It is worth looking at your high school’s acceptance history. In my kid’s school for the last 10 years and with NO exception every single kid that got admitted to an ivy had a special something. Usually won a major award or was selected to prestigious hard to get program or was recruited athlete, outstanding URM etc. High scorers with the normal ECs (music, varsity sport, community service etc) had excellent results with other schools but not the ivy league. So, if I had a high scorer without that special something I would not even bother. Especially Stanford. The only admit to Stanford we ever had was an outstanding student that also made the summer Olympics in a popular sport nevertheless…I know it sounds cliche but it holds true to our high school. Also, among the ivy league it is clear that a couple of them show more “love” to our students. The guidance counselor denies that but year after year the results don’t…