Chance me...I chance back!

Colleges and Universities A-Z Stanford University
1

Stats:
SAT I: N/A
ACT: 36 Composite First Try
GPA: 4.9 (rigor was high because go to prep school in NYC)
Rank/percentile: #1

Extracurriculars:
Varsity Lacrosse all 4 years (Was recruited by multiple ivy leagues and went on official visits to 4 schools including Stanford)
Over the summers, I spend my time in Africa teaching English with a international non-profit organization

Internship/work experience
Worked as an intern at the Whitehouse (summer after my junior year) and I got close to one of the most influential members of Congress who actually wrote me a recommendation
Interned at the United Nations in Bangladesh (summer after sophomore year) to improve literacy rates and the education system

Essays: Common app is the best essay I’ve ever written. It’s about my experiences as a lacrosse player relate to my life philosophy and how seeing the world and meeting so many influential leaders has improved my mental state when I play lacrosse.
Teacher Rec (2): They both absolutely loved me. One of them said I was the best student they’ve ever had and the other said I was definitely Ivy-bound.
Counselor Rec: Also loved me.

Currently a senior at an exclusive prep school on NYC’s Upper East Side.
Fluent in 4 languages (French, English, Twi, Arabic)
Lived in 2 countries
Upper Middle Class, of Native American descent
Out of state applicant

I’m so nervous for decisions to come out! Even though I did go on a recruiting trip to Stanford, after the trip, they never contacted me again and Stanford is the DREAM. I really hope I did not mess up during the trip.

2

Wow you look like you have a really good shot! I’m in kind of the same boat, although I think you may have more connections than I do :wink:

Is it possible that they just don’t contact their athlete recruits after visits??? I really hope so! I’m shaking now thinking about it. On the second day, I bumped into my host in the hall. While it didn’t seem like anything at the time, he acted really weird after that, so is it possible that he torpedoed me after?

Overall though you seem to have some hooks that I don’t, so that will likely really help you out. Good luck!! Do you mind chancing me?

3

Yep! Just chanced you too! Thanks for your input. I can’t wait for my rejection letter next week… Really wish I could have improved my stats and activities before I applied…

4

I think you have a good shot. My only concern is that apart from Lacrosse, you don’t seem to have any ECs in school, and your other ECs basically show that your parents can afford to send you around the world to do stuff like that. I don’t know how competitive those internships/summer programs were, but if they aren’t that may pose a problem. Those are my two cents, but then again, what do any of us know about admissions?

5

@Elrathia I definitely could have done more in school, but I was so busy outside that I really didn’t have time. The internships were SUPER competitive (White House, United Nations), so hopefully Stanford will see what those organizations saw. Ahhhhh so nervous!

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@ivybound456 if that’s the case, then I think you’re fine in terms of on paper credentials. At this point it’s up to your essays, rec letters, and the adcom.

7

Your stats are very impressive, I would not be surprised for even a moment if you got accepted (-:

8

@Elrathia Hoping that my status as an URM will boost my chances and my diversity of language… What do you think?

9

How much does being an URM actually help?

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I think it really helps! I’m pretty sure it’ll help me too!

11

I’m not someone who likes to send negative posts, but I have a hard time believing you. Hopefully, you are just embellishing a little and that most of what you have written are actually true. Your post is riddled with grammatical errors (including your title), and I just find it hard to believe given your English that you got a 36 in the ACT on your first attempt, you have a 4.9 GPA (which likely means you go to a Prep school that uses a 5 point scale instead of the usual 4 to 4.3 scale for private schools, and all your courses from your first to third year are AP classes, except for one, and you got an A/A+ on every one of them, to reach a 4.9 GPA), and you are native american, lived in 2 countries, fluent in 4 languages, interned at the White House (it is two words BTW, and not “Whitehouse”, which you should know if you interned there for a full summer). Finally, it is hard to reconcile that you spent (not “spend” BTW) your summers in Africa teaching English, whereas you also spent your summer at the White House and another summer in Bangladesh? How many summers are there in New York’s upper east side?

Good luck to you though…and I hope you go to a school that matches your needs and personality!

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@ohiopop I’m not sure how I should respond to that… I have NOT embellished anything on my resume and all my scores and grades are accurate (if this weren’t online, I would show you my transcript). And, my school weights honors and AP classes as 5 point classes, which is why I was able to have such an insanely high GPA. Maybe I had some typos, but I am attributing them to the fact that I’m super nervous at this point and am posting without editing or looking at what I’m writing. I’m sure if you were in the same position, you’d have twice as many typos. My internships at the White House and at the United Nations were the best experiences I’ve ever had, and I’m sure you won’t be having similar ones with your attitude. Good luck in the future and I hope that out of us two, I’m the only member of Stanford’s class of 2020.

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@ohiopop Yeah, I kiiiiiiiiiinda see where you’re coming from, but you’re being very nitpicky. I’ve lived in two countries. I travel a ton too. I’m fluent in 3 languages. I’ve gotten As in 7 of the 8 AP classes I’ve taken. Just because your life story doesn’t mirror his doesn’t mean that it isn’t true. The only thing that caught my eye was the spending summers in Africa thing when you were also somewhere else.

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@ivybound456 about the URM status: yeah, it’ll help, but it’s not a determining factor.

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@Elrathia @ohiopop To clarify, I did the internships I mentioned for the majority of the summer then every summer for 3 weeks I went to Africa to teach English with the same organization every year. Just because you did not do the same thing, doesn’t mean I’m lying because I’m not!

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@ivybound456 I didn’t disbelieve you, it just caught my eye :slight_smile:

17

It seems like there is no possible way they could reject you…

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@ivybound456 Forgive my inner cynic here, but I don’t fully believe you. If you’ve actually done all this, take this as a compliment – you’ve achieved so much incredible stuff that it’s unbelievable to some. On the other hand, if you haven’t, just know that while you can embellish your accomplishments on an online forum for a sense of security and recognition from others, it won’t change your admissions decision. So yeah, my chancing for you is heavily contingent on the veracity of your claims:

If you’re 100% not lying (which I hope), you’re pretty much in. Seriously. You’re an incredibly high-achieving Native American, which makes you a VERY coveted resource for any student body. I recall in last year’s result thread, there was a Native American girl with a 23 ACT and low GPA who got in (and she wasn’t an athletic recruit). You’re way, way above that bar and definitely have a greater chance at admission than pretty much anybody – only, of course, if you’re truly telling the truth. Only, of course, if you actually have that 36 ACT and valedictorian status at an exclusive NYC prep school on the Upper East Side like Chapin, Dalton, or Brearley, if you’ve had an influential member of Congress write you a LOR, know 4 languages, interned at the UN in Bangladesh, and teach English in Africa with a non-profit org.

Indeed, when I frame it that way, it sounds incredulous – and that’s because it is. It’s hard to believe that because of your consistent grammatical errors in sentence structure and capitalization. I know you’re probably not proofreading your stuff (I don’t, either) and potentially writing on your phone, but it’s hard to believe somebody with a perfect ACT would write with such phrases as “Chance me…I chance back” and “Whitehouse”. That’s just my impression – an impression that, to be fair, I’ll recognize as very cursory and cynical.

I want to believe. I really do. If everything’s true, you’re one of the most impressive people I’ve ever heard of. But I believe I’m expressing the thoughts of the silent majority here. It’s simply very rare that a URM would be the valedictorian at an èlite NYC prep school and do all of this other exceptional stuff. Like I said, if you have, all the power to you; you’re in.

And @IvyObsessed1955 You’re not a URM. A URM is an underrepresented minority – Asians are overrepresented minorities, as they’re only 5.6% of the population yet comprise 22.6% of Stanford’s student body. So, if anything, you’ll actually have a harder time getting in.

19

@willay, I understand what you’re saying but ya being such a small percentage of the population does seem like it would make me somewhat under represented. In addition, I don’t think race would play so much of a role that it would be more difficult for Asians to get in. Stanford seems to value each individual as their own distinct personality which is a lot more important than just the color of your skin. And why is it so hard for you to believe that an under represented minority would be a valedictorian and do other “exceptional stuff”. Despite saying it’s “rare” still very much implies that you don’t think it could be true along with everything else you say @ivybound456 is lying about.

20

This poster is just messing you all. The part of the story that clearly is untrue is being recruited at multiple top D1 lacrosse schools while being away all summer instead of playing club and training. All of my children were actively recruited and there is no way you could take off the summers from playing and training. All the athletes do their heavy training in the summer because of the extra time. Plus most of the college camps are in the summer. Besides if you get recruited at Stanford and multiple top Ivies your already in. This student would have the highest possible AI of 240.