I want to know whether I have a chance at these schools at all. Please be honest with me, because there are specific tests I would have to take if I apply that I would otherwise prefer not doing.
I’m an international student (South American) doing the IB diploma. Stanford has always been my dream school because of the phenomenal research being done there. I plan to apply for computer science/math.
My GPA is 4.0 but it is bound to go up. I had a 3.7 freshman year (unweighted), 4.0 sophomore (one AP weighted class), and 4.33 first semester junior year (including weighted and unweighted classes). Essentially my grades have been straight A- in my freshman year and straight As throughout the rest of high school. I take HL Physics, Chemistry, and Math and will probably get somewhere around a 7,7,6 ±1; my IB score will probably be in the 40s.
As far as standardised tests, I haven’t taken SAT subjects yet but I got a 33 on the ACT (36 English, 35 Math, 32 Reading, 29 Science, 30 Writing. Planning to retake it). My IELTS score is 8.5.
In terms of extracurriculars, I think I’m doing pretty well. I have four (five, but I’m dropping one as it was forced on me) leadership positions in clubs varying from community service to competition oriented. I’ve led a robotics team to an award at an international competition. I have 150+ hours of community service (+CAS requirements). once had the opportunity to attend, merely to listen, an important UN meeting. My most memorable service activity was committing 12 hours a day, for three days straight, to live stream a sports event internationally; I have other activities that others would qualify as more “legitimate” service in the underprivileged community.
In direct relation to my intended major, I’ve completed MIT 6.00.1x on edX (certified), I’m half way through “Introduction to Artificial Intelligence, CS188 Berkeley” and I’m starting “Artificial Intelligence for Robotics” on Udacity. If this is important (if any of you know, please tell me if it is), I’ve done almost 100 project Euler problems, including problem 455 (solved by 372 people).
I haven’t done my essays but one thing that characterises me is that I really love to learn. I binged through over 500 videos on khan academy in less than 3 months and I read math papers out of curiosity nearly daily. I find that learning a lot makes me happy and I enjoy pushing through very difficult math that I may not fully understand.
If this matters, I got a 5 in AP statistics (my school doesn’t have many APs so we don’t make a big deal out of it).
Thanks!