Chances at Stanford? Cal?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hello everyone! First post, so be nice?
Anyway, I'm gonna preface this by saying that I'm still a sophomore in high school, so I know it is kind of early to be making this kind of thread, and I would totally understand if you decided not read on :). That being said, I recently visited Stanford, and, for lack of a better expression, it was awesome. I was always kind of indifferent to the "Ivy League" schools, but actually walking around the campus really made me want to try for it. </p>

<p>So, without further ado, here is some info about me:</p>

<p>General:
-Areas of interest for college: Some type of engineering, most likely (I haven't quite decided yet) with a possible minor in music
-Race: Chinese (technically first generation, since I was born there)
-School: Average ranking high school, small student body (~1000 students), California
-Family: Average to slightly higher that average income</p>

<p>Academics:
Classes taken and grades:
Freshman: GATE Advanced Algebra - A
GATE Biology - A
GATE English - A
GATE Geometry (summer school) - A
Spanish 1 - A
PE -A</p>

<pre><code> Sophomore: AP European History - A
Honors Pre-calculus - A
Academy (it's our school's career academy) - A
GATE Physics - A
GATE English - A
Spanish 2 - A
</code></pre>

<p>That's all I've got for that. I know, I know. But, I can say that I will be taking every AP and Honors class available for the next two years, and plan on having finished four year's worth of AP Calculus by senior year. </p>

<p>EC:
-School orchestra (I am currently concert master, which just means I am essentially the leader of the orchestra, if it matters)
-City Youth Symphony
-County honor orchestra
-School cross country team (though it's really nothing worth noting, since I'm not particularly good at it :P)
-Officer in school writing club
-More to come?</p>

<p>Volunteer:
This is huge weak spot for me right now. I do plan on getting into it really soon, and I am currently in contact with various organizations for opportunities. That being said, I do do a bit of work here and there whenever the opportunity presents itself, and I have accumulated a pretty meager twenty or so hours in various areas. </p>

<p>Questions:
So here is the moment of truth. I have a couple of questions for anyone who is kind (and patient) enough to have read this far.
1. How am I looking right now for getting into Stanford? Ignore the gaping holes in important information, and just tell me if I am on the right track or not.
2. Assuming my grades hold up (while taking the previously mentioned future AP and honors classes), and I get good amount of community service done, what else would I need to have a good chance at Stanford? More ECs? More leadership?
3. Assuming all the info in #2, what kind of SAT scores would I need?
4. If you're still reading, could you answer all of the above again for UC Berkeley? </p>

<p>Wow! You read my entire post! Thanks! I will be waiting anxiously for any replies I may or may not get.</p>

2

<p>It’s hard to tell right now.</p>

3

<p>So I figured. I know that I don’t have nearly enough information for someone to make an educated statement, so I was kind of just hoping for some information on how I am currently doing, and what more I need to do. Any information you could give me in that respect?</p>

4

<p>start doing some volunteering asap so you could get enough hours for things like nhs. what are GATE classes?</p>

5

<p>GATE stands for Gifted And Talented Education. They are essentially the highest level classes available (other than AP, of course). They are replaced by honors classes around sophomore/junior year. I think a lot of other states/schools call “GATE” “Honors”.
Does this help?</p>

6

<p>Bump for more information?</p>

7

<p>Here’s my opinion on what you should work on.
You said you wanted to work a lot more on volunteering. I say don’t and pursue establishing a club/foundation/notable organization. It will stand out more because everyone and their sister has 400+ hospital hours nowadays.
If you can get a research position.
Try and become close to a teacher now so you will have personal recommendation letters.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

8

<p>Maintain your A’s and you’re definitely in at Cal. Stanford is a whole other story.</p>

9

<p>^^^ Not sure about “definitely in at Cal”, specially if we’re talking about admissions to the College of Engineering or College of Chemistry. The admit rates at those two colleges are something like 10% (that’s 1 admit for every 10 applicants). The stats of the admitted students are similar to Stanford admits’ stats. Now, if the OP is planning on applying to the College of Letters and Science, then the figures and chances would be different.</p>

10

<p>@SwedishM8 That’s what I was afraid of. But do you mean “a whole other story” as in “nothing is guaranteed”, or as in “you have no chance at all”?</p>

11

<p>You are solid for Cal assuming you grades stay the same and your SAT scores back them up. You fit the UC admissions criteria almost perfectly and since all they really do is look at is your grades, SAT/ACT and then glance at your essays it seems like you are good. </p>

<p>Stanford is a whole different ballgame because Stanford is going to care a lot less about your grades and test scores because there are thousands of other people with the same or better scores. Whats going to make the difference at Stanford is your ECs (still assuming your grades stay the same and testing is good). Keep doing orchestra, and keep cross country because its good to stick with something. Make yourself UNIQUE, Add some volunteer work or something, since your an engineering person a service trip would look really good if you built something. Take the SAT subject tests next year and earlier senior year if you want to. I would say take Math level 2 and a science because you want to do engineering.</p>

<p>So by senior year if your
-Grades are 3.90-4.00 unweighted with a challenging course load
-SAT in the 2300-2400 range
-SAT Subjects tests are both around 700-800 range
-You do some good volunteer work
-You keep doing music

  • stay with your clubs
  • write great essays
  • and get great teacher recommendations
    I would give you about a 30% chance because there at least a thousand other people applying who have those same qualifications.</p>

<p>Good luck, keep up the hard work.</p>

12

<p>Nothing is guaranteed for Stanford. Do as much as you can and just hope for the best.</p>

<p>@RML
If the OP proceeds academically the way he is right now, rest assured he’ll most likely get into Cal. He’s an instate resident too. True, nothing is guaranteed, but the chances are most definitely in his favor.</p>

13

<p>I think your ECs are well rounded but I don’t see something that sticks out. Top schools love to see passion of some sort! I don’t know if joining more ECs would help, but definitely continue what you are already in to show that you stick to what you do. Less committed ECs could be seen as just a way to pad a resume. Your grades are good, but keep in mind many people applying to these schools will have the same good grades as you if not better. Find something that makes you stick out. Good luck on the rest of your high school career</p>