<p>Hi
I'm currently in the 11th grade and would love to know where I stand in terms of my chances for Stanford. I also plan to apply to Berkley, UCLA, Columbia and Yale. I plan to major in Economics. My resume so far is as follows-
A) CGPA in the 9th-8.6/10; 10th-8.8/10(Brought down by poor grades in Hindi, which I no longer study)
B) Studying Commerce(Accounts, Business Studies, Economics, Math and English) for the next 2 years.
C) Haven't given the PSAT as yet, but I am taking SAT coaching. In my diagnostic, I managed 600-640s in CR and W(haven't given the Math diagnostic, but got a 680 on Princeton Review's online test) without any preparation. Hopefully, I'll manage a 2250 or a 2300 when I give it in October.
D) Avid MUNer. I've been in it since the 9th grade and I've done about 8 conferences so far, won in 6. I chair this year and I'm organising(I'm also the Secretary General) an international conference next year.
E) I shoot. I'm planning to represent my state in July in the All India Tournaments.
F) I'm a member of the Student Council(Assistant House Captain, trying for Head Boy next year) and am a founding member of my school's IT club. I also founded my school's MUN club. Both clubs now have over a hundred members and are doing reasonably well.
G) I'm starting an app business, and have founded and run a large Gaming Community on Facebook, which I plan to expand this year.
I) I am also learning how to play the guitar and piano, although I don't plan to take any diploma courses there.
J) I think I can write pretty well, and have no problems in public speaking. Also, I am good at taking and giving interviews thanks to my MUN experience.
Finally, I don't plan to apply for financial aid.
So that is the situation at the moment. What do you guys think? Do I stand a chance? I would greatly appreciate it if you guys could give me your opinion. Thanks.</p>
<p>Before I give my opinion, I want you to honestly tell me your chances using more than two lines.</p>
<p>Where do you fall in your class rank? With HYPMS, it seems typically you need to be in the top 1-3% in your class. Academically it is a reach.</p>
<p>However your app business (if it generates a real buzz in the sector) could be a hook. As for shooting, is it one of the sports that stanford has [Stanford</a> University’s Official Athletic Site](<a href=“http://www.gostanford.com/]Stanford”>http://www.gostanford.com/)
Even if it did and I hate to put it bluntly, but even a State level may not be enough. (you got to be at the national level).</p>
<p>So all in all, high reach. Also Stanford is need aware for internationals.</p>
<p>@Tizil-I think it’s a reach if my grades improve, which they should in this year. Community service is one other place where I need to pick up. Overall, not impossible, but there is work to be done.</p>
<p>@fallparent-Firstly thank you for your analysis. Plenty of food for thought now. We don’t get any ranks in my school, but I do figure in the better half of my batch(#81/238)
Also, my academics will hopefully improve now that my only weak subject is out(fingers crossed). Lastly, although I don’t really want to rely on sports alone, getting into the national team of any sport in India isn’t very simple. Apart from skill, you also need connections and a great deal of money that you don’t mind losing. Sadly, I can’t really help myself there.</p>
<p>Again …why Stanford? Remember acceptance rate is only 6% . </p>
<p>To give you some statistics, the folks (I know) who got admitted to Stanford were pretty much the #1 or #2 person in the class. Or there was this person who ranked nationally in some sport. Or there was another person who got published in the newspaper for something.</p>
<p>Well I have always wanted to go there, and also because it’s one of the best universities in the valley. And Silicon Valley is where it’s at as far as tech entrepreneurship goes. Thus I want to go to Stanford, although Berkley and UCLA look quite attractive as well.
As for academics, I’ve had a bad couple of years. I haven’t been prioritising and MUN just got the better of me. It isn’t all bad, although I have gone from being a straight A+ student to being just an A student.
As for sports, it costs $1000 in…gifts to the right people and a meeting with a minister or civil servant to get a national ranking in any sport. I just don’t want to spend that sort of money. Also, I’ve been published a number of times in both a national daily and my school magazine(where I have a column), and I have started writing a book. About 6 chapters in. I don’t know if such things are really wor mentioning on the app though.</p>
<p>For Stanford, you need to be very sound academically. Parent2016 is right, you need to have class rank 1st of 2nd with straight A* or A+s. You have yet to give SAT/ACT, you will need to score 2250+. your ECs are good. But your academic GPA of 9th and 10th is less for S. you can still show them an increasing GPA trend by improving your GPA in 11th standard, much more than it was in your previous grades.</p>
<p>What most people don’t seem to understand about any university is the fact that it’s not just all about high scores, high GPA, many ECs or class ranks. None of that tells me anything about a person, nor his/her desires, or what he/she is passionate about. Honestly, tell me one reason why it makes you “stand out” when you’ve been in the Debate Club, Science Club, Math Club, Spanish Club, in varsity teams, and you’ve taken almost all AP courses? Yes, it does tell me that this particular student has been challenging him/herself, but it doesn’t create a theme, nor does it tell me what this student is passionate about. When you’re passionate about something, you don’t just join any club or take any AP classes. When I’m passionate about mathematics, it’s obvious that I’d take only math AP courses, be in the Math Club, and maybe participate in a project that involves or applies mathematics. Do what you love, don’t just do it because you think it will impress anyone, because this is exactly why people with high GPAs, high SAT/ACT scores get rejected as well.</p>