What the heck does that mean?
You are as qualified as anyone out there, especially if you’re leaning towards a more obscure major. Fair to note though, no one is ever guaranteed when you’re looking at a 5% acceptance rate. Best of luck.
I was admitted in December Early Action and you have better stats than me. You have even more of a challenge being Asian and computer science major. They have many candidates like yourself so like Falcon1 stated you have to make yourself standout. I would highlight your piano-its better than your limited sports and even your martial arts. Convince them in your essay that you are not only a science kid. Promote your artistic side? Remember that you have to distinguish yourself from student with equal or better stats.
You have a chance. That’s the best anyone can tell you, in a scenario as brutally competitive as Stanford’s is for admission. They will look at your application and give it serious consideration, but they reject many students who are similarly accomplished. Good luck, but don’t think that your life will end if they say “no.”
Oh hey, my asian brother got into stanford last fall.
I think you might have like a 33.33% as stated above.
Pros: ECs are bomb. They can tell you’re very talented.
Programming organization & internship makes you stand out
GPA
Apply for some camps/interships over the summer! My bro got into this MIT research one and that really boosted his app.
Cons: Needs more leadership positions.
Volunteer hours?
Are you in any clubs like math team, scioly ?
Write a really good essay! I think that was what made my brother stand out in the pool of Asian guys.
Thanks for the advice. I would love to volunteer more but the problem is that between school, running my programming organization, and my other ECs, I simply don’t have time to.
And yeah I’m in a few clubs like that: FBLA, TSA, Math Team, etc… I’ve heard that achievements in those clubs are insignificant though and not worth putting on the application.
Also, I’ve heard that recommendation letters play a large factor. One of my recommendations is from my main mentor, who is the head of Computer Science at CMU. I know that he’s going to write me a rocking recommendation, and he said that his name will carry some value in other university’s Computer Science departments.
Does this help my chance?
^ Yes - but it’s not so much the name as the strength of the recommendation, and his ability to speak in detail about you, that makes a difference.
Johnjohn do you think you’ll be captain of these clubs?
And I heard you need at least 150-200 hours to qualify for colleges or something (my mom told me, idk my brother and sister had to get those hours)
It’s a myth that you need volunteer hours. I know many, many kids who have gotten into tippy top schools with little or no volunteering in HS.
^ I would agree. Volunteer hours are fine, but certainly not necessary, and if volunteering doesn’t fit in to your narrative then trying to force-fit it will stand out.
Thanks for the responses guys, please keep the advice coming!