Chance at Stanford REA?

Hi, all. Just wondering if I could get any second opinions on my chances at Stanford REA. My main concern is my grades.

GPA (UW): 3.88, Weighted: 4.6 (15 AP courses, all 4’s and 5’s)
SAT/SAT II’s: N/A (hoping corona won’t cancel September & October)

Main EC’s:

• Founded a nonprofit for marine sustainability; received grants to expand organization’s reach internationally; won a few national awards for work (including a Gloria Barron Prize)

• Filmed a short documentary about social issues important to me; film has been accepted and screened at over 20 film festivals and featured on PBS

• Captain of my school’s varsity track team

• Co-founded social entrepreneurship club at my high school, which is now the largest club in the entire school

• Run a personal blog (not much to say here, but I just like to do it)

• Conduct research with a professor on principles of business and its applications in the nonprofit realm

Overall, I feel as though my EC’s and awards are pretty strong, and my connecting line is that I truly love to create things (nonprofits, films, etc.) that give smaller voices a podium to enact change. Any second thoughts would be nice, though.

I should also mention, though, that I know a few other kids in my grade are planning on applying to Stanford REA, and they all have about a 4.0 UW GPA. This is my main cause for concern – I’m not sure how much of a toll it’ll take on my overall chance by having a lower one.

@delarford. Stanford is a reach for everyone, including students with 4.0 unweighted gpa and 36 ACT. With that being said, I remembered reading somewhere that the average admit gpa Stanford 2 years ago was about 3.94+ and an average ACT of 34. You can also look it up in common data Stanford? As a proud parent of a student for Stanford class of 2024, apply REA if you truly want to go to Stanford and and if you are in the top 10%. I can assure you that those students at your high school applying to Stanford that are having near perfect 4.0 gpa will in no way give you a disadvantaged. My daughter was not a recruited athlete, no legacy, no URM, etc and somehow got admitted to Stanford. She had at least 5 students at her high school with higher gpa then her applied to Stanford and they didn’t get accepted. You just need a lot of luck as no one will know if Stanford will accept you or not. Continue to do well in school and what you love and hope for the best. Good luck!

@Luvbadgers Thanks a lot for the info! Congrats to your child on accomplishing that, too. I’ll try to keep my head up through it all!

An UW 3.88 is good enough to apply to anywhere. However, I warn you, like I warn everybody, that you are much more likely to be rejected from Stanford than accepted, even with REA.

My question is - what are you looking for in a college? Does Stanford have this more than any college out there?

My advice has always been - focus on what you want and what you need from a college, select only colleges which provide these, and do not have a “dream college”. Most definitely, don’t have a dream college with and acceptance rate of under 5%.

Apply to Stanford REA if either A, Stanford is the best college for you, based on criteria which do not include prestige or exclusivity, or, B, there is no clear favorite among your list of colleges, so you may as well apply REA to Stanford, since it will increase your chances somewhat, but not force you to choose if you are accepted.

I agree with other comments above.

I am not particularly worried about your GPA. However, we are all very aware that Stanford accepts less than 5% of applicants. You are probably similar to the majority of applicants that they accept, and also the vast majority of the applicants that they reject.

A significant number of spots at Stanford go to students with a “hook”, such as being a great athlete or URM. I think that your chances are no better than the overall acceptance rate, and may be less than the over all REA rate since for example you do not mention being a great athlete.

I think that it is worth an application. Then focus on your safety and match schools.

you have the stats and ecs. It’s going to be your essays that matter. trust

Chances for: Ivy league, Stanford, Duke, WashU, Johns Hopkins
Intended major: Neuroscience/math
(Other passions: Entrepreneurship and music)

Our school does percentages for marking not GPA scale

Grades: 95% average (96% in grade 11)
In the IB Diploma Program
SAT I: 1560
Math II: 790
Biology M: 780

Extracurriculars:
Published research on Alzheimer’s Disease
Biology Olympiad placed nationally
National biology competition placed nationally
Doctor Shadowing
Hospital internship and volunteering
Statewide math competition: Perfect score 2 years in a row
Mathlete club exec
DECA state level: 2 years
Winner of multiple Case competitions
TKS member (Young business leader club)
Music Council President
Choir President
Part of MENSA
Soccer Starting Goalie

If they aren’t good or my extracurriculars are weak then can you suggest some extracurriculars that I should consider for the future