<p>I got a 2.6 GPA and a 3.1 GPA and no extracurriculars. This summer I had an epiphany that if I want to do good in life I need to put effort! Next year I will have 2 honors classes & an AP class, Junior year I will have 5 AP classes & a normal one. I'm very passionate with helping others so I'm going to join all the clubs at my school that are related to helping out. If I do excellent academically will I have a chance? What if I'm well rounded? Thanks for your answers :)</p>
<p>Well that GPA isn’t exactly great, but you could still redeem yourself. I don’t think Stanford even really cares about freshman year. Don’t sweat it, just work hard and get good grades.</p>
<p>Definitely, they almost completely overlook freshman year so long as you’ve turned things around. So you had your epiphany at the right time!
However, be careful with those ECs: it looks MUCH BETTER if you commit yourself throughout high school to one or two things than if you join every club to appear “well-rounded.” Well-rounded is good, but that’s achieved mostly by succeeding academically in many different areas, and perhaps being a varsity athlete as well. Use your ECs to highlight what you’re most passionate about. It’s good to want to help people in as many ways as possible, but you might be able to do more good if your efforts aren’t stretched over ten different organizations.
Try them out and see where your heart is, and good luck to you!</p>
<p>^Yes, for Stanford I would say it’s better not to be well rounded. They want people with passion and depth, not people that do a bunch of stuff that anyone can do.</p>