<p>I'm a current junior and am really interesting in doing something that involves either medicine or business or Both when I grow up. I always get As in my classes and do a decent amount of activities. Please tell me what else I can do to really increase my chances of getting into Stanford undergrad. Before that here is what I have done so far.</p>
<p>Academics</p>
<p>Freshman (got all As both semesters)
Honors English 9
Honors Pre-Calc (I'm two grades of math ahead)
Honors Geography
IB Spanish 2
Latin 1 (I took two foreign language classes)
Honors Biology
Graphic Arts
Microsoft Word/Powerpoint/Excel</p>
<p>Sophomore (got all As both semesters)
Honors English 10
AP Calc BC (got 5 on ap test)
AP Biology (got 5)
Honors Chemistry
Honors Spanish 3
Latin 2
Honors World History</p>
<p>Junior (currently taking)
IB English 11
Advanced Math Topics
AP Chem
AP Economics
IB Spanish 4
AP Physics C</p>
<p>Senior (what I will take)
IB English 12
AP Statistics
Honors Human Anatomy
Honors American History (not taking APUSH because of "senioritis")
AP Psychology
IB Spanish 5
AP Computer Science</p>
<p>Theres no class rank in my school but I have an un-weighted GPA of 4.0 so far.</p>
<p>Activities
Play AAU basketball every fall and spring (I'm pretty good but too short for school team.. athletes at my school are all above 6 feet)
President of Future Med Club
Member of FBLA club (1st year)
Volunteer in St. Clair Hospital (over 500 hours)
Attended summer camp for National Student Leadership Conference for Medicine
Have an EMT-B certification</p>
<p>So is my schedule all right? AP Chem and AP Physics are rigorous so I have 2 study hall periods to finish any last hws or projects.</p>
<p>WHAT ELSE CAN I DO TO INCREASE MY CHANCES FOR STANFORD. ANY ADVICE FROM PEOPLE WHO ARE IN THE COLLEGE??</p>
<p>I think that the one thing that you still need is an extracurricular that sets you apart. Your scores and academics are great, but you need something special for your extracurriculars.</p>
<p>I have found that those with a perfect 4.0 get into ivies less than other people with a lower score and great ECs. This is a perfect example. A 4.0 is hard to pull off and takes many hours of studying leaving no time for ECs. You need to focus your ECs in something. This one person I know had a 3.7 UW and he got into stanford because he started his own rather successful business and he took only regular classes and the easy APs.</p>
<p>Wow that’s a great idea. Like I said above, I am very interested in business so I could create a business this summer. Ill take of some good ways to start and what it should be on.</p>
<p>If I do start a successful business like your friend and keep my grades high, is there a good chance I can get into Stanford? What else can I do except do well on the SAT or ACT</p>
<p>Take a journal (or phone) with you. Just spend time writing down ideas. If you know how to code you can make a website. Keep in mind that once you start this is a VERY LARGE investment of time if it is successful. Charities are easier to start because you can get the school to give people volunteer hours for working for the charity. Free workforce.</p>
<p>No no. my school year ended two days ago. I finished my sophomore year. So technically, I’m now a junior. I already took the SAT Biology test just last week. I’m going to take Math Level 2 and Chemistry next year.</p>
The RD thread in the Stanford forum is consistent with this. Looking at the first two pages (didn’t want to spend the time to go through the whole thread), the average GPA and SAT scores for the rejected posters was slightly higher than the admitted posters. Average class rank was significantly higher with the rejected posters. Approximately half of the rejected posters were valedictorians with a perfect 4.0, yet few of the admitted posters had a perfect GPA. The rejected posters also had a significantly higher average course rigor than the admitted students, with more AP classes and such. Instead the areas where the admitted posters’ average stood out were awards, ECs, and various other characteristics that made them unique. </p>
<p>I wouldn’t recommend starting a business just because you think it will look good on your application. Instead I’d suggest doing something that you are truly passionate about and accomplishing something unique in that field that hardly any other applications will have… something that is impressive at more than just a school level, preferably something impressive at a state/national level. The recommendations and essays are also quite important.</p>
<p>I was admitted a few years ago with a ~91 average, which would probably be ~3.4/3.5 on 4.0 scale (I had a lot of grades near 100, which would pull down my average if they were treated as 4.0). I wasn’t in the top 10% of my class. My verbal SAT was only 500, which was in the bottom 1% of Stanford freshmen at the time I applied. I had no listed awards on my app and only averaged about an hour a week on ECs. I had no hooks, such as legacy or athlete. However, I did meet the description of what Stanford says they are looking for at [Our</a> Selection Process : Stanford University](<a href=“http://www.stanford.edu/dept/uga/basics/selection/index.html]Our”>http://www.stanford.edu/dept/uga/basics/selection/index.html) well, and I stood out as unique from other applicants with my personality, as well as things like taking many classes at a higher level than offered at my basic HS at SUNYA and RPI and getting an A each time. This included electives that I took for pure enjoyment, rather than just a list of the type of schedule one would expect Stanford wants to see. I also aced almost anything higher level related to my desired major in engineering (800 math/mathII). I suspect that grades and scores are looked at in a context of what is most important for your desired field . I expect my risk taking essay also had a big impact, as it was quoted in my acceptance letter.</p>