<p>Stanford is my dream school, untouched by any other college. I would really appreciate it if you can look at some stats below and tell me my chances.</p>
<p>I rank top 1-2 in my class of 500 (suburban public highschool).</p>
<p>By senior year, I will have taken 9 APs (all my school has to offer) and I expect to get 4-5s on all of them.</p>
<p>SAT: M-800; V-740; W-680 (12 essay)
I still have to take my SAT IIs</p>
<p>ECs:
Varsity Tennis/captain
Math Club - president
Science Club - president
NHS - president</p>
<p>years of volunteering at:
cultural events
science museum
space network</p>
<p>This past summer (and to continue into this summer) I have been conducting my own physics research project at an university lab and plan to get a publication out of my research. I also plan on asking the prof I am working under to write a letter of rec.</p>
<p>I expect my letters of rec strong and unique because of my close relationship with teachers and counselors. I am also planning distinguishing essays.</p>
<p>I know that admissions can be crapshoots, but what are my chances of admission to Stanford? What advice do you have?</p>
<p>I'm also trying to decide between regular admission and early decision. Stanford is my clear-cut first choice, but I have heard negative things about early decision (like that deferrals have it harder when it comes to regular admission time).</p>
<p>Please help me! I would especially appreciate hearing from people who've gotten accepted into Stanford.</p>
<p>If you show a strong passion/focus, then Stanford's much more likely. From what I've seen, those who do research and show a passion for it tend to get accepted.</p>
<p>I have a bit of advice just from going through this process a year before you. First of all, get your SAT retakes/SAT II's over with this spring if you can. The sooner you have them done, the sooner you can stop caring about standardized tests- and if you don't like a score, you have time to retake. Start your applications early too- Stanford's is due a little earlier than a lot of colleges!</p>
<p>Also, start looking at other colleges. Like you said in your post, college admissions can seem like a crap shoot- even if you have excellent chances of getting in, it might not happen. You don't want to get so obsessed with going there that you can't picture yourself going anywhere else. I don't want to be negative or anything, just saying, have safeties you can get excited about in case the worst happens.</p>
<p>If you decide for whatever reason not to apply ED (for a lot of my friends it was financial aid reasons, for me it was not being done in time haha), you could always apply early to other schools that have non binding EA. I applied EA to a safety (that I really like), and knew in December that I at least got into a college. Now I'm waiting on my top choices, but applying EA to my safety cut out a few months of (very paranoid) worrying that I wouldn't get in anywhere haha.</p>
<p>I don't understand why the other posters are focusing on SATs. Your SAT scores are absolutely fine and you will not gain much by retaking. By all means, retake it to get the highest score you can possibly get, but realize that that is not the weak part of your app, or the part you should be devoting the majority of your energies toward improving.
That part is your extracurriculars. Again, your academic record is stellar and will get you past the first hurdles in admissions. But the "problem," rather the "weakness," of your application is the absence of a clear passion. It seems that you are a strong science student--with your museum volunteering and physics research. Send a consistent message on your application about your passion/interest in this field (or identify and expand upon any other passion(s)). This unique passion will make you stand out in the applicant pool from all the other academic stars.
NHS, tennis, math club, and science club are woefully ordinary. I don't mean to trivialize your accomplishments; I just think your focus should be on more advantageous aspects of your app.</p>
<p>I agree that SAT I score is fine. But you have to take SAT IIs and score well. (Math II and Physics seems to be a "natural" choice for you.)</p>
<p>If you get some recognition for your research (like a publication, and a strong letter from the prof), I don't think your ECs will be lacking in any way. Just try to "come alive" on your application.</p>
<p>I third that your SAT score is great: a 2220 is a bit above Stanford's average. In addition, you have a 1540 CR+M, the more important part of the test. That's a damn good score, so, if I were you, I wouldn't waste my time retaking it.</p>
<p>In addition, I don't think you have to take SAT IIs for Stanford. They recommend it, but it isn't mandatory. (Then again, when they "recommend" something, it tends to mean "do it.")</p>