<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:
- Algebra 2/Trig
- English 2 Pre-Honors
- Chemistry
- Spanish II
- Orchestra (Band)
- AP World History</p>
<p>By the middle of Senior Year, I would have taken these AP/Honors classes:
- Honors Pre-Calculus
- AP Biology
- Honors English III
- AP Calculus
- AP World History
- AP Econ/Govt
- AP U.S History
- Honors English IV
- 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>
<p>Average. </p>
<p>By which I mean under 10 percent... whatever Stanford's acceptance rate is... </p>
<p>GPA is a little low at this point, I'd work to bring it up. Study for the SATs, as they are a major critical factor (they don't really determine whether you get in or not as much as whether they'll even look at your app in the first place). AP classes look thin on the ground, that's about two classes each in junior and senior year (honors classes are virtually useless), ECs are averagely unspectacular.</p>
<p>Rank is important, but even in my low performing school, that GPA would put you behind... the most important thing is your essays, teachers rec, and counselor rec. (Something that is up to you... )</p>
<p>Nothing is special about you at this point. It may sound cruel, but its the sad truth in the realm of Stanford level applications... </p>
<p>You look great for top level UC schools by the way... provided your scores are good...</p>
<p>hmmm. I'll work on my GPA. I think that's my drawback. Is this really average for Stanford?
haha I guess I have to work really hard for the SAT. Btw next year I will have 4 honors/AP classes so my max GPA for next year will be around 4.4. So I better work my butt off.
oh and by top level UC schools do you mean UC Berkeley or Davis? They are also my top choices.</p>
<p>Courseload seems a bit weak for Stanford and you really don't stand out anywhere. Granted, you are a sophomore and do have lots of time. Still, you really really really really need to work at it.</p>
<p>Having had lots of discussion with some who seemed to know what they were talking about when it comes to college admissions at a school like Stanford...I'll say this - you need to realize that not everybody Stanford's going to admit is <em>academic</em> in the sense of the type who'll go to STanford, take amazing schedules, do wonderful research work, head to grad schools, etc. Stanford and other Ivy Leagues will admit people who will add something to their communities. </p>
<p>So I mean, don't expect to get in on basis of being heavily academic. They only want a certain percentage of those types, and it's kind of up to chance to an extent whether you squeeze by.</p>
<p>My advice, thus, is don't TRY to be unique. Do what you're best at and most passionate at, and you'll end up actually being somebody. And STanford MAY then notice you. If you don't do that, and try too hard to be outlandishly unique, likely it'll flop, Stanford won't care, and guess what - you'll have wasted high school.</p>
<p>Become what you can be successful at and enjoy, and resolve to go somewhere else if Stanford's unpredictable process doesn't let you in. You can do great things at many places, and it's very foolish to try to cater to anything specific to get into Stanford...simply because students from inside the school will tell you that it's hard to predict whether your efforts will be successful.</p>
<p>how about UC's?
oh and thanks to all who replied, your reply means a-lot to me!
=]</p>
<p>UC's -- get good scores and GPA, and honestly you'll be in. The better the scores and GPA, the more certainly you're in.</p>
<p>Try to be somewhat mature and not a total bore on the essays. It's easier to get into Berkeley than it is to make use of its incredible wealth of academic opportunity (and not get crushed!).</p>