<p>Hey, everyone out there who's looking to get into college. I've been dreaming of the beautiful Palo Alto campus since I was about five, and I'm now a junior in Houston who wants to go back to her home city and receive a top-notch education. Could anyone offer some wisdom as to what my chances are of getting in?</p>
<p>Really, what I want constructive criticism on is my ECs. Am I spreading myself too thin and not focusing on one area of commitment? I've heard the term 'depth not breadth,' and I wanted to know if anyone has an idea how much Stanford in particular adheres to this principle. Am I focusing too much on doing everything at once? Should I try to achieve more in some particular areas?</p>
<p>BASICS
GPA is a 4.7, with AP/Honors classes weighing in as 5.0s and regular classes weighing as 4.0s.
Rank is top 5% out of about 700, in a school ranked in the top 100 high schools nationally.
SAT score: 2300
SAT2s: Haven't taken them yet, but I am taking Biology M, American History, World History, Math 2, Spanish Language w/ Listening, and French Language w/ Listening. I expect to do reasonably well on them all, with the possible exception of Math 2, in which case I will simply take Math 1.
I have the fortune to be half black and part Hispanic.
My father and my aunt both went to Stanford.</p>
<p>COURSES
Freshman - PAP Bio, Geometry (regular the first semester, PAP the second), Geography (regular the first semester, PAP the second), PAP English 1, Track, Honors Debate, PAP Spanish 2, French 1
Sophomore - PAP Chemistry, AP World History, PAP English 2, Track, Honors Debate, PAP French 2, PAP Spanish 3, PAP Algebra 2
Junior - AP Music Theory, AP English 3, PAP Precalculus, AP Biology 2, AP US History, Yearbook, PAP French 3, Honors Debate
Senior - AP Government/Economics, AP English 4, PAP Physics 1, AP Calculus BC, Yearbook, AP French 4, Honors Debate</p>
<p>EC
3 years of volunteering at a local cancer hospital, 1-2 hours a week.
4 years of teaching and assisting local middle school debate team (said debate team has been national champions the past 6 years in a row - I won a national award in 8th and have been back since to help the kids)
3 years in Model UN, have won local delegate awards
3 years in Young Democrats (may or may not have officer position)
2 years as Habitat for Humanity local chapter secretary
4 years on the debate team (nationally ranked debate squad)
2 years on yearbook staff, 1 year as editor in chief
2 years on track team, one on JV and one on varsity
3 years in National Honor Society, 1 year in Reach Out (another volunteering club)
12 years of kung fu
5 years of tennis</p>
<p>AWARDS/OTHER THINGS THAT WILL HOPEFULLY INCREASE MY CHANCES
2 years as first in the state in French symposium, 1 year as 5th place in the state
Invited to attend National Youth Leadership Forum on Law in DC and attended
10th place speaker award for Public Forum Debate in the state
Top 18 in the state in Extemporaneous Speaking</p>
<p>Now, hopefully I'll be able to pad my resume in the years to come. I know I've got a shot, I just wanted to know - should I bank most of my hopes on Stanford? Or should I spend more energy looking at less excusive schools? Thanks for taking the time to consider this.</p>
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