Chances? Please?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Stanford University
1

<p>Hi, I'm a high school junior who's going to apply to Stanford next year. I never understood the meaning of "dream school" until I visited Stanford :) Any input on my chances would be much appreciated!</p>

<p>GPA: 3.99 (my school does not weight GPA's, so I have no idea what that is)
SAT II lit: 720
SAT II math IIC: 800
SAT: 2320</p>

<p>AP tests:
Calc BC: 5
American History: 5
English Literature: 5
Physics C Mechanics: 5</p>

<p>All my core classes are AP/honors. This year my AP classes are:
AP European History
AP Statistics
AP Chemistry
AP Biology
AP US Gov.
(I will optimistically get 4's on these tests >.<)</p>

<hr>

<p>Extracurriculars:</p>

<p>School stuff:
DECA: 3 years, VP (11th grade)
MESA 5 yrs, Officer (10-11th grade)
Debate: 2 yrs, PF captain (11th grade)
Science Club (HOSA, Science Olympiad, etc.): 4 yrs, President (11th)
Key Club: 2 years, Publicity Officer (11th), Scholarship Coordinator (11th)
Swimming: School: 3 yrs. (Varsity all 3 years) Club: 7 yrs
Operation Smile: 2 years
Math Team: 5 yrs
Tennis team: JV (9, 11th)
Mock Trials 2 yrs.</p>

<p>Outside of school:
American Regional Math League: 3 years
Hospital volunteer: 50 hrs
Research Lab aide: 500+ hours
Math tutor: 20 hrs</p>

<hr>

<p>Awards:
Swimming MVP in 9th grade, top five in state for 3 years
ARML team top 10 nationally
Craptons of debate and swimming, but not anything uber impressive. Mostly fun past time. Also note that "state" awards are not that good b/c I don't live in the middle of nowhere mid-west.
State Senior Science Olympiad: top 2 in state in 3 events in 9th grade
State Math award 2 years
ISEF 2009 participant</p>

<hr>

<p>Summer stuff:
Girls Engineering program ('07, local college)
Summer Math Program ('08, local college)
Nike Swim Camp ('06) </p>

<p>Also, I was just wondering, do any of you know what Stanford looks for?</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>I was admitted this year via SCEA and I believe that the most important thing to getting admitted is to demonstrate genuine passion about something.</p>

<p>Your academic records are about the same as mine and your extracurriculars are much better. I was applying as an Asian international, so supposedly my chances were rather low. Only 20 people from my country were admitted this year, and only about half of those were local students and not children of American expatriates.</p>

<p>My point is that in terms of admission advantage and qualifications, you definitely fare better than me. I got in, so can you.</p>

<p>That said, qualifications and statistics alone don’t guarantee anything when it comes to Stanford admission. They merely qualify you. The main challenge is for you to find things that you are very passionate about and write about them in a way that is relevant for the purpose of the admission essay. It’s not enough for you to just write about what you did and what you achieved, but more importantly what drove you to do those things and what thoughts and opinions went through your mind as you did them.</p>

<p>It doesn’t have to be academically relevant. Step back and examine your life so far and think about what your true passion lies, then write about it. Your qualifications are definitely good enough. Your essay and your teacher recommendations will be what make or break it. That is the impression I got during my experience as an applicant.</p>

3

<p>Sorry, correction: I DO live in the middle of nowhere midwest. So state and school awards are kind of a joke. </p>

<p>JCX: Thank you! Is SCEA a good way to go? In terms of essays, any advice on how to write them? As in, creative, formal, or just as a more polished letter to a friend?</p>

4

<p>What do you mean when you say formal?.. I mean, you don’t want to write something and it sounds like it’s coming straight out of a text book. Definitely be creative. Show your passion. That’s what’s most important imo. Your writing should just flow. If you’re truly passionate about what you’re writing you won’t have to think too much. Don’t over analyze. :D</p>

5

<p>I’m having a hard time differentiating between passionate and over dramatic. Blegh. Everything I write about my past ends up really sad and depressing with some cliche about self knowledge. Unless I write really informally. Then it borders on superficial.</p>

6

<p>Oh! also, from what I’ve seen, AP’s and SAT’s don’t matter that much do they? I’ve been trying to tell that to my parents (asian) so they’ll calm down, but it’s not working so well >.<</p>

7

<p>My SAT score is 2310, so don’t worry about it. Unlike some other schools, getting any higher or even 2400 won’t actually increase your chance of getting admitted into Stanford, judging by the admission decisions in the other thread. And not to mention that I didn’t even take AP.</p>

<p>As I said, your scores do not guarantee you admission. Low scores can hurt your chances, but getting 2370 over 2270 is unlikely to help your application.</p>

<p>Your scores are definitely good enough for Stanford. You just need to work on your essay. I think creativity is definitely a good thing to show in your essay without being too blatant. As for the tone and format, that’s entirely up to you. Generally most essays are some form of personal narrative, although I once read one by a former Stanford Lit major that was more of descriptive creative writing. You should write in a way that you find comfortable.</p>

8

<p>JCX, for the ACT, do you know what score is good enough for stanford?
also, did you not take APs because your school didn’t offer them or because you just decided not to? =]</p>

9

<p>I have no idea about ACT. My school has no AP courses but does allow students to take the tests. Few people choose to do it. We use the British GCE A’ Level system instead.</p>

10

<p>Dana, as for ACT, generally >30 would be good. But try to do your best in any case.</p>

11

<p>I got a 32 in April (1st time I took it), but I’m gonna take it again in June…hoping to get 33 or 34…if I get a 33, should I retake it again or should I be safe?</p>

12

<p>I was also wondering, how are EC’s? I know I have a lot and I’d rather have a few that are intensive, but the EC’s at my school were dying and there weren’t many people willing to step up to the plate…will that hurt me? Is it even possible to have “too many” or the “wrong” EC’s?</p>

13

<p>Dana, technically, more you get is better, but do not stress over the numbers. Scores are just part of your application, and with 33 you are fine (at least at Stanford). Calipso, generally, it’s considered more valuable to have EC’s you have deep love/passion for, which you have done for quite some time. Scattered EC’s here and there do not give you any benefits. You can use your essays to portray what really matters to you, and why do you do certain things. It’s better to have 70 hrs of volunteer work if you can exactly state why are you doing it, and what are your goals, than 500 hours all alone by themselves.</p>

14

<p>Do you guys think a 35 will get me into Stanford?</p>

15

<p>no SKE4892, scores dont determine wheter or not you get it but it is certainly good for their caliber.</p>