Chance me?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Stanford University
1

<p>School Type: Large, public, sends some to top schools
State: CT</p>

<p>UW GPA: 3.86 – 96.5% average
Soph: 3.73, Jr: 4.0
Rank: 12/500+
W GPA: 4.44 w/ frosh, soph & junior GPA’s, 4.59 w/ just soph & junior. GPA’s
AP’s (can only take in junior & senior yrs): Lang & Comp: 5, Psych: 5, US: 5, Chem: 5, Enviro: 5 (self-studied)
Senior schedule: AP Lit, AP Spanish, AP Euro, AP Bio, AP Calc AB, Photography</p>

<p>SAT: 2290
M: 710 CR: 800 W: 780</p>

<p>EC’s:
Writing: Editor in chief of literary & arts magazine, contributing writer for school newspaper & various other publications, Interned at a local magazine, In the midst of publishing a novel (as a result of winning a national comp.)
Awards: 3 national, 4 regional</p>

<p>Environment: President of environmental club, Intern with city’s waste department Spearheaded compost pilot program & organic garden at my school which served as a model for all public schools in my city, Worked on city recycling campaign – increased recycling rate by 10%, Taught elementary and middle school students how to compost & garden, Organized the first Earth Day Fair in my city
Awards: 1 national, 2 local</p>

<p>Photography: Founder & President of Photography Club, Run my own photography blog, Started a small business in which members of the club sell our prints on Etsy & all proceeds go to local causes
Awards: 2 national, 3 regional</p>

<p>Guitar: Founder & President of Guitar Club... We perform at senior centers, nursing homes and hospitals </p>

<p>Summers:
Intern w/ city’s waste department
Worked on composting
Tons of reading, writing and photography
Self-studied chemistry
Took Alg. II
UVA Writing Workshop
Interning with an environmental studies professor at Yale</p>

<p>Volunteerism: Worked with special needs child for 3 years (including senior year)…will be total of about 150 hours, playing guitar @ hospitals, nursing homes etc, selling photography for local causes</p>

<p>Work Experience: Babysitting & waitressing</p>

2

<p>If this is all actually legit you seem like a clear admit.</p>

3

<p>What is your race?</p>

4

<p>Given the 2014 results, I’d say 8-10%</p>

5

<p>i completely disagree with llpitch.</p>

<p>you seem to be a similar type of applicant as i was (not anywhere near identical but similar), but your rank might hurt a little bit. CT, NY, MA, and NJ are on a similar type of level, and ranking in the top 1% or top 2% helps a lot. If you can possibly bring your rank up to 10, i think that might help.</p>

6

<p>Thanks. I’m white.</p>

<p>I’m not positive about my rank, to tell you the truth. My school won’t reveal that information until the end of June.</p>

<p>I’m not so sure if I’ll be able to get in the top 10. I didn’t take all H’s my freshman year, which hurt my rank. Though, I took more AP’s than the average junior does (4)… most take up to 3. I’m hoping that this will help me.</p>

7

<p>Also, I’m working on my SAT Math score :]</p>

8

<p>Dad2, what would make my chances significantly higher? A better SAT score?</p>

9

<p>bookwormer, my suggestion for improvingyour chances would be to make sure your essays fully and cogently highlight your interests in environmentalism. Showcase the fact that your studies, EC’s, internships, etc. all reflect your commitment to the environment, and discuss ways in which you expect to continue developing that commitment at Stanford, both academically and otherwise. Ideally, one of your recommendations will also touch on that theme. Good luck!</p>

10

<p>Thanks a lot, zenkoan! I’ll make sure to emphasize my passion for environmentalism and get a stellar recommendation from my city’s head of waste/recycling (I’ve worked with him since my sophomore year)</p>

11

<p>Sure thing, bookwormer. You might also consider closely following developments in the sadly-ongoing oil-gushing disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, studying how various parties (scientific, governmental, political, corporate) respond to it (or don’t respond to it), and assessing the implications for the future of alternative energy development versus continuing reliance on fossil fuels. Or are you ahead of me on this one? ; )</p>

12

<p>Wow - are you also interested in the environment?</p>

<p>Are you suggesting that I do a research project on this topic? That is a great idea…I just wouldn’t know where to start.</p>

13

<p>^I don’t see how any of us can afford not to be interested in the environment! But since you clearly are and have been for some time, yes, I’m suggesting you do a research project as the current crisis unfolds, if you can devote the time to it. To start, I’d suggest reading everything you can on the subject (from a very wide variety of news sources and journals, to limit bias). Then, depending on what you want to focus on specifically, you might consider contacting a professor of environmental science at a university in your area to get his or her input for refining your thesis and for guiding your progress.</p>

14

<p>He’s already top 3%…you think being top 2% would actually make a difference? And that’s just assuming he is 12/500. He said 500+ so maybe he actually is top 2% already.</p>

<p>Obviously he won’t be a clear admit if he writes bad essays, but he seems like he has everything under control already. I assume he already knows he needs to write personal essays that show his passions.</p>

15

<p>Have you done a research project before? This sounds really interesting. What would be the goal? To publish my findings?</p>

16

<p>I’m a girl :]
Thanks, llpitch. I’m obviously strong in writing (as evidenced by my awards and achievements), so I think that my essays should be pretty good.</p>

17

<p>bookwormer, the goals of doing research at this point might include gaining a deeper understanding of the subject of your passion, learning how to critically evaluate and analyze relevant sources from across the ideological spectrum, and maybe to publish your findings, depending on the outcome of your work. I think it’s a worthwhile proposition even if your findings don’t get published. OTOH, if they do, I’d say that could be a nice little enhancement to your college applications, to come back full circle to the beginning of your thread. : ) Go for it!</p>

18

<p>Got it…I’ll definitely consider doing something like this!</p>

<p>Out of curiosity, are you in high school? You seem pretty knowledgeable.</p>

19

<p>^ Why, thank you. And no longer in high school. : )</p>

20

<p>Oh snap I can’t use words to describe how inspired I am right now! You’re so low-key and humble about it too!</p>

<p>I started reading the replies but I just kind of skipped to the end so I’m sorry if I repeat some things.</p>

<p>At this point I honestly wouldn’t worry about your class rank anymore. Nothing to do about it really and your rank is already pretty insane. Plus I think they’ll understand that you’re really involved in the world around you-stanford wants energetic peeps not just bookworms :)</p>

<p>Show the admissions officer your passion. It sounds like you took the inititive to plow your own pathway towards your goals. No one showed you the way, you did it yourself. On top of that, you’re taking your experiences and skillsets and applying them in ways that help your community. You have passion, you’re doing something with it, and gosh I’m inspired! I’m pretty sure you have lots of ambition! </p>

<p>In terms of what to do now extracuricularly for your senior year, I agree with zenkoan. You have a broad range of talents that all compliment each other. If you do decide to research, and you just can’t seem to publish it nationally, then you can always start raising awareness locally and spread outward. Maybe even start a fundraiser. Oh and you can always write to different professors from different universities.</p>

<p>What helps though, depending on availability and your free time, is finding a mentor. Do you live by any labs or universities? If yeah, then start searching for mentors. Most professors will say no cuz they’re usually pretty busy, but don’t forget about grad students!</p>

<p>You’ve probably already done this, but just in case you haven’t, you can always combine your extracurriculars. Use your writing and photographic talent to start awareness campaignes or something about the environment or something else that you really care about.</p>