</p>

<p>A 2180 SAT isn't bad btw...it's quite good and just fine for Stanford with all those ECs.</p>

<p>you do similar things as I do
good luck!</p>

<p>I emailed Stanford...and they said that I could add any information about my activites (such as stated above) under the Additional Info section, as long as it's not redundant</p>

<p>I think yours is compelling because it has both engineering and art qualities. That is very unique and will definitely help you get admitted. I would highly recommend combining the two into one of your essays. Show how you can combine the two into a course of study. That would be very good.</p>

<p>Hmm...that's an excellent suggestion! I'll look into that. I've already written my short answer, so I can't really use that space...and for my personal essay, I have very unique ideas, so I don't plan to ditch those anytime soon. Perhaps I could try writing it under Stanford's supplemental question: what is an intellectual idea or experience that stimulates you?</p>

<p>bump.... :[</p>

<p>That would be an excellent place to put it. I really think you have a dynamite application if you can combine those two facets together.</p>

<p>Great grades, slightly below average test scores, and excellent EC's. Stanford puts more weight on EC's than it's peer schools, yet as usual, academics are first. I say you have a really good chance getting into Stanford.-Better than mine at least. You should add a resume to your app, but still in the chance they don't read it, make sure you put your top 7 EC's on the common app. I would say to improve your chances you should try to get high SAT II scores, 750+ on Math II and USH. (They are pretty easy) I honestly think you will get in, but then again, I wouldn't be that surprised if you didn't. You may want to retake the SAT's or try the ACT's to have all bases covered. GL and thanks for chancing me earlier.</p>

<p>I have high hopes for that 34-35 on the ACT :D</p>

<p>okay i have a 660 cr, 800 math, 800 writing</p>

<p>i know that 660 is bad but...is the 2260 decent enough for stanford?</p>

<p>2250+ is definitely good enough for Stanford. That 660 CR is a little damaging though...I think Stanford holds the M and CR sections a little higher than the W. Have you tried taking it again? 660 falls way under the average there...</p>

<p>It looks like you have really great chances. Those ec's will really get you in.</p>

<p>I think if you demonstrate a passion for engineering/art in your essays you'd be in 99.99%.</p>

<p>Don't worry about the 2180. It's in Stanford's averages and that's good enough.</p>