<p>Hi, I'm on the fence of whether or not I should apply to Stanford. Please tell me if I have a good chance or not. * Please * be honest because I don't want to spend a ton of time on an application just to be an applicant with little to no chances. Thanks.</p>
<p>** Background Info ** [ul]
[<em>] State: Iowa
[</em>] Gender: male
[<em>] Ethnicity: Asian
[</em>] School: private [/ul]</p>
<p>** Academics ** [ul]
[<em>] GPA: 4.07 W, 3.98 UW (taken most rigorous schedule possible, 1 B+ 9th grade)
[</em>] AP's: Euro (4), Chem, Calculus BC, Language & Composition
[<em>] ACT: 33 (35E, 33R, 32M, 31S, 10W -- will retake)
[</em>] SAT II's: Math II (800), Chem (690 -- will retake) [/ul]</p>
<p>** Extra-Curriculars ** [ul]
[<em>] Forensics: compete in individual event (HI) and duet event (DA); 1x state champ in HI; 1x state runner-up in HI; 3x district champ in HI; 3x conference champ in HI; 1x state runner-up in DA; 2x state bronze in DA; 3x district champ in DA; 24 reg. season medals
[</em>] Academic Decathlon: 1x state champ in Hard Sciences, Honors (math & econ), 1x regionals champ in math, 1x regionals runner-up in econ; led team's scoring in math; 1x bronze medal in conference quiz bowl
[<em>] Math Club: 3x UNL Math Day state champ as team; participant on UNL Math Day state champ quiz bowl team; 1x runner-up at NW Missouri State competition, 5th place at NW Missouri State Competition
[</em>] Golf: varsity letter; JV MVP; JVP Most Improved; JV Best Sportsmanship
[li] Tennis: varsity letter [/ul]</p>[/li]
<p>** Research ** [ul]
[li] Summer 2011 at Creighton University School of Medicine Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology [list][/li][li] Research prion diseases; 7 hours a day [/ul] [/list]</p>[/li]
<p>** Volunteering ** [ul]
[<em>] Teen Volunteer at local hospital
[</em>] National Honor Society
[<em>] Cross-Age
[</em>] other minor things [/ul]</p>
<p>oh, for this year’s AP’s, I got: Chem (3), Calc BC (5), AB subscore (5), Lang (5)</p>
<p>Strong stats + strong ECs and awards + research = very good shot at getting in. You should definitely apply, assuming you feel that Stanford is for you.</p>
<p>Really? “very good shot”? In complete honesty, I find that very surprising haha I’ll look into more top-top tier schools and see which I like best. Anyone else? Also, any advice?</p>
<p>i wouldn’t call it a very good shot, not even a good shot. your ECs don’t stand out. your record is ho hum for S. should apply of course, who knows.</p>
<p>Thanks. I admire honesty.</p>
<p>You think I’m being dishonest? I’m not. People on this forum are overwhelmingly high school students who know nothing about Stanford’s admissions and who are very harsh on each other. Then they all look like idiots when the results come out and those students who were deemed unlikely to get in end up getting in - or sometimes, those “unlikely” students get likely letters (i.e. are the top 100-150 applicants that year).</p>
<p>Notice also that I said “very good shot” (i.e. you aren’t going to be out of the running in the first reading), not “very high probability of getting in” or “very good chance.” Almost nobody has a high chance of getting in.</p>
<p>Your ECs do stand out quite a lot. Most immature students on here think, “No laundry list? No chance!” but the reality is, having too many ECs harms your chances. You have a few focused ECs with many awards to go with them. Having a focus is a plus and having awards to support them is an even bigger plus; it adds cohesion to your application. The research makes it even stronger and follows the math/science theme. The sports and volunteering are just icing on the cake. Your ECs are strong because they do follow a focus, and that’s what conveys a “passion” or “intellectual vitality” on the app. You should intend to make your application as cohesive as possible, with the theme showing up in every part, from your awards to your ECs to your essays to your recs. They lied to you when they told you that Stanford appreciates well-rounded students and focused students equally; the latter has a much higher success rate, as the ‘results’ threads show. It’s even hinted at by the ‘intellectual vitality’ essay itself.</p>
<p>Add on top of that the strong stats and your home state (an uncommon one), and anyone who knows even an iota about Stanford’s admissions will tell you, yes, you have a pretty good shot.</p>
<p>^thanks. And I didn’t mean you were dishonest. Thanks for the response though.</p>
<p>I calculate your chances to be around 7%.</p>
<p>I agree with Phanta your stats look very good. If you like Stanford definitely apply. Good Luck!!!</p>
<p>Hi. Update: I got a 34 ACT in September. I know it’s not much improvement, but it’s something, right? Anyway, I was wondering… I really want to get into Stanford, but everyone’s saying that RD’s easier. Should I apply RD or SCEA (which I’m planning on right now)?</p>
<p>In my honest opinion, I think you should apply RD. I’m not trying to be rude, but, generally, during SCEA most of the spots got to athletes, holy ***** are you human applicants, and URM’s. You’re obviously not a URM, but instead a ORM. So, wait and apply RD. But, it’s your call and I’m just giving you my honest opinion.</p>
<p>Have a great day!</p>
<p>Thanks! I get what you’re saying.</p>
<p>How does your school calculate weighted GPA’s? I’m asking because there doesn’t seem to be much of a difference between your weighted and unweighted GPA’s. The difference between the two is nine-tenths of a point.</p>
<p>I believe an A is 4.5 for AP and 4 for regular. But they limit how many AP’s we can take: 1 sophomore year, 3 junior year, 4 senior year.</p>
<p>What about honors?</p>
<p>There’s not honors at my school. Just AP’s. But it’s a competitive school. It’s a small private school with about 35 kids per grade, but 5-7 kids go to top-tier schools.</p>
<p>There’s no way you’re going to be accepted with that B+ you got in 9th grade. >:]</p>
<p>I jest, of course.</p>
<p>I didn’t know I had to send in my SAT’s. Well on the first one, I got: 770M, 720W, 670R (2160)… second one I got: 740M, 800W, 660R. </p>
<p>Will those kill me</p>