help me out with some out of state chances

Colleges and Universities A-Z Stanford University
1

<p>sorry, this is one more chance thread, but the destructive process of college admissions has taken years off my life...so before it kills me, i would like to know what my chance are for getting into Stanford. </p>

<p>ok asian male from a competitive school in NJ (please, don't stop reading here)</p>

<p>passion/probable major: biology/ research</p>

<p>GPA: 3.78 (uw) however school does not report this
4.37 (w) only number school does report.
harder than hardest courseload possible (took hardest classes plus dropped lunch for 2 years)</p>

<p>i know my gpa is really low, but i don't think it represents my intelligence. teachers in my school are real jerks, and love to play favorites... and my school doesn't do +'s or -'s, so the grades show up as B's. Result: 6 B's, 1 in mutha*<strong><em>in gym....i know real sad. however 4 out of the 6 B's are less than .7 pts away from an A, and hopefully my GC will inform them of that. in any case, they aren't A's so i must have *</em></strong> for brains and im gonna try my best to raise my gpa with 1st semester senior grades.
i'm still top 10%, on the edge for top 5% could go either way, school doesn't tell us. </p>

<p>SAT I: 2080: 740 M, 700 V, 640W. yea i suck. retaking in Oct. trying to get as high as possible, but what range should i try to get up to?
SAT IIs: 800 Math IIC; 760 Bio M; 750 Chem</p>

<p>APs: Bio-5 APUSH-4, taking 6 next year. took maximum # of APs possible.</p>

<p>Science Awards:
• 1st Place Biochemistry- Jersey Shore Science Fair (JSSF) (intel sponsored) (11th)
• Society of In Vitro Biology Special Award and article about my research published in their newsletter- Intel Sponsored Delaware Valley Science Fair (11th)
• USA Biology Olympiad (USABO) Semifinalist (11th)
• New Jersey Science League: Biology II- 6th in New Jersey (11th)
• Merck State Science Competition (Biology) - Top 10 in the county (11th)
• Presented research with mentors at The Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectrography (PittCon 2007) in Chicago, IL. (20,000+ attendants each year, largest biotechnology conference)</p>

<p>Research Experience:
• Summer Research Internship at a big research institute (10-12th) definitely bigger than most university labs. lots of prestigious publications came out of this lab.<br>
• Will be published as a co-author. hopefully before app season. Hopefully published in Science or another noteworthy science journal.
• Waksman Student Scholar Program (9th-10th)
o a research program from Rutgers Univ. </p>

<p>Other Notable Awards:
• Congressional Award - Gold Medal (272 awarded in the nation, probably fewer who are applying this year) - (11th)
• Recognized in a National Indian News paper
• National Merit Commended Scholar (11th)
• National Latin Exam Gold Medal (9th)</p>

<p>Sports:<br>
• Varsity Sports for 2 years (Captain Senior Year for all): Cross Country, Winter Track, Spring Track. bunch of medals.
--> im fast enough to walk on for an ivy, but i would look like a joke to Stanford's beastly distance team.</p>

<p>Other Stuff:<br>
• Volunteer EMT- 10-12th Grade
• Future Physicians of America Club- Treasurer (11th), VP (12th)
• Newspaper-news/sports editor (12th)
• Latin Honors Society-VP (12th)
• Class Vice President (9th)
• Model United Nations (9th)
• NHS- haha but who isnt? </p>

<p>Community Services:
• 600+ hours of Volunteer services with EMS and local hospital</p>

<p>ill be getting 1 amazing rec comprised from 3 of my mentors/colleagues at the research institute. teacher recs should b good. read like 3 books on writing college app essays, so ill try to make those good. maybe send in my paper as supplemental stuff.</p>

<p>also im gonna submit to siemens/intel, i hope i can win some sort of recognition.
also will it help to apply SCEA or wait until RD to have more senior grades?</p>

<p>so far i know that a lot of researchers, many who are probably more accomplished than me, are applying to Stanford. and also NJ has had a sub 3% acceptance rate the past 3 years. 1 kid got in last year and didn't go, but other than that Stanford hasn't taken any1 from our school in awhile.</p>

<p>well thats all i got. plz tell me what you think.Thanks a lot for your help.</p>

2

<p>If I were you, I would wait and get your senior first semester grades. If they're good, I think it'll really boost your chances. I think your EC's are above average, being a Caption year-round is something not a lot of people can claim, and that coupled with what looks like a lot of time put into your research indicates a broad spectrum of interests and that you have delved deeply into multiple activities. Although I'll qualify this by saying, and this is only my opinion, that I don't think a lot of admissions officers look as highly on a lot of research/science stuff done in HS because so much of it is not the student's brainchild. Rather, they assist in other scientist's work and are only 2nd or 3rd authors, not the person who had the original idea. That being said, when talking about your research, don't talk about how grandiose the whole experiment was that your team was doing, keep it confined to your role and how your ideas brought uniqueness and made a difference. This will help them know that you weren't just set up with this plush job through some contact, but that you carried your weight and contributed to the end result.</p>

<p>Your SAT I is your achilles heel right now, and within that your writing sub-score is really the kicker. You need to be able to write well or that will seriously hamper your chances of admission. That's the part I would concentrate most on: writing, writing, writing. You've already proven you're a science whiz for the most part, you now need to show that you can write at an above average level, at least. Have many other people read your essay, in fact, on that subject, what is your essay going to be about?</p>

3

<p>i agree with you comments on the importance of carrying your weight in the research. i know some people who work in labs and dont even go to work everyday. however to get co-authored on a paper, you must contribute significantly to the project and understand the project on the same level as your mentors. i think my mentors will highlight that aspect in their rec. after talking to some college undergrads as well as graduates, i gather that its pretty rare to be published, even as a co-author, especially in highschool. also the quality of the journal it is published indicates the extent of the study: Nature definitely has more prestige than other smaller journals. nonetheless, i enjoy research because i am excited about the science, and not the tyranny of the proposed final product. It is truly my greatest passion.
Before i took the SATs, i scored really well on practice tests, but it didnt come out that way on the real test. im practicing more than ever, and doing all that i can to raise my score. what would u say i should shoot for to get my chances more competitive?
as for essays...im writing about the research i have been involved with, and i will definitely take your advice on focusing on what i contributed and what i learned. I was also considering doing an essay on running (since it takes up like half my life) or my community service as an EMT/ ER frontdesk person. I was kinda leaning toward the community service because i won the congressional award for it, and admission officers always say they read like 5000 essays on running. </p>

<p>thank you so much for helping me with my college chances, and please keep the advice coming.</p>

4

<p>bumppppp.....</p>

<p>come on, dont let me suffer in silence....</p>

<p>anymore thoughts?</p>

5

<p>Low GPA. Stanford can calculated unweighted on its own with your grades.
Low SAT 1.</p>

<p>Stanford: REJECT</p>

6

<p>^ I would say "unlikely" instead of REJECT...if you can retake the SAT 1 and get it to 2200+ and also get amazing 1st semester senior year grades, you have a shot...your research and other EC's are impressive.</p>

<p>lol...how are you a USABO semifinalist with a 760 bio SAT II score?</p>

7

<p>Maybe he had a bad day?</p>

<p>Not everyone is perfect..</p>

8

<p>lol I know but it's surprising. I'm not saying he has to be perfect but if you're a USABO semifinalist you know biology pretty damn well.</p>

9

<p>lol yea, i think i miss bubbled, cuz i was so sure i got an 800, but i didnt order a hand grade or anything, so i dunno.</p>

<p>thx for the adivce btw.</p>

<p>***** does uw gpa really count that much more than weighted? i took extra classes that dropped my gpa too, so that probably screws me as well. damn, my gpa would b a lot higher if we were on the +/- system.</p>

10

<p>you can ask your counselor to tell the college that your B's were very close to A's...just work really hard 1st semester of senior year.</p>

11

<p>so i should apply rd? do i need all the first semester grades or just the first quarter? do u think i have any hope with some good essays and good recs?
thanks for all ur help.</p>

12

<p>You got research. You gots the ECs. You got the dedication and focus on bio/ medicine. You don't got the SAT.</p>

<p>Study, prepare, retake, pwn, apply.</p>

13

<p>
[quote]
to get co-authored on a paper, you must contribute significantly to the project and understand the project on the same level as your mentors

[/quote]
</p>

<p>That is not quite true. It depends greatly on the generosity of your mentor. Some will allow students to be co-authors as long as they made some contribution to the work. </p>

<p>That said, your research shows serious involvement, and letter from your mentors can be very helpful.</p>

<p>I think you have a good chance. You are clearly invested in things you are interested in, and that is a major plus. Your SAT is a bit on a low side, but it will not keep you out. You could also try ACT, you might score higher on that.</p>

14

<p>hey, what is the "summer research intern at a big research institute"? Whats the name?</p>

15

<p>I would say apply RD. Do well in your classes this fall and perhaps work a bit on the SAT and/or ACT scores. I don't think the scores will keep you out or anything. Your GPA is a bit low, and it would help to know that those Bs were very, very close to As. Being top 5% or so is good. Applying RD will also give you a chance to inform them if you win any research competitions, something that could really help you in the admissions process.</p>

16

<p>I think you have a great chance, given the involvement in research. Being published in "Science" or "Nature" is very prestigious because it's even hard for actual researchers to do that. What was your research on? (Just out of my own curiosity)
Just make sure to work on your grades/SAT and you'll probably make it. Good luck!</p>

17

<p>ive spent over 2 years working with other post-docs, and i think i have definitely done a big part of the project. We've been trying to characterize introns and how they affect splicing and such.
do u know if stanford allows sending supplemental info, abstracts or papers?
also do u recommend sending the abstract or paper to a professor who is familiar with the field?</p>

<p>thanks for your responses</p>

18

<p>My GC told me I should send a copy of my abstract along with my application, even though Stanford discourages extra materials. The whole paper is probably a bit much, but I think an abstract would be fine.</p>