Chances at Stanford?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I'm a rising senior at a rather pathetic public suburban high school in Texas. Its not too bad, just not very many kids get into top-tier schools. I'm applying to Stanford and Rice EA. I'll probably also apply to MIT, U Chicago, UC Berkeley, Harvey Mudd, and UT Austin RD. </p>

<p>Also, while our school rarely gets kids into Stanford, there's a bunch of kids applying this year, and one girl (our class prez and valedictorian) has a legacy there. Is that going to keep me out?</p>

<p>The Numbers: <------ I hate this part; its so shallow...
GPA: 4.5/4.5, UW: 4.0/4.0
SAT: 2260 (800 R, 720 M, 740 W)
SAT II: 800 Math II, 770 World Hist, 770 Physics
AP: Comp Sci A, World Hist, Spanish Lang 5; this year I took Calc BC, Comp Sci AB, APUSH, English Lang, Environ Sci, Physics B & C, but decided not to take Art Hist & Span Lit, which I took classes for</p>

<p>ECs:
FIRST Robotics Team - if you haven't heard about it, its building robots for certain "games" that change each year. Its the most fun in the world.
mentor FIRST Lego League (elementary schools) in fall
Aikido (martial art) since 3rd grade
Mu Alpha Theta, Founder & President
Red Cross Club (volunteering), President
Auxilio Spanish tutorial club, President - "Auxilio" is spanish for help
Comp Sci Team
Swimming JV, during 9th-11th, not going to do it next year</p>

<p>Honors:
Probably National Merit Semifinalist
Xerox Award for Technology (U Rochester)
5th place in Comp Sci Regionals
Superintendent Scholar - like a deans list kinda thing
AMC - never qualified for AIME, but always got highest score in school</p>

<p>This summer I'm volunteering a little before I go to Stanford for the summer; I'm going to take some classes and hopefully meet some professors.</p>

<p>So, is Stanford/MIT and the like out of the question, or do I have a chance? Should I have more safeties/fits? Be honest and don't spare me!</p>

2

<p>I definitely say you have a chance....you wont know unless you try, right? I think ur ECs need some work though. They seem a bit ordinary. As for your stats, they are excellent. But then again, i am not nearly as experienced as many of the other CCers here, so dont count on my opinoin. however, from my understanding, stanford and even MIT are VERY random. Good luck!</p>

3

<p>If you were consistently the high scorer for AMC at your school, but never qualified for AIME, that says a lot about the quality of students at your school...</p>

<p>In that vein, National Merit Semfinalist, 5th place in REGIONALS, and Superintendent scholar aren't viewed very highly, because pretty much everyone has them, or they're not worth noting. You say you love robotics, but you don't have a leadership position in it. Finally, your SAT is only average for Stanford.</p>

<p>High reach.</p>

4

<p>hardworker - thanks for the encouragement, and I do see that I'm a bit lacking in the super-good ECs and honors. I'm hoping to make up for it in my essays/recs.</p>

<p>Darcy - I know, my school is not very over-acheiverish... and I know my "honors" aren't that great, but how can I get better ones? I tried doing RSI this summer, but got rejected, and my counselors ignore and actively avoid helping me with scholarships/awards/etc. Is there any way, at this point, to get some awards? As for the robotics thing, we don't have officer positions, and I've done some major things, but our team is very egalitarian. How can I show I love it w/o officer positions? Would having won two regional competitions help? Also, my AMC was always 1 question away from qualifying ~:-(. But thanks for the criticism!</p>