Chance me Stanford ED, ivies

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

SENIOR
State (if domestic applicant): IA
School Type: Public School
Ethnicity: Asian (Indian)
Gender: Male
Income: ~ 300K
Hooks: NA

Unweighted GPA: 3.88
ACT: 35, 12 on Writing
Weighted: 4.38
Rank: NA
PSAT: Commended
SAT II: M2: 800, Bio: 800
AP World: 5
AP Physics 1: 5
AP US Gov: 5
AP Bio: 4
AP Calc BC: 5
AP Lang: 5
AP Chem:
AP Spanish 5:
AP Stats:
AP Psychology:

Current Coursework:
AP Chem, AP Spanish 5, AP Stats, AP Psychology, AP Lit, Newspaper, Advanced Research (class)

Extracurriculars:
Newspaper: Online Editor in Chief
President: HOSA (health occupation students of America)
Vice President: Neuroscience Club
Vice President: School South Asian Association
Founder of community group with 10K followers on Instagram
Writing: Online Editor in Chief, Social Media Editor of School Newspaper (ranked one of the best in the nation), 4th place at Nationals in Essay Contest, Reporter for Times of India, published article in JHU Imagine Magazine
Part of community ethnic youth group
Attended 3-week long eye-opening medical internship in India
Intern at drug awareness camp for teens
Member of prestigious JHU CTY program
Part of NHS, Debate, Model UN, SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions), HOSA, Neuroscience Club, South Asian Association
Job at Kumon

Honors/Awards:
HOSA International Finalist
HOSA State 1st Place
Two Presidential Volunteer Service Awards
National Essay Contest 4th Place
Newspaper National Awards for Online Website
Part of staff that won Newspaper Pacemaker (like Pulitzer for high school journalism)
Brain Bee Regional 5th Place
Video Presentation at Neuroscience 2017 Conference (largest neuroscience conference in world)
Science award from School Board of Education
Honorable Mention at MUNUC - Model UN Conference in Chicago
Created 30 pg independent study about the history of a scientific concept submitted to an organized that reviewed it and produced a good report

Volunteer/Community service (600+ hrs): Volunteering at hospital (200+ hours), Presidential Volunteer Service Award (Gold), involvement in local hospital youth group,
Summer Activities: Community service, aforementioned community organization, medical/science camps and internships at local universities
Essays: Interesting, unique essays combining my passion for journalism and science, also may include my childhood in India
Teacher Recommendation: Excellent from newspaper teacher, excellent from physics teacher, great from Spanish teacher
Counselor Rec: Actually getting one from principal - excellent
Other Recs: Rec from internship director and excellent rec from hospital volunteer coordinator

In my application, I will be talking about my passion for personal connection and why that motivates me to become a doctor. Some of my EC’s supplement that passion, I believe.

Thanks!

2

You’ve got a good of a shot as anyone…good luck?

You are definitely competitive for these schools.

3

Thank you. What does everyone else think? I can chance back if you’d like me to.

4

Bump. :slight_smile:

5

Indian/Asian so the bar is higher for you. Nothing jumps out at me in terms of what you enjoy most. Remember, for Stanford, you have to write about your intellectual vitality. Spend some time thinking about this.

6

You are a highly qualified applicant, but your chances at acceptance are pretty much a lottery. I don’t mean for this to be discouraging, but there are plenty of applicants with the same stats as you. Try to make yourself standout and hope for the best.

7

@preppedparent In terms of the intellectual vitality, I’d like to cite my internship in India as a supplement to my passion for science. My volunteer work at local clinics (I work directly with visitors) are also an indication of my interest in both science and personal connection. Those two point towards the type of doctor I’d like to be in the future.

Also, I agree that my EC’s are not incredibly distinct but I do think they are particularly focused. Would you agree?

And, my stats are not great (my GPA) but I’d like to make up for it through my EC’s and essays. In your honest opinion, does anyone think I’d be able to get into Stanford this way?

8

Anyone else haha? I can chance back. Thanks.

9

northsouth foundation :smiley:

10

I’d say your chances for Stanford ED are non-existent, as they don’t offer ED (only SCEA) :wink:

Seriously, though, you have good stats and your ECs are fine, but cut the hyperbole (e.g., JHU’s CTY isn’t all that prestigious – it’s a pay-to-play program and colleges know that. Do NOT describe a 3-week long medical internship as “eye-opening.”)

Beyond that, it’s a long shot for anyone.

11

Sorry to be blunt and honest:
You are an Asian Indian with money, who has bought his/her opportunities in India, and who aspires to be a doctor. I’ve never seen that before. /:slight_smile:
Seriously though, your stats are good but you appear to be a copy of every other ORM who “aspires” to be a doctor.

Stanford is extremely picky and has limited space for carbon copy students. Its an elite school.

It takes:
Celebrities’
Children of large/influential donors
Olympic Athletes
Students of international fame: Malala, Malia Obama (etc.)
Children of alumni (this isn’t a guarantee)
Then everyone else. It is a lottery.

Your laundry list of activities appears to show EC’s of “let-me-see-what-I-can-add-this-week” and may actually hinder your chances. Some of your activities:

appear to be “stretched”. Newsflash: Most kids are involved in ethnic youth groups. You’ve repeated your activities.
The more you add, the more the adcoms suspect how much has been exaggerated, since they know the amount of time involving EC’s, in high school, is limited: you can really only count activities that are completed in high school.

FWIW: All of my kids did “internships” at their local universities in high school. Did you conduct research? I bet not. My eldest wasn’t allowed to do that kind of work because of the liability policies of the university prohibiting hs students from some tasks. Adcoms are smart. Give them some credit.

12

@giantsfan3883 To answer your last question #6, no. I don’t think this will work. Too ordinary.

13

Your chances are about 1 in 20 for Stanford, and about 1 in 15 for the Ivy League athletic conference schools.

14

@“aunt bea”, I am sorry to say that regarding the summer internships, my all 3 kids did research involving chemicals while in high school, it is possible, but you have to prove in prior year by computer modeling and then moving to experiments while still in high school.

15

I agree many money can buy lot of opportunities, but poor kids can also get opportunities if they are persistent for free, opportunities are there, just you have to work extra hard for them, Adcom can see when teacher write about the poor kid grit in their recommendations

16

@giantsfan3883 no idea on chance, but sure you will end someplace good

17

I think some of these responses are a little too cynical :smiley:

I’m not an expert by any stretch of the imagination (just your average high school senior yay…) but I think your profile looks p impressive! First of all, I don’t think GPA is a deal-breaker at all (yours isn’t even that low), and your test scores are perfectly fine. I’d probably agree with some of the people above in that you shouldn’t talk about eye-opening internship experiences in your essays unless you can make it really unique to yourself, because that’s an insanely overused topic (also could turn out really cliché lol). Your ECs are extensive, which could be either good or bad, depending on how you can portray yourself in your essays. As long as you show passion and commitment when you apply, I think you have as good a chance as any other unhooked applicant. (Basically, make sure Stanford knows that you’re doing everything you do because you love it, not as resume padding or whatever).

Anyways, good luck this application season and don’t stress too much! (And don’t take any of these comments, mine included, too much to heart because LOL what do we know?).

18

I think youre very competitive and you have one of the most impressive resumes ive seen. Maybe chance me back? http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/2005601-how-can-i-have-an-actual-chance-please-enter.html#latest

19

I think you should cut out some EC in your list. This would make it seem like you are doing it less for the application.
Other than that, solid shot at most schools.

Chance me back?

20

Thank you for the advice guys! In regards to my list of EC’s, please note that the common app only allows people to list their top 10 activities and top 5 honors. Given this, I am not planning on incorporating all of those EC’s in my application, but rather only a select few that display my interests.

I’ve also received advice stating that my EC’s are not focused. I’d like to confirm if that’s the same way other people are feeling. The three major points I’d like to hit on in my application, although somewhat cliché, are:

  1. My ethnic heritage (born and raised in India).
  2. Someone who enjoys interacting with people and learning more about their troubles and life story (my community organization, albeit small, is focused on this).
  3. My passion for medicine, particularly neuroscience.

Do you think that if I hit on these points well enough in my app, I’d have a good shot at Stanford?

Finally, what do you think are my shots at a BS/MD program like Brown PLME and Northwestern HPME?

Thanks!