Chance me, please!

Colleges and Universities A-Z Stanford University
1

<p>I'm a junior in Southern California, considering neuroscience major/neurobiology within the "general biology" (or something equivalent to MCB- molecular and cellular), and pre med</p>

<p>Also, I've heard about Stanford's Human Biology, "humbio" major, and would like to learn more!!! </p>

<p>Stats:</p>

<p>SAT I (by section): 690M 720CR 710W (can re-take next fall)
SAT IIs: 800 Molecular Biology 780 US History
GPA, Weighted and Unweighted: 3.7 UW, weird weighting system
Rank: school doesn't rank
ACT: didn't take it
APs (including this year's): self-study AP Environmental Science (4)- 10th grade (the first one i took too! Juggled it with Honors Chemistry!), AP Biology (5), AP US History (5)
Senior Yr Courseload: heaviest possible:
AP Physics, AP Calculus BC, AP Studio Art drawing portfolio, AP English Lit, Spanish 4, Gov/Econ, History of World Religions+ Philosophy (required for seniors), Thermodynamics (SPECIAL CLASS)
... Newspaper reporter and art after school</p>

<p>Other stats (Awards, etc.): Commended scholar PSAT (I heard this doesn't do anything!), LA Brain Bee contestant (neuroscience competition), outstanding research presented at California NanoSystems Institute symposium: August 2010</p>

<p>Subjective:
ECs listed on app: 1 JV sport, 13 years of art (plus AP portfolio), violin (no orchestra tho), neuroscience competition, Ayn Rand essay competition (not finalist), then the general "reading a lot, freelance writing, etc"
Job/Work Experience: research at UCLA w/stipend (so if I'm paid, it's considered work then...), shadowed a doctor for a few weeks last year (worked too)
Volunteering: teacher's assistant on Sundays (2 years), volunteer at hospital, doctor shadowing
Essays (subject and responses): not done yet obviously
Teacher Recs: going to do AP Biology teacher who knows me really well and either my English or math teachers.. but I'm not sure. DILEMMA! I don't know either of those really well...</p>

<p>Hook (TASP, RSI, Research, etc.): research? two contests? (they weren't a big deal though)...
Location/Person:
State or Country: CA
School Type, Average Stats of School (if available): private, Catholic, really small, really competitive!!!!
Ethnicity: Indian (Asian)
Gender: female</p>

<p>Strengths: EC's, writing, passion!
Weaknesses: GPA!!! SAT!!!</p>

<p>General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations,etc:
I hope people respond! I love Stanford! The weather, the people, the atmosphere, the professors would all be perfect for me! I visited in December and was amazed with the libraries especially :)
Also, summer of 2009 (freshman going to be sophomore) I worked on a photovoltaics project with a small group.
And then, as I said, summer 2010 was research.
I'm going back to UCLA to do my independent project research again this summer.</p>

<p>There's still time! What should I improve? What do you suggest I can do to help stand out!</p>

<p>Thank you so much!</p>

2

<p>Uhmm, I would say rejected. People might say I am harsh, but here is my real opinion. You took 1 ap in 10th and 2 in 11th. You also have a 3.7 U.W g.p.a. G.p.a and class rigor are the two most important aspects of an application, SAt’s and Ec’s go next. Sorry, I think it is too late to change but the only hopes you have is winning Intel which is extremely difficult.</p>

3

<p>I go to a private school, where most AP’s are offered senior year. They also put a limit on how many AP classes can be taken in one year.
Also, my school is very competitive and my class size is very small, so the GPA was affected by that.</p>

4

<p>Well, it’s not your numbers that would keep you out, but your extracurricular activities are a concern. You have sports, violin, and “art” (what do you mean by 13 years of art? And the competitions are considered awards, not ECs unless they’re continuous activities). Do you have any leadership positions? The research is great, and for most applicants would give them a significant boost, but considering that science-accomplished students are a dime a dozen and you have a greater emphasis on the arts, I think your better asset is your involvement in the latter. Stanford is trying to bolster is arts programs, which have long been Stanford’s only weakness, so they may be recruiting more arts-focused students. Since passion is important for admission (“intellectual vitality”), you’d be best served by emphasizing in your essays your passion for art. Even then, it would be much better if you showed achievement in art (not sure what you have, since you just said “art”): leadership, awards, and achievements (say, being published).</p>

<p>I think one really great way for you to stand out would be to somehow combine your art and science endeavors. Stanford *loves *interdisciplinary, and someone who shows facility and passion for such disparate areas and who creatively combines them would definitely stand out (this is just a random idea to help you see what I mean: say you did a research project that focused on making photovoltaic cells more aesthetically pleasing, since they’re traditionally these ugly things that sit on buildings). Arts will help you stand out, but IMO the presence of your science accomplishments (which are more concretely significant, since you don’t seem to have many concrete accomplishments in the way of arts) dilutes the effect of the arts. And combining the two in a creative way is probably your best shot at standing out the most.</p>

<p>But you need to ask yourself why you are applying to Stanford in the first place. Not only in general, but of course for the “why Stanford” essay. What are you passionate about? What do you think you might major in? What can Stanford offer you in that regard? Are you sure there aren’t schools that would be better for it (if it’s art)?</p>

5

<p>Here’s another perspective: female, potential STEM major. Good. But in a highly competitive process, your 690M is going to be lower than your competition for science. AP scores: great, impressive self-study. But, the competition will have these. Some kids will have several. Awards: see below. So, then a look at EC’s. This will be frank. Because you can fix some of it if you act fast.</p>

<p>You are trying to show yourself as a competitive candidate. One year of JV- begs the question, why not more? Clubs: don’t see any. (Nothing? No math bowl, sci competitions?) Violin: why no group involvement? Internship/work: good, but the competition will likely have this. (You haven’t described what you did- and, the better the internship, without it’s being some competitive selection, adcoms can wonder how you got it- parent knows someone? Think about how to describe it.) And, at the bottom, you describe this UCLA work as “independent.” Uh? Shadow: good, but not unique. Art: ? Can be problematic if it, combined with other issues, makes you seem like a loner. TA on Sundays: again, because it’s your family church? Or, for an outside org? Community service: ? Mentoring: ? Community or culture engagement: ?</p>

<p>TASP- not based on your academic excellence, I believe, but other factors. RSI- at MIT? Are you in? Because they usually go for kids with records of math-sci competitions and even college level work. ?</p>

<p>Awards: in general participating bears little weight, if you don’t win a solid award. An exception is team activities, like math or sci bowl, Olympiad, brain bowl, etc. Even Intel participant or honorable mention of some sort is far from finalist. Is “outstanding” at Nano a 1st or 2nd? Or?</p>

<p>What can you do? Get that math score up. Get involved in something at school (it’s late) or with a community or culture group. Volunteer- you can go join a middle school age community tutor program NOW. You can play that violin at an old folks’ home (make a committment.) You can convert your art skills to helping city kids, the disabled or elderly.</p>

<p>Stanford loves engaged kids. The sort with real “get up and go.” That is one element that can often make up for a score issue or somesuch. (Most schools look at your ECs as one way to judge how engaged you will be in campus activities.) Yes, it includes leadership- that doesn’t always mean pres of some club, but an ability to think up some activity to tackle a need and carry it out. Part of liking “interdisciplinary” is that it can be evdence of your creative approach to learning and using your knowledge. All colleges like kids who do more than pursue just what they are interested in. You want to look like a kid who can hack the academics, has a genuine interest in her field, as evidenced by involvements, understands the world around her and has shown a willingnes to help others. Think about it. Use this summer wisely. Good luck. And, write outstanding essays.</p>

6

<p>As for the SAT I, I’m re-taking it in October, so the math section should definitely go up… significantly. I didn’t prepare for that first SAT.
By arts, I mean visual arts. Actual, real studio arts (oil painting, acrylic, watercolor, charcoal, gouache, etc); and I follow the Renaissance European artists’ tradition (realism, impressionism, chiascuro). And, I am also finishing up my AP Studio Arts portfolio…maybe I could integrate some scientific elements into my art?
Good idea?
No, I am not going to RSI (Yes, I meant the one at MIT). I am interning in an embryology lab at Caltech— working on immune system development in lamprey embryos, and focusing on a few particular genes and transcription factors.
I barely have time to do anything when I get home after lab!
Maybe I didn’t convey this: I grew up w/art as my main extracurricular passion… but I’m not going to lie to colleges… my academic passion is undoubtably molecular biology and neurology.
Yes, I am going to do the Siemens competition in the fall, and possibly Intel. Depending on how the end of my project goes: I have until the end of August.
Yes, my sports aren’t great. But hey, I AMMM doing a second year of sports this year.
For violin, I know I should be in an orchestra, but I haven’t had the chance up 'til now. YES, good idea, I could perform the violin to a small audience— in a community service way.
The TA at the preschool was a community service program I did (no, I’m not a member of a church).
Then, shadowing the doctor at LAC+USC should have good material to write about… interesting (but SHORT) time at the clinic. My main science exposure is a LOT of research: three straight summers.
Agreed, more leadership. Start science club? What other things can you think of?
Thanks, this helps a lot! More advice!!!
I don’t mind if you are harsh… I’m not the perfect candidate anyway. I just do what I love, I read a lot, I write a lot, and I love using my hands.
:)</p>

7

<p>I also forgot to add, along with my questions above, that I was involved in a community service trip (11 days) to Costa Rica.
Mainly reforestation and living with host families.
Would this count as leadership?</p>