CHANCES PLEASE! (Duke, Stanford, Vanderbilt)

<p>Hey, thanks in advance for your feedback!</p>

<p>I go to a magnet school, ranked 22 in the country by Newsweek</p>

<p>GPA: 4.753 / 4.000</p>

<p>Rank: 1 / 90</p>

<p>Critical Reading: 700<br>
Math: 710<br>
Writing: 780
(Will retake 2 more times…really hoping for 2300+ ha)</p>

<p>Junior Schedule:
AP Psych
AP Chem
Chem Research
AP Language
AP Calc AB
AP US History
+ 2 college courses at UF (Honors Seminar on Medical Neurosci & Lab research)</p>

<p>Senior Schedule:
AP Calc BC
AP Physics C
AP Bio
AP Lit
AP Computers A
Multimedia (mandatory)</p>

<p>ECs:<br>
Big Brothers Big Sisters (President)
School Newspaper
National Honor Society
Spanish Honor Society
Speech and Debate Honor Society (Degree of Honor)
Math Honor Society /Mu Alpha Theta</p>

<p>Awards and stuff: </p>

<pre><code> National Merit (Commended)
Intel ISEF finalist – The Inhibitory Effects of Taste on Pain (Medicine & Health)
Designed and raced model hydrogen fuel cell car
1st in state competition – qualified by interview to rep. US at internationals
International Youth Fuel Cell Competition:
1st place performance in fork-lift competition
1st place engineering
2nd place Quiz Bowl
3rd place vehicle race
Exhibitor at several expos on renewable energy/conservation
</code></pre>

<p>Summer programs:
2 summers at Duke TiP ~ courses on neuroscience and astrobiology
University of Florida SSTP-CPET
High school / college credit
Research w/ mentor on Taste and Pain (7 weeks 200+ lab hours)</p>

<p>Volunteering: 100 hours Big Brothers Big Sisters
100 hours as teacher assistant at local science center summer program</p>

<p>I plan to major in biomedical engineering, and eventually attend med school.</p>

<p>thanksss</p>

<p>In at Vandy, probably also Duke, and you know my thoughts re: Stanford.</p>

<p>thanks for both replies :]</p>

<p>anybody else?</p>

<p>You have nice ranking/grades, nice ECs (research wise), but mundane club participation (the honor societies didn't really raise eyebrows).</p>

<p>If you emphasize your interest in research and your potential for future discovery, and of course raise your SAT (particularly CR and M b/c Vandy only cares about those two), you have a great shot at getting full/75% tuition at Vanderbilt, a slim shot at AB (depends on how significant your research is), but I think you'll get into both of those schools.</p>

<p>As for Stanford, I think you have better chance of getting in than rejected. It just depends on how much they like your essays.</p>

<p>In general: Great stats! I'm assuming your UW GPA is within the 3.9-4.0 range, which is excellent, of course, and your SAT, while it could be slightly better, is very strong. Your ECs, especially that Intel thing put you over the top. </p>

<p>Vanderbilt-You should be in here. I would be very surprised if you weren't</p>

<p>Duke-A little more unpredictable, but given that you're valedictorian AND an Intel finalist AND you go to a recognized school, your chances are excellent. Again, I'd be surprised if you're not in. </p>

<p>Stanford-Another one that's incredibly unpredictable. All I can say here is that you've done everything to give yourself the best possible shot. I don't really see your SAT score as weakening your chances severely, as it's still very good. I'd say ace your essays and you should be firmly in the upper echelon of the applicant pool. I can't really see any gaps in your application significant enough to give Stanford a reason not to accept you. Of course, it's still stanford, so you might not get in, but you do have fantastic chances.</p>

<p>In everywhere. Valedictorian at a difficult school, good SAT, and great/amazing ECs.</p>

<p>You can pretty much write a decent essay and you're in everywhere.</p>

<p>You win. Great everything.
PS: Hooray for TIP! I heard neurosci was very difficult.</p>

<p>haha thank you, TiP was definitely a lot of fun.</p>

<p>You have excellent chances at all of your schools. Your valedictorian status is a great asset. Your awards/activities clearly reflect the career path you've chosen, and colleges will look favorably upon that. You may even want to consider applying to even more prestigious colleges, like Harvard or Yale. Good luck!</p>

<p>wow, thanks. I will probably apply to Harvard just for fun, but you never know what can end up happening with the app. process ha</p>

<p>woowwww. you´re awesome. lol.</p>

<p>haha I just hope the admissions officers agree :]</p>

<p>Almost definitely in at Vandy and Duke. Your grades and courseload are astonishing, but I'm going to be critical with your chances at Stanford. You of course have a good chance but I think it'd be irresponsible not to point out certain things.</p>

<p>Your SATs and EC's will not stick out in Stanford admissions. You have some hours and awards but nothing dynamic that jumps off of the page (apart from the fuel cell competition, which, while interesting and impressive, is not a way to impress adcoms with how you use your free time. It is one discrete thing, you know?). Also, the valedictorian at a purported top 25 school in the country that plans to be an engineer should not be getting a 710 math SAT. That will give adcoms pause, as many as the engineering prospects for top schools can get 800 Math SAT with very little trouble.</p>

<p>Also, SAT II's? You need 2-3 of those at some point.</p>

<p>This is the type of response I've been expecting, and I definitely do appreciate it. I think I can raise math quite a bit, as I was pretty disappointed with that score. I’m taking SAT II Chem next Saturday, and will probably take Math IIC and Lit next year. As for the ECs...not much I can do at this point besides stress their significance in my essays.</p>

<p>Definitely do not be discouraged though.</p>

<p>Yeah, you are still an outstanding applicant. You could get great scholarships at Vandy/Duke as well.</p>

<p>innervisions- Don't worry, your post didn't smash my hopes that much (or at all), it was just realistic. To be honest, CC has been a LOT kinder than I had expected.</p>

<p>lalalalala</p>

<p>You look strong at Vandy.</p>