SAT: 1490 / 1600 (710 RW, 780 Math)
ACT: Not taken
SAT 2: Not taken
GPA: 4.5/4.5 weighted
Senior Year Courses: AP Macro, AP French, AP Comp Sci A, AP Studio Art 2D Design, AP Physics, AP Literature and Composition, AP Statistics, AP Human Geography
Rank: Top 2% of 500
Other: Member of Governor’s School
State: VA
EC:
4 Year Varsity Starter for field hockey (2 year captain), would play in college
Member of US National Indoor Field Hockey Team
Varsity Soccer
CGS Robotics Team, Event Coordinator
French Honor Society President
Work Experience:
Travel Field Hockey Coach (paid, 3 years)
Awards:
Outstanding Presenter award at Unmanned Systems Conference hosted by the US Navy
AP Scholar with Distinction
National Merit Scholar
TSA State finalist
FIRST Robotics World Championship Entrepreneurship Award
Essays:
Very strong
Letters of Rec:
Teachers and counselors sent me copies, spoke very highly of me as a student
I’d say you have about a good a chance as anybody, considering the acceptance rate. You’re definitely qualified to apply, though. The essays and recs have to be incredible. IMO, if your essays and recs are perfect, you have an above average shot. I can’t say it’s a match or anything because of the selectivity. Good luck!
^^ I believe that many would say that Stanford values Intellectual Vitality most. They not only require an essay to written about it but they also rank each applicant on this attribute. I am fairly certain no other college does this. Of course, impact on one’s community is also important.
I agree that Intellectual Vitality is important…its a toss up. Does anyone really know what “they” want. One of the ADCOMS at an info session told us “relationships matter most.” So who knows?
I helped to create the leadership structure for my robotics team, I’ve spent hundreds of hours volunteering to coach young players in any sport, I tutor younger kids, and I’ve coordinated regional robotics competitions for FIRST LEGO League!
You clearly have the capacity to work at a high level, to focus, and to do well. That puts you on par with the group of students you wish to join. You will find “your own level,” to break apart a common expression.
You have made, in all likelihood, a significant impact on the other student-players with whom you have worked and played on the field, and exhibited a leadership which is probably both second nature and finely honed. You take what you have and work to make that even better. You are probably wonderfully prepared to take advantage of the next opportunity which comes your way, even when that happens through serendipity.
That being said, why wait so long to take the types of courses you are enrolled in for your (in my opinion) crammed senior year? How does a schedule such as yours even permit that type of sturdy? I am curious and looking sideways at the academic course lineup.
I would be concerned that perhaps though you can work hard across the many areas of your life that you may have a propensity for waiting until the last possible moment to do so, across the board.
I would be worried about burn out for someone who is (I would suppose) familiar with success, but who may not have come face to face with what it is not to meet the goal they set out for themselves as the stakes are raised.
You are a fine candidate, indeed, and yet something leaves me…wondering.
Would I advocate for you on committee? Probably so. Would I still have a lingering itch? Probably so.
Thank you for your help! In answer to your question, I’ve been taking AP classes since my freshman year: 2 freshman year, 2 sophomore year, 5 junior year, and 8 senior year. I have also been a part of a regional governor’s school that allows me to skip prerequisites to classes, and I have completed 2 senior level thesis projects over the past few years. Hopefully that clarifies my academic rigor, and thank you again for your analysis!