<p>I've got a feeling I'll get more accurate, focused replies here than in the chances forum.</p>
<p>Nationality: Israeli (Jewish)
*currently in Thailand, have lived here for 6 years.
School: International, Private
Relatives: uncle got his PhD from Stanford, went on to be a president of a prestigious university and is now a high profile political character.</p>
<p>SATs:
SAT 1 - CR 700, M 700, WR 770.
SAT 2 - Math2 720, Physics 730.</p>
<p>IGCSEs:
Did mathematics a year early, A
Additional mathematics instead of the second year of normal mathematics, B
Double Award Science, A* A* (two A<em>s)
Geography, A</em>
Business Studies, A*
Information Computer Technology, A
Design and Technology, A*
English Lit + Lang, AA (two As)</p>
<p>IB predicted grades: (diploma student)
Physics HL - 7
Chemistry HL - 7
Mathematics HL - 7
English A1 SL - 7
Business and Management SL - 7
Spanish Ab Initio SL - 7
Extended Essay + Theory of Knowledge - 3 extra points
Total 45/45
*The most rigorous IB course, and the highest possible predicted grade.</p>
<p>Major ECs (there are more, but there are my main ones which I have put a lot of effort into):
-Founder of Amnesty International club in my city. During the last 4 years we have built an educational centre in the city slums and taught destitute children English and maths.
-Interact Rotary Club, club committee chairperson and secretary. I have initiated 3 projects that included raising money for an orphanage, as well as worked as a gardener and painter (wall painting, that is) there.
-I have been delegated twice by my school to go on international conferences sponsored by the Round Square organization (which is a group of schools all around the world working towards Internationalism, Democracy, Environmentalism, Adventure, Leadership, and Service) once to Singapore and once to Canada.
-I have been elected School Prefect and the Leadership Pillar Leader.
-I've been playing tennis (non-varsity, we don't have that in Thailand) for over 5 years.
-I've been playing guitar for over 6 years.
-I've been a part of the drama club and participated in 6 major school productions over the last 6 years. (I put this in because I love drama and I wanted to show some variety to my ECs)
-I have set up my own graphics and web design company with a few friends overseas. We target small-medium businesses in the city I reside in.
-I am a certified (I've taken a course) peer mentor, this means helping students to deal with issues such as bullying, problems at home, etc...
*My school gives a lot of internal opportunities for ECs, but we never compete on national or international scales. Does Stanford take into account that not everyone can enter NASA sponsored competitions, etc?...</p>
<p>Recommendations: Very Good
Essays: I think are very good and unique:
-Activity Essay: about how I was inspired by Peter Dalglish (a human rights lawyer, founder of Street Kids International, and an admissions officer at Stanford) in a Round Square conference to take initiative, and how I founded the Amnesty International branch in my city, how we built the educational centre, etc...
-Main Commonapp Essay: about my encounter and friendship with a guy my age from the other side of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. How this friendship and a war that came shortly after changed me and taught me about my strengths and weaknesses. This was a very humble (humanizing) essay with a lot of critical thinking, but still showed a strong character that stands from what it (I) believe(s) in.
-Stanford Intellectual Essay: about the intellectual challenge posed by the Holocaust to me as a third-generation-to-the-Holocaust in Israel. My obligations to individually resolve this challenge, how it affects my religious and moral views, and how it led me to work with organizations such as Amnesty International.
-Stanford Roommate Essay: about moving from Israel to Thailand on the day of my Bar Mitzvah, struggling with the new culture, overcoming it, and what I take from it to my college and roommate experiences.
-Why Stanford Essay: this one was really unique. I started with a reference to Mass Effect (a video game) - about an alien race where young aliens leave their home world in search of knowledge to better their society, how I felt that it reflects the society I grew up in and my life's "mission", how I left my home country to absorb other cultures and expand my horizons, and how Stanford will allow me to continue in this path. I also mentioned why and how this would help me to contribute to Stanford.</p>
<p>Overall I tried to show passion towards society and knowledge in general. My Stanford essays (and the common app one) all had a common theme which was my home country (I am really passionate about my country and learning about new cultures) which I think will give the application itself a fluent feel to it. I integrated my most important ECs (Amnesty and Round Square) into the essays (Activity essay, Common App Essay, Intellectual [though not much] essay) but haven't gone into immense detail about them. That means I haven't made it the main focus of my application.</p>
<p>I read somewhere that Stanford "likes" middle easterns, is that true?
Also, I think I stand out as an international because I am not merely from another country but from two very culturally distinct countries.</p>
<p>What do you think?
Do I have a chance?</p>
<p>Thanks for the repliers,
-TomBor</p>
what international school do you go to? I’m a Thai studying in an international school too. :)</p>