Chances for EA

Colleges and Universities A-Z Stanford University
1

<p>Hi, I am appluying EA for class of 2014. I just finished visiting Stanford and I have to say that is a great campus. Since I have legacy at Stanford with my brother and my family might move to California next year, I am going to apply to Stanford EA. I just got back my SAT II scores from June and AP scores</p>

<p>Ethnicity: Asian unfortunently
Gender: Male
Location: Domestic
School: Public, it's not ranked
Financial Aid: Y but we make like 100K+, so I don't know if they will accept
Major: Biophysics</p>

<p>SAT: 2290
SATII: 800 Math II, 800 Chemistry, 780 US History, 630 Chinese (is there SC, because that is a crappy score-I took this one in 9th grade before my other 3 which I took June 2009)
ACT: Will not take
GPA: 4.00 Unweighted, 4.7 Weighted if you do the typical 4 for regular/5 for non-regular, but I think only Unweighted matters
Rank: Since no one can get above 4.0, tied for #1 Unweighted. I am not going to ask my classmates for Weighted GPA
Other Tests: Taken 11 AP tests, all 4/5s except Physics C. So National AP Scholar for sure</p>

<p>Essays: Don't know yet, but I might write about my family situation
Teacher Recs: I will get one from either Calculus or AP Chem teacher for sure for the Science rec. I want to provide a humanities one also to show diversity and I will consider my AP U.S. History teacher
Counselor Rec: Luckily, I have the counselor with all Asians since she does the end of the alphabet. This is beneficial because she will have experience with writing recs to top colleges
Supplementary Material: I will send research data and maybe a violin tape, if that makes a difference, but I doubt it will since I am not nationally recognized
Hook: Legacy with my brother at Stanford. He's currently a Ph.D. student there in Computer Science. Is that really a hook though?</p>

<p>Extracurriculars: This is my initial raw order
1. Physics Intern-I have done this for the last 3 years. I work with college students, including one from Harvard, and we do some basic applied physics research. I have basically learned 2x as much as what I would have learned in school. I also collect data for a professor, as he works with eletromagnetic fields and their relationship to different things.</p>

<ol>
<li>Research-Since I cannot submit anything from my internship since its an internship, my professor recommened me to also do research with his wife. His wife does research on breast cancer, and especially wants to see how certain proteins, and RNA react to breast cancer and how they change throughout the stages. The background is actually in physics and in gene regulation. </li>
</ol>

<p>I am doing this project with a partner for the Siemens Team Competition. I will serve as the Group Leader. However, I have a slight problem. It says on the website I cannot work with humans. Is this counted as working with humans??? This would suck because I have been working since January of this year just for Siemens.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Violin-This is probably my best EC. I am in the top, Symphony, Orchestra at my school and might serve as 1st violin. We have tons of state recognition so its not that I am posisbly 1st violin of a crappy orchestra. I have been playing for 12 years and I might submit a tape.</p></li>
<li><p>Community Service-During the winter, I volunteered over 100 hours at St. Vincent's Hospital. I also have about 50 hour each each year for Key Club and I am also in some smaller community service things</p></li>
<li><p>Science Olympiad-President. If you don't know what SO is, its basically a fun competition where you get to physically and mentally work with science activities and compete with other schools. As president, I get to choose the teams and I basically organize everything for the teams. </p></li>
<li><p>School Newspaper: I am the Head Technician of our newspaper and I am also an editor. It's a pretty good newspaper, and I do a lot for it. I probably work like 3 hours after school each week editing formats and stuff.</p></li>
<li><p>I am considering either (1) Misisonary Trip to Africa where we visited many ravaged places, (2) Math Club where I have made AIME, or (3) If I get this huge leadership role in one of the biggest clubs in our school early next year, I think I will put that.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Awards: This might be my total undoing</p>

<ol>
<li><p>National Merit Semifinalist. My score was higher than everycut score from every state last year</p></li>
<li><p>National Ap Scholar: This is guaranteed with my AP Scores that I just got back.</p></li>
<li><p>AIME: I barely made the AIME the last 2 years, but hey, I still made it. However, will it be frowned upon because I heard its not a big deal making AIME because so many people have not heard of it, and I will just be this guy who got a lucky opportunity.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>4., 5: No idea. I might put some school awards or I might put some smaller Chemistry, math, and physics regional awards.</p>

<p>Of course, if I get something in Siemens/ISEF/Intel then I will put that, but I don't even know if I can submit my prouject to Simenes? And that is the only one before the deadline for application!</p>

2

<p>My essay might be what I am doing this summer.</p>

<p>I am busy everyday from ike 8 in the moring to 5 at night. I basically work 8 hours a day.</p>

<p>My internship is lenient in that I don’t have to go everyday. The professor let me do this because he knows I am doing another research project, one that I cna do with my own data. However, everyday, I am working, either at the library, where I am now, at my INternship, or at the lab for my research project.</p>

<p>I basically work 40 hours/week, like a normal person, and I do so many things. Infact, I am so busy I don’t even have time to watch TV or watch Youtube at home because I have to read up on things and calculate things at home.</p>

<p>My research, as I already described, is over breast cancner and specific proteins and their reactions. </p>

<p>I think I will write about this in my long essay and use the Short Answer to describe my trip to Africa so I can have 8 activitiers. Or is that not allowed, does it need to be one of the 7?</p>

3

<p>Also, is it legacy if your dad worked at Palo Alto not as a professor though? Because then I have double legacy.</p>

<p>And we might move back next year because of my dad’s job.</p>

4

<p>I’m not particularly good w/ chance threads but I’ll give this a shot and try to address every aspect of your application.</p>

<p>Ethnicity- well, you don’t have a URM hook but being Asian doesn’t necessarily put you at a disadvantage; plenty of Asians get into Stanford
Financial aid- families that make 100K+ can still qualify for financial aid; it probably won’t be a lot though</p>

<p>Stats- your SAT score looks strong; so do your SAT IIs for Math, Chem, and US Hist. I find it interesting that you haven’t taken the Biology SAT II or Physics SAT II since your major is Biophysics (just a thought). And although your Chinese score is a little low, it makes a big difference if you are a native speaker. If you’re a native speaker, then the Chinese score may hurt your chances a little. If you’re not, then that’s fine–languages are hard anyway (especially Chinese!) Your GPA is also very good and the fact that you’ve taken a lot of APs will definitely help.</p>

<p>Essays- it’s still early in the process so that’s okay if you don’t know. But remember that Stanford does place a lot of weight on its essays–so make sure you take the time to thoughtfully write them; try to avoid cliche topics-just be straightforward and sincere</p>

<p>Teacher recs- while it’s nice to show yourself as a well-balanced student by getting a science and humanities rec, remember to pick teachers who know you well. This is the best way to avoid the generic-cut-and-paste letter syndrome that can sabotage the best applications.</p>

<p>Counselor rec- slightly confused by your comment w/ counselor getting the end of the alphabet w/ experience writing to top colleges?</p>

<p>Supplementary- definitely send in the research stuff–I think it’ll be a unique part of your application. Think about the violin tape–only if you’re very confident in your talent, you should send it in. From what you’ve written, you sound like a very capable player, but it’s really up to you.</p>

<p>Hook- I believe they do consider the fact if your sibling went to Stanford. Again, not quite sure if it’s a hook.</p>

<p>Extra-curriculars- I like how your interests focus around math/science and the violin. Your research in physics and breast cancer seem very impressive. I suggest you focus on those. You’ve also done community service and newspaper so you can put those towards the end of your app (since it seems you spend more time w/ your research). Let your passion for your extra-curriculars shine in your essays.</p>

<p>Awards- they aren’t terribly important but they help show how far you’ve advanced in your coursework and extra-curriculars. Remember, there isn’t one BEST activity or award. It’s just have much time and effort you’ve invested in it. National Merit Semi-Finalist is pretty impressive (I only made Commended) but definitely try for the Siemens! Good luck!</p>

<p>Final notes- Looking at your last two posts, it seems you’ve already decided on some of your essays. It’s great that you’re deciding to write about research–just make sure the essay doesn’t end up turning into a research paper! :slight_smile: Keep in mind about the length of the CommonApp essay- usually a good essay length is between 500-700 words, unless you have some way to compel readers to read 1000+ words. Also your question about your dad being a legacy. I think that a legacy is if any of your immediate family has attended the college you’re apply to (in this case, Stanford). So, I’m not sure if your dad’s job may count as a legacy. But remember that legacy is just a hook. There’s plenty in your application that speaks to your strengths. Just remember to keep up the rigor of your senior coursework.</p>

<p>If you need any clarification, you can just PM me. Sorry for this long post!</p>

5

<p>Thanks for the feedback.</p>

<p>My mom told me to take it in Chemistry because she said that it would look good to have bio, chem, and physics. I don’t have anyother things in Chem except American Chemical Society Awards which are not that prestigious.</p>

<p>I am a native speaker. The problem is that I first of all, didn’t even remember taking it. It was in 9th grade and when I checked my SAT II scores, I was actually surprised that I took it in 9th grade. Then I remembered that I did, and it was because my mom told me to take it because I am Chinese. However, I was super rusty, and did not do as well.</p>

<p>Does Stanford allow score choice, because theres no way I want to submit that score.</p>

<p>Hopefully I can submit my Siemens project.</p>

6

<p>I remember reading somewhere that, whilst Stanford does not allow score choice for SAT I, it’s fine for SAT II. It highly recommends SAT II, so I doubt that if you were to send in scores you’d have to send them all in.</p>

7

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<p>So I don’t like chance threads but I do have good knowledge about the Siemens.</p>

<p>You can work with humans given that you follow the guidelines </p>

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<p>[Siemens</a> Competition](<a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools)</p>

8

<p>It seems like your brother could give you the best advice. But since you asked, your ECs look good. Of course, when you list them on the application you want to describe each EC with a few key words or a short sentence at most.</p>

<p>The research is your main distinguishing factor. If you could get something published, that would be impressive. Otherwise you should definitely find an interesting way to describe it in one of the essays.</p>

<p>I have a different take on some things than have been previously stated. Please check this stuff out for yourself with the admissions office. I don’t think you will gain anything by submitting raw research data as supplementary material. The admissions officer will not understand it and will be bored by it.</p>

<p>I don’t think you will be able to submit a violin tape unless you are applying for some type of major where you would be playing the violin. The standard admissions officer would not be qualified to evaluate your violin playing ability and would not listen to the tape. You should check on this before sending a tape.</p>

<p>Here is another thing you should check on. It was my understanding that the testing agency for SAT II scores will send all of them to the colleges you list. They will not allow you to pick and choose scores to send. I am not 100% certain of that, but it is the testing agency you have to ask as Stanford does not have anything to do with the sending of the scores.</p>

<p>Finally, I want to make it clear that I think you are an excellent candidate for Stanford and that you should feel optimistic about your chances of being accepted. I would encourage you to apply EA if you have everything together by the deadline.</p>

9

<p>The best advice I received for writing my college essays was to write in a way that makes the person reading your application want to meet you. However you do that, whether it be writing about a unique background, experience, or whatever, remember that these people are reading thousands of applications, so try and stand out. Be memorable.</p>

10

<p>I wouldn’t suggest sending in the violin tape either (unless you’ll be doing music) because I remember I was going to submit a short film that I helped produce that won a short film competition and somewhere on the stanford supplement page on commonapp there was a warning along the lines of “Do not send any additional materials. They will be destroyed.” I didn’t want to **** off any of the admissions officers. They probably won’t have time to listen to it anyway.</p>

<p>Other than that you seem to have a pretty strong application. I’m not sure how much weight they give to the legacy because I recall reading a thread on this discussion board about some girl whose father and grandfather went to Stanford, had good credentials etc and was rejected. But you probably don’t even need the hook though. Your application seems solid enough to stand on its own. Just make sure to write some REALLY good, passionate essays and hope for the best!</p>