<p>Hey! This is my first post and hopefully people will see this. I'd like to thank CC for all it has done for me, from SAT to AP to ACT to college help!
I really want to know where I am; I hope I don't overestimate myself and my expectations. Going to Stanford has always been my dream school ever since I visited the school in 2007. It's fairly close to my house and I want to stay near my family. My backup would be UC Berkeley or UC Davis. Majoring in Premed!
Class of 2019!
Your stereotypical Asian female...
GPA uw: 4.0
W: ~4.5 or so
SAT I: 2390, 12 essay (1 try)
ACT: 35 (1 try)
SAT II:
Math 2: 800
Biology: 800
Chemistry: 790
World history: 770
Literature: 790
( not taking anymore )
AP:
Calculus ab: 5
Calculus bc: 5
Biology: 5
World history: 5
Us history: 5
Chemistry: 5
Psychology: 5
Literature: 5
Next year:
Spanish
Gov
Econ
Physics 2
Language </p>
<p>To sum it up, I think I'll do pretty well on this portion of the application, but my ecs are weak compared to those I've seen on this site... I focused less on ecs freshman and sophomore year because I wanted to do well academically. </p>
<p>ECs:
The numbers in parenthesis ( ) indicate the grade or grades participated </p>
<p>Piano: (3-12) played for fun, entered recitals, won few awards
Badminton: (5-12) entered tournaments around the city, 3rd place in my area
Girl scout (3-10)
Red Cross club (9-12) President (11-12)
Medical club (my friend and I made it) (10-12) co-president since the making
Key Club (9-12): Vice President (12) activities coordinator (11)
UNICEF (9-12) Vice President (11-12)
NHS (10-12)
Student body (11-12) Treasurer (11) Vice President (12)
Varsity volleyball (9-12) captain (12)
Varsity track and field (10-12)
Varsity badminton (9-10) doing it again next year
Volunteering:
Elderly home (7-12) around 400 hours
Local hospital (9-12) As a leader, my role is to create groups and assignments for the volunteers. I spend about 25 hours a week here during the school year. Total: 500? Hours
This summer: a 1 week medical research/interaction camp in L.A.
Currently trying to volunteer at the Stanford hospital and/or participate in a program at Stanford. </p>
<p>Well, yeah, this is it. I put a lot of effort into my grades and extracurriculars, so hopefully it pays off.
Like many other students, I really want to go to Stanford and I would do anything it takes.
Also, my EA/ED would probably go to Stanford.
I know the acceptance rate is a bare 5%.
If you have the time, I'd like a chance for UC Berkeley, UCLA, and UC Davis too. ^_^
Going for pre-med! </p>
<p>Thanks for your time.
As always, reach for the stars and dream on ;)!!!</p>
<p>Bump, please help me</p>
<p>I think you have the GPA and academics for sure, but your ECs are a bit generic. I’m the opposite though 
Weak GPA (3.9 weighted) but I’ve been told my ECs are pretty good. I think you can get into any UC you like, they look at the GPA way more</p>
<p>Stanford: High Reach (which it is for everyone)
UCB: Low Reach/High Match
UCLA: Low Reach/High Match
UCD: Match</p>
<p>Your stats and EC’s are great. Put a lot of effort into crafting some great essays. Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks for the comments! I’ve already started writing the essays.
@Lacoste what can I do to make myself “Stanford material”? </p>
<p>Try to do something unique like researching with a doctor and writing an essay on your conclusion that gets placed in newspaper. Or maybe starting a business that raises a good amount of money for a charitable organization.
UCLA is also a match</p>
<p>Thanks so much! I’ll definitely look for some opportunities. </p>
<p>Hey Dream0n, I’m a matriculating Stanford class of '18 student, message me if you’d like me to look at your essays! They were definitely what got me in, as I’m an asian female bio major out of state with a 2220 SAT, haha.</p>
<p>@lilytangz wow, congrats! Did you have any particularly fascinating internships or ecs? Your offer is perfect; I’ll definitely consult you as the time gets closer! </p>
<p>Stanford: Reach
UCB: Reach
UCLA: Reach
UCD: Low Match (possibly Safety)</p>
<p>Geez~ your recs are amazing! However, colleges can perceive this as “too” amazing; colleges don’t just want robots who spend all their lives working towards college (now of course, this may be completely false in your case). </p>
<p>Just remember to show them that you’re a HUMAN BEING, with hobbies, sports, and a life. </p>
<p>Hey Dream0n, I’m from the class of 2018 as well, and I just want to assure you that you look great on paper. I literally have no business being on this website now that I’m done with the college process, but I just found it too ridiculous that some comments criticized the strength of your ECs. Your grades and activities are on par or better than my own, and that’s coming from a Japanese guy from the Bay Area with no hooks to speak of. My friend’s father asked the Dean of Admissions (it sounds sketchy already, but at least take it with a grain of salt) how they make decisions, and the response was that they take about a half of students who are just off-the-charts good. These are the kids who win national science tournaments and save thousands of small children from viruses and make me feel inferior and blah blah blah. The other half aren’t much different from the thousands that get rejected every year. What they want is for you to impress them with your personality, your swagger, and your ability to present yourself.
Whichever half you would fall into, your best bet is forget about doing more things and start thinking about how you’re going to market yourself in your personal statements. I’m so sorry that I got carried away with this comment, but I wanted to get that off of my chest. As a side note, a few weeks after acceptance, the admissions officers send out a nice little handwritten note, and the vast majority of my note was about the throwaway questions (“What are your favorite movies?” “Describe yourself in five words.”). Seriously, she wrote so much about how much she liked this movie I wrote a sentence about and that writer that I mentioned that it was almost alarming. I don’t think that she mentioned my ECs once.</p>
<p>Wow. You got some pretty good people posting here, OP. This almost never happens on other threads. Congrats. You caught the attention of current Stanford students. </p>
<p>Dang… You have a lot of things going on! I think you can/will be able to get into any UC of your choice; your academics are on point. Stanford may be a low reach for you as it is for many many students. Just try doing research with a doctor or smt and you’ll be safe! </p>
<p>Hi Dream0n,</p>
<p>I’m younger than you are, so I can’t really say that I know too much about college admissions or would be qualified to chance you, but I would say that Stanford is going to be a reach although you are well qualified and have myriad extremely desirable accomplishments. This is a bit unorthodox and arbitrary to say, but I think that you currently have a 1/3 chance of getting into Stanford. </p>
<p>Stanford is also my dream school, and I have done quite a bit of research on admissions, and the most important thing that you are lacking is a distinguishing factor; there is an abundance of highly qualified students who apply to Stanford, but it takes more than looking good on paper to get in. Good essays and showing that you were involved and passionate about your ECs will do a lot for you. I’ve had two friends who’ve gotten into Harvard, one Yale, two Princeton, and lots of other highly prestigious colleges; they all were had some similarities: they were passionate about something (meaning they were good at it and very involved, i.e. math or music or a sport), they had good grades and were in the top 1% for class rank, they were acting (not just nominal) leaders of multiple groups, they had state or national awards distinguishing them, and they were very friendly and opportunistic.</p>
<p>If you had accomplished something like being a published author, having written some apps, being a grand prize winner for ISEF, that would also really do a lot for you, but those things are difficult to accomplish and sometimes just a matter of situation. What I would also recommend most is to try to get as many scholarships as possible and focus on learning and do things that will benefit you in the future (i.e. trying to start your own business, becoming highly knowledgable in a particular subject, perhaps by reading scientific journals or other scholarly articles, and making your own contribution, etc.). Doing this will be dual-purposed and will actually help immensely to prepare you for life as well as looking good on your application. </p>
<p>As a final piece of advice, always be amiable, considerate, and generous to others, and be ambitious; jump on opportunities as cease the moment since there’s no time like the present.</p>
<p>Regards,
ValiantViolist</p>
<p>@valiantviolist thanks so much! =) i hope you’re able to get into Stanford! I took the advice from the comments and talked to a surgeon this morning and he told me he’ll let me know If his friends/colleagues have upcoming events. I’m hoping to gain recognition through volleyball as well. </p>
and congratulations to you. Good luck to your future endeavors.