Chance me for Cal and Stanford? Recommendations?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>First of all, before I submit my academic portfolio, let me add that I realize I have little chance of getting into UC Berkeley or Stanford, but being my local schools and the ones I have dreamed of since childhood, I'd like to know my chances. Also, if you guys think I'd be well suited to some other college based on my portfolio, mention it. Also, tell me anything I can do to bolster my portfolio TOWARDS CAL AND/OR STANFORD. I'm currently a Junior in second semester keep in mind. Also, I will be out of country for family reasons in June-July, so summer programs in this time are out of the question. No matter how important this may be to me, family comes first.</p>

<h1>This portfolio is based on some assumptions and projections I'm making about the next six months. Also, I go to number one ranked in the state Mission San Jose High School.</h1>

<p>Race: Asian-American (American Citizen by birth of Pakistani descent)</p>

<p>Freshman Year:</p>

<p>Honors English B/B
Honors Biology B/B
Honors Geometry C/C
Health-Geography B/B
PE 1 B/B
Spanish 1 B/B</p>

<p>Sophomore Year:</p>

<p>Honors English A/A
Honors Chemistry B/B
Honors Algebra 2 B/C
World History A/A
PE 2 A/A
Spanish 2 B/B</p>

<p>Junior Year:</p>

<p>APUSH A/A
AP Psych A/A
AP Chemistry C/A
Honors Precalc C/A
Honors English B/A
Spanish 3 B/A</p>

<p>UC GPA: 3.8 (Weighted, Capped To 8 Semesters, Sophomore + Junior Only)
UW GPA: 3.25 (Raw GPA)
W GPA: 3.6 (Weighted but including freshman year)
S-J W GPA: 4.0 (Weighted but without freshman year)</p>

<p>SAT: 2320 (800 Writing, 760 Math, 760 Reading)
SAT II: 750 Chem, 700 Bio, 750 US History
AP: 5 on US Govt, Psych, APUSH, Euro, Comparative Govt ; 4 on Chem</p>

<p>Senior Year Schedule:</p>

<p>AP Biology
AP Physics B
AP Calculus AB
AP English
Digital Imaging 1
Govt/Econ</p>

<p>EC:</p>

<p>Journalism (Columns in widely distributed (parts of Canada, several US cities) newspaper)
Tae Kwon Do (Green Belt---Changed schools, had to start over)</p>

<p>Volunteering:</p>

<p>40 Hrs at local Library
40 Hrs at local Hospital
300 Hrs At Nonprofit Hospital back in Pakistan</p>

<p>Work Experience:</p>

<p>Been working 10 hrs/wk @ restaurant as waiter since early 2011.</p>

<p>================================================================</p>

<p>Targeted field of study: Premed/Biology
Targeted Schools: Cal/Stanford</p>

<p>Chance me?</p>

2

<p>Your grades are just too low, and your ECs are lacking. I also don’t think it’s realistic to predict straight A’s next semester, especially since you’ve never gotten them before. You need to look into more realistic schools. There are lots of great schools for people with your stats, but there’s no way you’ll even come close to the majority of Stanford/cal applicants.</p>

3

<p>I agree with alwaysleah. Normally people who get accepted into Stanford without high grades have done something exceptional outside academics. Your ECs, with all due respect, lack that quality. Your SAT is great, though I’d probably try to achieve some higher SAT II scores. Have you looked at the UCs besides Berkeley? Perhaps UCD or UCSD is more fitting.</p>

4

<p>I’m going to be straightforward; you have no chance.</p>

5

<p>No chance… your GPA is far too low, and your class rank must be horrible since you go to such a competitive school.</p>

6

<p>You are unlikely to get in, but you never know. A friend of mine got into Standford because he was good at Tech Theatre (He’s white). It helps that you are a minority.</p>

7

<p>Well, let’s see. Being an asian-american does not help your cause at all (sorry, don’t be offended by this. It’s just that Stanford is notorious for not taking highly qualified asians). Your grades, though much lower than the typical Stanford applicant, will be understood by the college for going to such a competitive high school. Your SAT score is fantastic!! Your subject tests are pretty good too. But the biggest reason why I say you won’t get in to Stanford is your lack of significant ECs.
Find something that really interests you and do things that circumscribe that passion.
I do think you have a chance at Berkeley though I know it is more competitive for CA residents than out of staters (correct me if I wrong). Might I also suggest University of Chicago as they have an excellent Bio department.
Chance me back?
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1282445-chance-mit-other-schools.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1282445-chance-mit-other-schools.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

8

<p>^I think U Chicago would be a reach too. Honestly it doesn’t seem like your chances are that high for either, but you never know. Your gpa is not competitive for those two schools but your test scores are good. However, your two ECs are also not that outstanding. </p>

<p>You don’t have time to totally buffer your resume. Good grades will help, but if you’re aiming for Stanford you also need really good ECs. Start something extraordinary, not just join a generic club. </p>

<p>Maybe try some less competitive UC schools?</p>

9

<p>I would say you still have good shot at Berkeley, but Stanford is near impossible for anyone. You never know though, you could easily stand out with great essays and a unique perspective because of your Pakistani influence. I would, as the abover poster stated, look at UChicago. It’s a great school, and one that I love for many reasons. (It is a beautiful campus, great city an energy, has a creative spirit, highly intellectual and spirited student body). I would also suggest Pomona College since you seem to want to stay in CA.</p>

<p>Oh and I’ve heard Mission San jose is an incredible school! My school, Bear River High School usually competes against you for States in Odyssey of the Mind. Your school has had some great skits!</p>

10

<p>Guys lets be realistic. OP doesn’t have a shot at Pomona or UChicago either. Yes, Missoon San Jose is a good school, but I guarantee that there are kids coming out with close to a 4.0 unweighted and multiple ECs. Honestly OP, you should be looking at UC Davis, UCSB, maybe Santa Clara, University of San Diego, Cal Poly, etc. </p>

<p>And remember that a doctor is a doctor, regardless of where you go to college.</p>

11

<p>I think some posters are being a little harsh. though there is a significant lack of ECs and the gpa is low, a 2350 is pretty freaking awesome if you ask me</p>

12

<p>Okay but 2400s regularly get rejected from Stanford. With stellar grades and ECs… And I know tons of 4.1/4.2’s rejected from Cal. I don’t see how OP could outcompete that. But by all means OP, go ahead and apply. I do wish you the best.</p>

13

<p>Lack of EC’s? Not at all. Maybe some of the previous poster overlooked the “300 Hrs At Nonprofit Hospital back in Pakistan.” Being from a diverse background with those solid EC’s and test scores, I think you stand I decent enough chance at Cal.</p>

14

<p>Just wanted to add one thing, you may want to consider getting those SAT II scores up for chem. and bio., especially if you want to go pre-med.</p>

15

<p>The top students at different schools can have a wide range of GPA’s due to the varying difficulty of curriculum. SAT scores help show this discrepancy in difficulty, as well as class ranking. (If the highest ranked students get 4.0’s and 1800 SAT’s, this school is not difficult. If the highest ranked students have 3.5’s and 2300 SAT’s this school is difficult.) The OP may have gone to an easier school and gotten a much higher GPA. Colleges will know how difficult a highschool is and account for this when determining what the GPA means for that student. Stop lumping every single school together as being equal in difficulty by stating that the OP has too low a GPA.</p>

16

<p>Way too many Cs, and barely any As.
Sorry.</p>

<p>Also, the colleges dislike it even more when you have a super high SAT but less than mediocre grades: they will think off the top of their heads that you are a testing machine who has taken a bunch of SAT prep class.</p>

<p>Since you come from Mission San jose, I’m also going to assume that your class rank sucks. That will only hurt you more.</p>

17

<p>I think we can all acknowledge that gpas do vary from school to school, but getting Cs looks bad to any top tier school like Stanford (they can even rescind an acceptance for a C). While SAT does mark an academic level, GPA shows dedication and willingness to put in effort. It’s an indicator of how your gpa at the college will look. As far as the 300 hours as “outstanding ECs” I would disagree. OP does have ECs, but the number of students who apply to Stanford with 300 hours of community service is very high, so I wouldn’t consider those ECs outstanding by Stanford’s standard.</p>

18

<p>@PAGRok I go to a school very similiar to OPs. I’m also in the SF Bay area, and my school is only a few rankings behind mission. Our API score is literally within .5% that said, I have a 4.0 unweighted in 4 APs. Is it hard? Extremely. I probably do 5-6 hours of homework daily. But it can be done. So it’s not like OP goes to a school where no one is achieving higher. It would be different if the OP was in the top 10% or something. </p>

<p>I don’t agree that a few hundred hours of community service is outstanding either. I think it is admirable and very good, but lots of Stanford/Cal applicants have that much community serve + leadership in ECs + outstanding GPAs. I’m not trying to bash OP but we need to be realistic. </p>

<p>OP, I think you should apply to Cal because your SAT score is very good and it doesn’t require any extra effort if you are already applying to other UCs. If I were you I wouldn’t waste time with Stanford’s supplement, but to each his own. I’m not trying to be harsh. I think the OP is a very qualified candidate for MANY schools, but not Stanford. There are just too many more qualified applicants.</p>

19

<p>I doubt many stanford applicants have 300 hours of community service at a hospital in Pakistan. I’m sure that is unique.</p>

20

<p>That is unique, but not unique enough to make up for the grades and lack of other things, imo.</p>