Chance? Kind of Curious

Colleges and Universities A-Z Stanford University
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<p>I'm not really worrying, but I can't handle the wait either, so I was just wondering what my chances are of getting into Stanford...since my test scores are pretty bad and I think my essays are OKAY, I was wondering if my other stats would be good enough to give me a boost :)</p>

<p>ACT: 31
SAT I 1950
Subject tests: 720, 750</p>

<p>GPA uw: 4.0
GPA w: 4.54
rank: 1/416</p>

<p>Varsity sports:
Tennis 1 year
Badminton 2 years</p>

<p>EC:
Pres Key Club
Pres Japanese Club
Pres CSF
Pres Brain Club
Captain Academic Decathlon
(been in clubs all 4 years)</p>

<p>3 years NHS
1 year Science Olympiad</p>

<p>Honors/Awards:
Homecoming Queen
RYLA (went to camp RYLA; leadership camp)
AP Scholar w/ Distinction
Scholar Athlete
11 medals in Academic Decathlon
State Sounds of Music Science Olympiad medal</p>

<p>150+ hours of community service</p>

<p>Jobs:
Private Tutor (forgot if they asked about this on the application)</p>

<p>Do I have a good chance? Thanks for your time!</p>

2

<p>Are you Asian? Test scores are somewhat on the low side for an Asian but I think your extracurricular activities look pretty solid.</p>

3

<p>Here let me break it down for ya:</p>

<p>If you are a URM/Legacy: Welcome to Stanford =)
White: about a 25% chance
Asian: about a 5-10% chance</p>

4

<p>as good a chance as anyone else</p>

5

<p>I knew whites and asians had a disadvantage, but I didn't know whites had a higher chance than asians...</p>

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<p>If you are a URM/Legacy: Welcome to Stanford =)
White: about a 25% chance</p>

<h2>Asian: about a 5-10% chance </h2>

<p>Just out of curiosity where are you getting these stats from?</p>

7

<p>Anyway, can we please discuss the position of URMs in Stanford’s admission process seriously? Your words, “If you are a URM/Legacy: Welcome to Stanford =)” really have my hopes up (but I know they really shouldn’t do so and are an exaggeration, but nonetheless do…). Does Stanford really admit a much greater percentage of URMs than ORMs or majorities? Ah, I hate this waiting game, it’s making me crazy!</p>

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<p>OP I really don’t see it, I would say you have about between a 1-5% chance unless your Black or Hispanic.</p>

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<p>Well I am Asian…well asian and caucasian but I think I may have put asian only</p>

<p>And when you say same as anyone else, by anyone else, you mean…?</p>

<p>Makes me a little uneasy (5-10%) well I guess I didn’t expect to get into Stanford.</p>

10

<p>If your father is white, then put “white”. Otherwise, you just reduced your chances of admissions by about 15-20%.</p>

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<p>Lol, yeah, why would you just put Asian if your father is white?</p>

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<p>Well actually, it’s my mother’s side. So, my last name is an Asian one :P</p>

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<p>Just kidding. Still, you do realize that having that Asian last name hurts your chances by a fair amount. You’ll need to compensate in other areas as a result.</p>

14

<p>i think your chances are very weak. sorry :(.</p>

15

<p>hmmm…oh well :frowning: I guess I should have been more serious when I applied to Stanford. I applied when I still REALLY wanted to go to UCLA but I wanted to try for Stanford anyway…but I wrote my essays without any effort because part of me didn’t want to get in to Stanford so I would not have to debate over going to UCLA or Stanford (Stanford would prob win)… but now I kind of do…</p>

<p>I’m still conflicted actually. And if I don’t get into either, I guess I still have Berkeley…though I wouldn’t be too happy about that.</p>

16

<p>Just a question … WHY is race such a huge topic here at the Stanford section? It pops up every once in a while. </p>

<p>I’d laugh if the mods come and shut this thread down to redirect it to another thread. The race topic’s getting a little old.</p>

17

<p>Off topic, but… I worte my essays on how most of my family members (cousins included, etc…) have either only graduated from high school or are high school drop outs and instead of being like them, I found the passion to succeed academically. Was that a good choice? Is it cliche?</p>

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<p>I hope not. I’m pretty sure these admissions people are trained to think of your essay as a fresh, new essay each time. It’s pretty tough to find people who’re just ABSOLUTELY nothing like each other to put in one class, and I don’t even think the schools want that. So if you write a heartfelt account, I’d myself not consider it cliche, even if others do write about similar things</p>

<p>However, given the fact that it may be tough to choose an entirely untouched topic, it’s probably a good idea to do a really good job and put a lot into the essay, so that there’s a reason to read it and care, after having read others like it!</p>

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<p>mathboy: From reading some of your other posts, I conclude that you think that Stanford is more willing to take a less “number impressive” applicant especially if s/he can bring something unique to the class…this includes a unique situation, heavy EC involvement, and a motivation/passion that is seen in the applicant’s essays…would you say this is an accurate conclusion?</p>

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<p>Sure, I think it’s actually a pretty standard conclusion. Though, as my above post indicates, I’d recommend that people do what they love + are good at, whether or not it is “unique” – because first off, if you aren’t into what you’re doing, you have no chance at getting anywhere in any case! I don’t think “uniqueness + passion” can really be faked that easily. Which is why I tell this particular OP that it’s not worth worrying if one’s passion is shared by others – there are lots of people out there.</p>