<p>Just looking for some of your guys' advice.</p>
<p>Over the summer this year, I did some research and came to some interesting hypotheses. I bounced it off a family friend (EE) and he thought they were worth researching and potentially profitable if patented and worked as described. I approached the local innovation center (sort of a tech startup) and they were impressed with my hypotheses and are currently working with me on getting some money and research together to see if they hold water...</p>
<p>Here's the problem. The NIIC (Northeast Indiana Innovation Center) is working on a timetable incompatible with my current situation. I'm applying for college next month (regular decision, december 31st), and need some help setting my application apart from the thousands of other qualified individuals. I feel I have something special to offer in terms of diversity to the campus, but have no way of conveying my hypotheses to the admissions faculty (and I seriously doubt their willingness to digest them). I've been recommended to contact a professor who specializes in the field and insist that I am seriously interested in undergraduate research and for them to be my mentor. I have no idea where to start in a situation like that</p>
<p>How would I find these professors and what would be the appropriate way to approach them at first?</p>
<p>Also, how large of a hook would this be for college admissions?</p>
<p>First, get accepted to the university. After that (once you are a student there) you can ask around and find out which professor might potentially be interested in that kind of research, and will be willing to be your mentor. It will not be that difficult once you are a student in the university.</p>
<p>Don't try to do this as a hook for admissions -- it will be painfully transparent. However, your ideas could be a really good topic for Stanford's "intellectual vitality" essay.</p>
<p>I talked to my guidance counselor and presented her with the same presentation I gave to the NIIC. She didn't really understand it and felt admissions would probably feel the same way and not be impressed (unless they happened to be educated in the particular field) and felt that presenting it to a faculty member might give me a certain edge.</p>
<p>Was she was off? or was your comment directed towards presenting my ideas to Stanford admissions.</p>
<p>Other than the "intellectual vitality essay" how would you present this information to Stanford? </p>
<p>I had mostly As and a couple Bs freshman/sophomore year (wasn't focused), and As (a few Bs) junior/senior year. I've become progressively more successful each year.</p>
<p>I've taken the heaviest course load available (AP Calc, AP Bio, AP Chem, etc)</p>
<p>and have average SATs 650V, 720M, 580W. I'm taking the SAT IIs december first and am expecting a 600-700 in Chem (It's been a long time since I studied chemistry) and 700-800 in Math IIC. (I'm not a very good standardized test taker (make careless errors because of stress), which is why I believe my scores don't really reflect my true capabilities)</p>
<p>If my circumstance doesn't quality as a hook, s it even worth applying with these statistics?</p>
<p>No faculty member will want to spend time on you until you are a student at their institution. No professor will write you a recommendations based on ideas you present 2 weeks before the application deadline. You can mention your ideas in your application. (Any good scientist should be able to explain his research to any reasonably interested lay person in terms that he can understand.)</p>
<p>Stanford's application has a specific essay prompt:
"Stanford students are widely known to possess a sense of intellectual vitality. Tell us about an idea or an experience you have had that you find intellectually engaging."
This would be a perfect place to talk about your ideas.</p>
<p>Your scores are low for Stanford, and your chances are probably not very good. It sure helps to be a "good test taker", and not being one will hurt you, especially at top schools. There are a lot of applicants who are involved in research to various degrees. </p>
<p>Only you can decide if it is "worth applying". Most probably you will be rejected -- but that is true for 88% of the applicants.</p>
<p>what would you consider good matches and slight reaches? I'm very seriously interested in an intimate academic experience and undergraduate research.</p>
<p>also, does stanford weigh your writing score? I was under the impression that most schools did not place significance on it.</p>