<p>So, I'm a freshman in high school, who just finished this year with a GPA of 3.5 (4 B's, 3 A's), and the previous semester was 3.2(3 A's, 3 B's, 1 C). How bad are my chances of getting into Stanford if I improve throughout my next 3 years? Any help would be appreciated.</p>
<p>GPAs aren’t everything…I’m also freshman in high school and have 4.0 GPA right now… I would think Stanford is a better school, if you are passionate about learning and it shows in your application, no doubt you can :)</p>
<p>The really question is how can you stand out from the crowd of applicants with GPA4.0 and near perfect scores in ACT/SAT?</p>
<p>Stanford does not even look at freshman year grades because many students have trouble adjusting to high school rigor! (And I’m not “just saying that”…they emphasize this point on their website.) As long as you get excellent grades in rigorous classes in the next three years, you should be on par with Stanford’s standards.</p>
<p>I mean, I guess the one thing that makes me stand out is that I’m working on an album right now, but I’m not even sure if that’s going to make me stand out. I also plan on playing badminton next year in sophomore year.</p>
<p>How bad are my chances at this point?</p>
<p>Everyone that applies to Stanford has excellent GPAs and SAT scores. Those things are pretty much a given, and you won’t get in without them. That being said, schools like Stanford look at extracurricular activities and awards more than other schools. Those are the things that separate every 2400 SAT / 4.0 GPA applicant from the next.</p>
<p>Playing on badminton as a sport isn’t really the type of extracurricular activity that they’re looking for. It certainly helps, but upper caliber schools expect to admit kids that demonstrate passion and skills in a specific area. There aren’t too many opportunities to do these things as a freshman, but you can find out what some of the activities that distinguish applicants by skimming this website.</p>
<p>In short, anything that would help you get into any college will help you get into Stanford. You just need to stick out from the other applicants in some way.</p>