Chances for a Reach school

<p>Hi guys, here it goes. I'm applying for Stanford, but it's kind of just a reach because my GPA might not be up to par. I'm just wondering if it's even worth thinking of it as a possibility, or if I should just forget about it now.</p>

<p>I'm a senior in High School. I don't know my GPA exactly because my school cant get the cummulative one without printing a full transcript, and that wont be ready till Monday.</p>

<p>Personal
Race: Asian/Indian
Income: High
Recommendations from my AP Teachers
Good Essays(In my opinion anyways. Ive generally been told by my English teachers that I write at a very high level, and generally always get perfect scores on essays for school, so I figure it must be at least decent.)</p>

<p>Grades: A mix of A's and B's, but more A's. Usually like 5 or 6 out of 7 being A's. I go to a public school that is only a couple years old and thus not well known, but before I moved, I spent Freshman and Sophomore years at a very highly ranked public school, generally considered one of the best in the State. I've taken the most challenging course load possible for my school, which I'm hoping will allow colleges to overlook the occasional B.</p>

<p>Scores: PSAT: 231
SAT: 2290
Reading: 740
Writing: 750
Math: 800
ACT: 33 Composite
English: 35, 12 on Writing
Math: 34
Reading: 33
Science: 31</p>

<p>Im a National Merit Semifinalist and an AP Scholar with Honors.</p>

<p>APs:
-European History, 10th Grade, 5
-US History, 11th Grade, 5
-Calculus BC, 11th Grade, 5 on BC, 4 on AB subscore
-English Lang, 11th Grade, 5
-Government, 12th Grade
-English Lit, 12th Grade
-Statistics, 12th Grade
-Physics C, 12th Grade
-Biology, 12th Grade
-Economics, 12th Grade, This one is a self-study, because I signed up for it last year, but the course was cut from my school's curriculum. I'm still taking the honors course though.</p>

<p>Also, those courses constitute all of my courses for this year except for I'm also taking a Forensic Science course.</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
Cross Country: Ive been on the Varsity team since Sophomore year, I ran for a very competitive team, we ran State, coming in 4th Place overall. After moving, my new team was not as competitive, but I managed to reach State level as an individual, finishing in the top 30. I ran at the National level for the USATF junior olympics Freshman year.</p>

<p>Track and Field: Varsity level since Sophomore year once again, I was the Conference champion that year in the Fresh/Soph Indoor conference, and the 2 mile Outdoor Conference Runnerup for Varsity. I was an alternate on the State 4x800 team which came in 2nd at State. Junior year I was the Conference, District, and Regional Champ for the Mile, and came in 3rd for State, hopefully I'll be State Champion this year.</p>

<p>Running is more or less my only extracurricular, since I spend both of the offseasons in training and don't have much extra time. I volunteer here and there, about 80 hours spread around. I hear that showing "passion" in one specific extracurricular is just as good as having a bunch of other ones. I wasn't Team captain for either sport becasue the captain had to be a senior, but I will be captain for both now.</p>

<p>Appreciate any input, just wondering if it's worth keeping hope alive with this application, seeing as I don't have a ton of extracurriculars and not Perfect grades or Test scores.</p>

<p>go for it, what have you got to lose?</p>

<p>You seriously look like you have a good shot.</p>

<p>Oh and just curious whats your mile time?</p>

<p>You have a shot.</p>

<p>One thing many students seem to misunderstand is what makes for a good essay. While strong writing skills are certainly a plus, the subject matter, content and voice are the keys to a good application essay.</p>

<p>Thanks for the input guys, I guess Ill just have to hope for the best.</p>

<p>And my Mile time was 4:19 as a PR last year, but if that seems like it’s not amazing, keep in mind that Im in the South right now, so its good for this area as opposed to say, somewhere in the Midwest.</p>

<p>Not good enough for Stanford though, apparently you need like a 4:12 to fit on their track team, so I need to drop a few seconds this year.</p>

<p>Dude thats amazing, as a frosh I ran a 5:15 do you think I have any potential?</p>

<p>you have a decent shot by my standards. SAT-wise you fall within the right range. the school is just so hard to get into but you have nothing to lose so go for it. your not a longshot at all.</p>