Chance for Stanford? Doesn't seem to like my school...

Colleges & Universities A-Z Stanford University
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<p>So recently I had a talk with my guidance counselor and after talking about colleges, I asked about Stanford and she said not a single person from our school ever got in. (Even the 2-3 people with 2400s)</p>

<p>Now I'm wondering do I stand any chance then? I'm targeting CMU at the moment but if I could go to Stanford, I would. I'm currently a Junior btw.</p>

<p>Anyways here's my stats.</p>

<p>GPA: (100 point system) 99.43 Weighted Rank: 32/537
Estimated UGPA ~3.8</p>

<p>SAT I - 2220 one-seating (760M, 700CR, 760W, 10 Essay) </p>

<p>Very High Course Rigor with pretty good grades.
*Would have taken 7 APs and 4 IBs by end of Senior year (Rest Honors)
So far only have one AP score - AP Euro - 4
*Enrolled in Academy of Informational Technology (Principles of IT, Computer Programming, AP Computer Science, Database Design)</p>

<p>ECs
National Honor Society
Tech Honor Society
Secretary of AOIT
Science Olympiad
Mathletes Club/Team Chartering Member
Chess Club/Team
Computer Club
Youth Center Soccer
300+ volunteering hours
Presidential Volunteer Service Silver Award
School Symphonic Orchestra
Annual County Math Fair (9~ Current) - so far won all Bronze medal
Will be competing at a Java programming competition this coming May</p>

<p>Started up several websites since Freshman year (all managed just by myself):
1. Online Game Key selling business (2012 profits reaching $10,000 and expecting the same this year) , started up two actually but sold the first one for $1,300
2. Forum (Somewhat inactive but ~500 daily traffics with active sponsorship)
3. Automated SEO site which generated a few hundred dollars in profit but sold for $180 recently</p>

<p>AOIT Paid Internship at Brickz 4 Kids and planning to intern at a computer-related camp over Summer</p>

<p>Working as a Help Desk Agent for an online store since Sophomore year (Paid monthly)</p>

<p>So do I have any chance? Or is Stanford just too high of a reach? Interested in majoring in Computer Science/Business. (Not sure how the business program at Stanford is)</p>

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<p>Forgot to say I’m Asian. :/</p>

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<p>You have a shot. but the problem is that so many people apply. It’s a supply and demand thing. BTW I’m assuming that you’re American. If foriegn diivide your current odds by 10.</p>

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<p>Said in my second post that I was asian :stuck_out_tongue: Dividing my odds by 10… Does that mean this is an extremely high reach for me? Also maybe you meant if I’m an international student then no. Permanent Resident of US.</p>

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<p>I would definitely give it a shot, with your good stats it’s worth a try.</p>

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<p>Okay thanks for the answers but can someone be more brutally honest here. I feel like I’m just being patronized :P</p>

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<p>If your school’s track record isn’t good, then that’s relevant information. It seems that colleges know some schools and assess them a bit differently from schools they don’t know. It’s really hard to compare two schools, doesn’t matter what info the schools supply and how knowledgable and impartial the admissions folks profess to be: unconscious biases are inevitable.</p>

<p>As far as your scores & grades go, you’re in the qualified pool, and therefore have as good a shot as anyone else. Which is about 10% at best. Stanford does seem to be one of the better examples of a “holistic assessment” school, so your essays and all that will matter, and that’s rather subjective.</p>

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<p>Essays matter. Problem with your ECs is that (imo) schools prefer depth over breadth, and I see the latter. Essays matter. You’ve got a shot, though. Essays matter. Your GPA and test are okay, but not great. Essays matter.</p>

<p>Oh, did I mention that essays matter?</p>

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<p>Okay gloves off. Stanford will like take around 400 International students (25%). I’m guessing from the bluntness that you’re Indian because I think an oriental Asian would be more appreciative of the softer language that was offered. If I’m wrong, I’ll stand corrected. Anyway maybe a 100 slots will go to Asian Indians (Just a guess)-It might not even be that many. If your a top 100 guy out of the millions graduating from India then you have a very excellent shot. (I’d say 50-80%). If your a top 1000 guy in your country, which is probably still genius level then you have a lessor shot but still good for Stanford. (I’d say 15-20%). If your only a top 10,0000 guy then you’re down to 1-2% (Maybe even less). All said, I don’t know how you rank against competition from your own country. But now you have a base metric to judge yourself.</p>

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<p>It’s gonna be tough with that class rank/SAT</p>

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<p>@sosomenza, I’m actually Korean :P</p>

<p>@stressedasian152, I tried to show depth of my EC towards Computer Science via the websites I manage and my online business. You don’t think that’s enough?</p>

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<p>Just FYI, stanford doesn’t have an undergraduate business school, but the GSB (Graduate School of Business) is in the top two in the country, along with HBS.</p>

<p>Right now you have as good as a shot as anyone, and we can’t say anything more, because the two most important things are your recommendation letters and your essays.
Stanford especially puts a lot of emphasis on your essays, if they aren’t spectacular you don’t have a great shot at getting in. </p>

<p>Your planned internships sound good, start writing your essays this summer. Do some work in an extracurricular that you particularly love. Get really good grades at the end of this year.
Good luck!</p>

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<p>OP, You asked for more discouraging responses, so you got them. :slight_smile: But seriously, some of the folks are over-emphasizing the scores & grades. The one who said essays matter is right – you’re plenty qualified, despite some naysayers, so what will matter beyond this is intangibles.</p>

<p>(For those who keep harping on scores & grades: It might be true for some top schools that a 2400 SAT and a top 1% GPA will surely get you in. Not true at Stanford; your chances in that case would go up to maybe 50%. At best.)</p>

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<p>Yea wasn’t really complaining in my last post. I was just surprised since I thought my EC had some depth with my current jobs/websites. </p>

<p>But thanks for all the answers. I never knew Stanford placed so much emphasis on the essays…</p>

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<p>T. I stand corrected. Take your chance and Good Luck.</p>

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<p>Well, you said your ECs have depth, not breadth. But I count that you do no less than 15 things, 3, maybe 4 (Tech Honor Society? never heard of it) are CompSci based. That looks like breadth to me. </p>

<p>Also, to anybody who disagrees with the statement that essays matter, look at the SCEA Results thread from this year. Or the RD thread from last. I know that before I got my decision, I spent hours poring over those threads looking for a pattern. There wasn’t one. There are kids who get 2400s and 36s every year who get rejected by the dozen. And I personally know a couple kids through the admit group who got in with no more than a 26 on their ACT. Most of them don’t seem to be 4.0 students (at least, not the ones I’ve talked to; almost all of them have a B in something or other on their records.) I only know of one other who’s ranked first in their class, besides myself.</p>

<p>Point is, don’t underestimate your GPA, rank, or test scores. No, they are not stellar. MIT would probably not approve. But this is Stanford, and Stanford admits people, not numbers.</p>

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<p>Those are my school-related ECs but is there a reason why you seem to be excluding my outside-school ECs? :confused: By that I mean my Internship and the websites that I started & monetized (Comp-Sci related in that there’s obviously coding involved with websites + databases, etc.) I plan on putting a lot of emphasis on my websites.</p>

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<p>Let’s have a look:</p>

<p>National Honor Society
Tech Honor Society - maybe? Compsci related
Secretary of AOIT - I looked it up, apparently Compsci related; didn’t count that one before
Science Olympiad
Mathletes Club/Team Chartering Member
Chess Club/Team
Computer Club - Compsci related
Youth Center Soccer
300+ volunteering hours
Presidential Volunteer Service Silver Award
School Symphonic Orchestra
Annual County Math Fair (9~ Current) - so far won all Bronze medal</p>

<p>Started up several websites since Freshman year (all managed just by myself) Compsci related:</p>

<p>AOIT Paid Internship at Brickz 4 Kids and planning to intern at a computer-related camp over Summer - also apparently Compsci related (didn’t know what AOIT was, whoops)</p>

<p>Working as a Help Desk Agent for an online store since Sophomore year (Paid monthly) - Compsci related</p>

<p>I lied because I had no idea what AOIT was; apparently you’re 6 for 14 (which is much more solid). My only advice to you is that you put most of the Compsci related ones near the top of your activities list on the app (you put the most important ones first) so your computer passion really stands out.</p>

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<p>Oh okay thanks. I don’t even know how the actual College app looks like; do they actually let you just list all your ECs at one point like this?</p>

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<p>Yes, you’re allowed to list 10 ECs in the common app, and you can put even more if you choose to add an optional ‘additional information’ section. </p>

<p>Also try to bring out WHY you did these things, rather than just what you did :)</p>