Chances of getting into Stanford Univ.?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hello all!</p>

<p>I know you guys get numerous posts like this. But I am really curious and just your opinion will make a difference. Frankly, I just want to know. I live in California if that is any help in my app. </p>

<p>Here are my stats:</p>

<p>Grade: High School Sophomore. (10).</p>

<p>GPA: 3.86 (so far)</p>

<p>10th Grade Course load:

  1. Algebra 2/Trig
  2. English 2 Pre-Honors
  3. Chemistry
  4. Spanish II
  5. Orchestra (Band)
  6. AP World History</p>

<p>By the middle of Senior Year, I would have taken these AP/Honors classes:

  1. Honors Pre-Calculus
  2. AP Biology
  3. Honors English III
  4. AP Calculus
  5. AP World History
  6. AP Econ/Govt
  7. AP U.S History
  8. Honors English IV
  9. Honors Physics</p>

<p>SATs: Haven’t taken them yet.</p>

<p>Extracurricular Activities: 1. High School Orchestra.( I plan to be in the Orchestra for all of high school which is 4 years.) </p>

<li><p>President of the Islander Club: I just started it and I plan to reinstate it until i am a senior. </p></li>
<li><p>Track and Field </p></li>
<li><p>Volunteer at John Muir Medical Center. ( I have just started this year. But I have calculated my hours and I found out that I will have about 250 hours by the time I apply.)</p></li>
<li><p>I am in the H.O.S.A club. (Health Occupations Students of America)</p></li>
<li><p>I am also in CSF. (California Scholarship Federation)</p></li>
</ol>

2

<p>Listen, it is tough to say without taking you SAT's yet. But you thinking about it obviously means you are a dedicated student who wishes to go to a top tier college. Your GPA is solid, maybe you can add some more to your EC's. But focus on you SAT's now, and focus on wondering if you will get in later!</p>

3

<p>listen here and listen wisely:</p>

<p>college applications is not a numbers or an extracurricular game. Sure, if you have horrible stats in either, it could likely kick you out...but most people don't have terrible stats.</p>

<p>The determining factor nowadays for most great schools like Stanford, Harvard, etc, is the personal essay, followed by recommendations. With so many people with perfect or near perfect scores, colleges can pick the most unique and charming of the student body.</p>

<p>The reason a lot of people are so bitter at places like Cornell or blah blah or blah, is because they always assumed college was a number and e.c's game. Where if you were a 2400 scoring, 4.0 UW GPA Class President, you were a shoo-in to Hahvad etc...but they found out that is not the case.</p>

<p>I know plenty of 1400 and 1300 (out of 1600) scorers who got into Stanford, harvard, princeton, etc...and the same number who were rejected with 1600s or close to that, etc.</p>

<p>It's all about character and uniqueness and how much potential you display in your essays.</p>

<p>That's what admissions is centered around these days. The essays should be creative, memorable, and distinct</p>

<p>So...I know someone is going to come in here and try to refute me, but that's the truth, and to be honest, I think this is for the best. honestly, if a statistically perfect student can't even write an interesting personal essay, they probably do deserve to go to a lesser university. sad, but honest and true</p>

4

<p>Ah! I understand what my counselors were try to tell me now! It all makes sense to me now. I have to be UNIQUE.</p>

5

<p>Start thinking about other great schools too. Stanford is lowering the number of kids from California and they need to accept a lot of legacy, staff and other connected Californians. You will have a much better chance at top colleges in the South and MW that don't see a lot of applicants from CA.</p>

6

<p>"if a statistically perfect student can't even write an interesting personal essay, they probably do deserve to go to a lesser university. sad, but honest and true"</p>

<p>Not quite <em>refuting</em> but yours is definitely an extreme statement. Perhaps you already considered this, but a statistically excellent student may just well be highly interesting, but not in a way that shows up on his/her application. There are quite a few things, I think, which won't make it into a given essay. I feel that the essays tend to exclude certain types of students from showing how interesting they really are. Further, I can think of students who couldn't write wonderful essays, who'd make wonderful use of the school faculty + academic resources - not everyone is admitted to be interesting, being very passionate about a subject or two, for instance, is admirable in its own right.</p>

7

<p>Sorry, that should read that not everyone is admitted to be "interesting" in the sense the essays ask.</p>

8

<p>

Yep, unique. Just like all the other strong applicants.</p>

9

<p>the point is, you should be passionate. not necessarily statistically perfect. Honestly, I think people who work so hard to be statistically perfect are wasting their energy. Work on developing a passion and some creativity that speaks to the soul of your inner intelligent being. That's what colleges want now. Anyone can study their asses off, but not ANYONE can write a brilliant and moving essay.</p>

10

<p>simply put: gettin into stanford is near impossible. seriously its tuff as hell</p>