<p>Female, Asian, lives in Seattle area of Washington, middle class, high school is average </p>
<p>GPA: 3.85 UW (likely weakest point). No weighted GPA
SAT: 2350, 2nd try
ACT: 35
SAT II: Math 2 800, Chemistry 780, US History 800
Class rank: Top 10% (UW GPA), no definite class rank system
Senior Schedule:
Orchestra (0 period)
AP French
AP US Government
AP Calculus AB (Highest math class available)
AP Chemistry
AP Computer Science
AP English Lit</p>
<p>Junior Schedule:
Orchestra (0 period)
Pre-Calculus
AP Macroeconomics/AP Microeconomics (5,5)
Chemistry
AP US History (5)
AP English Language (5)
French 5-6
Self-studied: AP Psychology (out of interest) (5), AP Comparative Gov. (annoying prerequisite) (5), AP Human Geography (5), AP Statistics (5)</p>
<p>ECs: 400+ miscellaneous volunteer hours
BioQuest Academy at Seattle Biomedical Research Institute (summer program)
UW Math Academy at UW Seattle College of Engineering (summer program)
Washington Aerospace Scholars at Boeing Museum of Flight (summer program)
Renton Youth Symphony Orchestra camp (summer program)
Volunteer at UW Medical Center and Seattle Children's Hospital (approx. 100~120 hours)
Volunteer at Habitat for Humanity Seattle (approx. 50~60 hours)
Varsity Swim (4 years), Swim Captain
Varsity Tennis (2 years)
Orchestra, violin player (8 years)
Piano (6 years), more or less a hobby.
National Honors Society (3 years), President
Key Club, (3 years), Convention Aide at District Convention, Service Projects Committee Chair
Tutoring elementary school kids in violin and piano as part of volunteer program (5 years)
Co-chair of committee for several local service projects (National Honors Society & Key Club sponsored), such as a special needs dance, book drive for burned elementary school, etc
Fundraised $3,000 in school for Habitat of Humanity </p>
<p>Awards: National AP Scholar
Academic Achievement award for all years (school award for top 20%)
Microsoft certifications in Excel, Word and PowerPoint
Rotary Youth of the Month
Member of the Month (Key Club & NHS)
State & District level awards for swim
National History Day Regionals 1st Place (this was in middle school, so not sure if it counts)
Generic local essay contests 1st-3rd place
1st State Alternate for Soundview Solo & Ensemble, several Superior ratings for Solo & Ensemble
Presidential Volunteer Service Award Gold Level</p>
<p>You have a very strong application, the GPA isn’t really a big issue, being an asian female could bring you down a bit. Your essays will need to really sell your passion for what you do. What are you interested in studying? It’s good to show that you’re pursuing academic subjects that interest you rather than just loading up on what “looks best”. It’s a reach, as it is for everyone, but you have a shot. </p>
<p>I don’t really see a difference whether you prefer RD or SCEA. If Stanford is your #1 there’s no reason to not apply SCEA because it’s non-binding and you’ll easily get in elsewhere on the RD round.</p>
<p>I agree with littlebuilder, you have a great resume and alot going for you, you might as well apply since its non-binding, but I think you have a great shot.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies!
I’ve been told that I will probably have a better chance if I apply RD because my GPA is so low for Stanford-level universities…so I wanted to get other people’s opinions.
Also, SCEA is supposed to have a stronger (how strong?) applicant pool, so I might look extremely weak in comparison. </p>
<p>I’m honestly not sure what I’d want to pursue for a major…There’s a lot of things that I’m interested in, but I’m unsure whether or not I’d actually be GOOD at them. </p>
<p>I still have time to do other things, so do you think there is anything I could improve on my application?</p>
<p>Internships always look nice on applications, a lot of the accepted students had one either over the summer or during their senior year. However, make sure the internship is for your interests and not just to look good on an app. Maybe give one of your many interests a test-drive with the internship, see if you like it, if you’re good at it, and it can be a good essay topic. If it’s any consolation, I wrote an essay on how I couldn’t pick just one thing to be interested in; they love that kind of curiosity. </p>
<p>As for SCEA, your GPA fits in with Stanford’s accepted range and I don’t think RD would make a big difference (I got in SCEA with a 3.8 UW). Also, I know a lot of the accepted SCEA students for this year and your app is strong enough to stand out in that pool even if it is of a higher caliber.</p>
<p>Thank you for the reply. I think I’m going to do a medical internship over the summer at UW Medical. The doctor that I regularly work with for volunteering is willing to help me, so it should be a very comfortable working relationship.</p>
<p>Will it look like I’m just padding my application if I form a Model UN club and Science Olympiad team later this year? They both seem extremely interesting to me; I only wish I had heard of them sooner.
I won’t be able to participate in them very extensively since I graduate next year.</p>
<p>It won’t look like padding as long as you’re genuinely passionate about them both, just find a way to make that show through even if it’s just the little commonapp blurb about your ECs. Leadership is always good, just make sure you can handle the commitment; you don’t want to spread yourself too thin because that’s bad in general and college admissions can see it right away if you’re handling a unrealistic amount of ECs. You can make it work, and you’re interested, but be careful! You sound like someone Stanford would like to have :)</p>
I think I’m going to do a medical internship over the summer at UW Medical. The doctor that I regularly work with for volunteering is willing to help me, so it should be a very comfortable working relationship.</p>