<p>Hello! My name's Maram and I'm interested in going to Stanford. Beyond interested, actually: this school is my first choice.</p>
<p>Some info:
-sudanese + attended international school in Bahrain for 1.5 years (diversity?)
-female
-first generation
-part of National Honor Society
-around 100 hours volunteering (local library, battle of the bands, etc)
-3rd place essay writing competition
-looking to establish career in medicine</p>
<p>my overall gpa right now is a 3.8. i haven't taken my sat yet, but will take it on june 5th.</p>
<p>looking over my post i feel as if it's my accomplishments aren't that many...any suggestions? My friend and I are thinking of making a swing-dancing club at school. A little random, but original.</p>
<p>honest feedback, please!</p>
<p>You seem to have very little EC’s. It’s helpful that youre a minority first generation, but Stanford is one of (if not the) hardest schools to get into in the USA. The GPA looks okay (if not a bit low) assuming that that is unweighted out of 4.0. For SAT, it would require at least a 2200+, pref 2300+. I would really really work on the EC – see if you can join some more clubs or make one, and maybe join a sport.</p>
<p>I agree with synny201 - if you can score high on the SAT and pick up some ECs, then I think you have a good shot. URM and first-gen are good hooks in college admissions; together, they should be pretty helpful. Try starting the swing dance club! It will show initiative and it is original.</p>
<p>thanks for the feedback, guys. Stanford is my dream school so if starting a club will increase my chances of getting in, then swing-dance i shall. I have also been a top contributor to my schools cultural festival, have a solid 4.0 gpa for sophomore year, and am taking one honors class and 2 aps. also currently looking for a job.</p>
<p>any other suggestions? Would taking the math level 1 subject sat be of any significance, or is that a tad too basic?</p>
<p>and if an a+ is a 5.0 gp in my school…does that still make my gpa pretty up there?</p>
<p>hi! i am international as well, but I suggest math ii since the top schools are really looking for you taking the harder tests (if you could choose). and I think it’s easier to get 800 on math ii. </p>
<p>Also, do what you LOVE! If you are only starting a club because you think colleges will like it, that won’t get you anywhere :(. If you can dedicate yourself to it, then go ahead and have fun while you’re doing it. </p>
<p>you should also explain your available opportunities (since its different for us int’l applicants!) to the colleges and say that you didn’t have a lot of options, but you made the best of it!</p>
<p>Don’t get me wrong - I’m not trying to generalize here - but seeing as you are Sudanese and first generation, were you able to witness the genocide taking place there currently, or has it affected you personally any way? If so, you can to write about it in your admissions essay to maximize your chances getting in. Another way to emphasize your ethnicity would be to start a club or organization at your school to fundraise for the refugees at Sudan. </p>
<p>Of course, if you feel that it is not relevant to your outlook on life, feel free to choose another topic; I thought I’d mention it in case you haven’t thought of it yet.</p>
<p>a+ is a 5.0 gp in your school?
Then 3.8/5.0 is a bit low, don’t you think?
And I totally second AnAsianStudent.</p>
<p>That will be a definite hook.</p>
<p>some other stufff…taken piano at bahrain music instutute for 1 year. been to sudan twice. although i’m not from southern sudan where all the genocide is going on, the situation hurts me nonetheless. </p>
<p>i lived in bahrain for the second semester of my freshman year and my whole sophomore year - an a+ over there counts as a 4.2.</p>
<p>now that I’m back in the school I went to before I lived overseas, the gpa for an a here is a 4.0. but for an a+, yes; it’s a 5.0.</p>
<p>do i even have a remote chance? :(</p>
<p>and finally, itchy; someone who understands! we had NO OPPORTUNITIES THERE! i’ve been scrambling around my whole junior year trying to make up for what i didn’t have the chance to do overseas</p>
<p>and asian student, thanks for the idea. i just sent CARE.org an email requesting if they’d be willing to sponsor and organization I’m trying to put together. Toys for Darfur. The kids are more than deserving of what i could collect <3</p>
<p>chances for stanford?
2%</p>
<p>Rough, I really hate you for stuff like that. Although your %'s may not be off, it’s very discouraging to hear back and not get any feedback. Seriously. Do you have any constructive criticism for her?</p>
<p>chances rough answer has some actual feedback:
0%</p>
<p>Undetermined. Must have an SAT score before you can get “chanced”.</p>
<p>IMHO, the best thing to do is read the CC board and figure it out yourself.</p>
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<p>GPAs don’t mean much if you don’t look at them in the context of your school and how yours compares to those of your classmates. If, for example, there was grade deflation in a school and the highest unweighted GPA out of 4.0 was 3.6, then it would be excellent if you got a 3.5; whereas in other schools, a 3.5 may be considered low.</p>