How to get into a Highly Selective University (Stanford)

Applying to College
1

<p>So to start of with, a little introduction.</p>

<p>I'm a 14 year old student in the third grade at high school. I live in the south of the Netherlands. My family its income class is in between the middle class and the upper class. I also think it's fair to say that I'm pretty smart since I'm doing the highest high school education in my country. Which is also a bilingual education, so in a few years I should be amazing at English.</p>

<p>Now my questions are:
- What are the obligations to get into an Ivy League School? (preferably Stanford)
- What tips do you have to get into an Ivy League School? (preferably Stanford)</p>

<p>NOTE:
I'm not going to give you the marks I get, because I can't see how it going to help you answer my questions. That's something that if so I have to change myself.</p>

<p>Thanks to the people who comment!</p>

2

<p>First of all, Stanford University is not a part of the Ivy League. Second, there’s no “way” to get into an Ivy League school, Stanford, MIT, Caltech, Duke, etc. If there was a set “way,” everyone would do it. Just do what you love, and be really passionate about it. Try to be the best at whatever you do, including school. Try and get some truly unique experiences, and make the most of them. Don’t try to get into a top school. Try to be the best that you can and everything else should fall into place. No one can tell you how to get into a top school. Try your hardest at everything and if it happens then congratulations. No one can show you some magic formula to guarantee entrance to one of these schools.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

3

<p><a href=“Applying Sideways | MIT Admissions”>http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/applying_sideways&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<pre><code> Do well in school. Take tough classes. Interrogate your beliefs and presumptions. Pursue knowledge with dogged precision. Because it is better to be educated and intelligent than not.
Be nice. This cannot be overstated. Don’t be wanton or careless or cruel. Treat those around you with kindness. Help people. Contribute to your community.
Pursue your passion. Find what you love, and do it. Maybe it’s a sport. Maybe it’s an instrument. Maybe it’s research. Maybe it’s being a leader in your community. Math. Baking. Napping. Hopscotch. Whatever it is, spend time on it. Immerse yourself in it. Enjoy it.
</code></pre>

4

<p>First of all let me thank you for your advice! But can someone give me other tips because I’m already doing things which I’m really passionate about and enjoying it, so that isn’t a problem. But when I looked around on the internet I found that you have to stand out with your application in things like e.g. sports, clubs at school, extra subjects etc. And also that they want you to get great SAT, ACT & GPA scores. I would like to hear that kind of advice.</p>

5

<p>Score at least 700 on all SATI and II section or a comparable ACT score.</p>

<p>Rank at least in the top 5% of your High School class</p>

<p>Take the most rigorous course of study your HS offers</p>

<p>Really excel at your extracuricular activity(s)</p>

<p>Be a strong leader in the classroom</p>

6

<p>Can you play football, basketball or tennis? Pick one of these sports and become one of the best in the world. Stanford is always on the lookout for a smart quarterback. They will be recruiting you!</p>

7

<p>Stanford is in the Pac-12, not Ivy League.</p>

<p><a href=“http://pac-12.com/”>http://pac-12.com/&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“Ivy League”>http://www.ivyleague.com/landing/index&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Admission to a school as selective as Stanford probably means top end academic achievement in school, top end SAT or ACT scores, and top end extracurricular achievement, award, or recognition (national level in a small country, state or provincial level in a large country). Even then, it may not be certain.</p>

8

<p>So about sports, I’m good at soccer and also a good goalie in field hockey. I’m can manage to become in the top 5% of my High School and I am already doing the most rigorous course of study in my country. Being a strong leader in my classroom is something which I have to work on then because I’m an introvert and mostly just hear what other people have to say and think about it in my head. So it’s time to let those thoughts out! And I will excel more at the activities which I’m good at, with spending extra time in it. Thanks for the advice! If you have more please comment!</p>

9

<p>And I get now that Stanford is in the Pac-12 and not the Ivy League.</p>

10

<p>Male or female?</p>

<p>Soccer will not get you into Stanford as a male. If you are a female, you could get recruited for soccer. You’re only 14 so you have plenty of time to become a world class soccer player.</p>

11

<p>All of the above…and be unique. Valedictorians are a dime a dozen, and Stanford could easily fill it’s incoming freshman class with valedictorians alone. Stanford students are an eclectic group…chess champions, bagpipe players, founders of start ups, world class musicians, and of course jocks and geniuses. My DDs freshman dorm had all of these types of kids, and all of them stood out in their chosen niche, as well as academically. Gotta set yourself apart from the herd. Good luck.</p>

12

<p>@become100. @ucbalumnus and @shellz gave excellent summaries. As others have said, Stanford is the toughest school to get into in the US. If you are from Holland…you may want to try to be the best in swimming or speed-skating (the sports that Holland is known for)…at the level of Olympic qualifier for your country. Even though Stanford is known for having the highest academic credentials…they are always looking for future Olympians in “all” sports…and they understand that students applying from other countries may pursue “non-popular” American sports like speed-skating. Here is an example of a famous Stanford Olympic speed-skater you may have heard of…Eric Heiden.</p>

<p><a href=“Eric Heiden - Wikipedia”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Heiden&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Good luck in your endeavors…</p>

13

<p>

Ignore this. Stanford recruits players for its men’s and women’s teams.</p>

14

<p>

So you feel some compulsion to ask questions to which you already have the answers. <scratches head=“”> I don’t know, that doesn’t sound like a Stanford-caliber student to me. But then again, this whole quest sounds rather weakly grounded since you haven’t been able to discover that Stanford isn’t part of the Ivy League, yet you’re sure you want to go to an Ivy League school like Stanford. </scratches></snip></p>

<p>Well, good luck with it all.</p>

15

<p>Isn’t there a good school in the Netherlands?</p>

16

<p>You can see just by me making a mistake that Stanford isn’t an Ivy League School, asking for confirmation that what I read was correct and asking for tips like that, That I’m not a ‘‘Stanford-caliber student’’? You have a gift sir!</p>

17

<p>Stanford isn’t even a part of the Ivy League, haha. There are eight Ivy League schools: Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, UPenn, and Yale. </p>

<p>As an international, you’ll be competing with highly qualified applicants from across the globe. Most who stand out and gain admission are ones that win national (or even international) competitions and events of similar scale. I’m assuming you’re a freshman in high school, so you still have time. You don’t have to go to a school in the US to be successful. </p>

<p>Best of luck! </p>

18

<p>It isn’t surprising that a 14 year old doesn’t know which schools are in the Ivy League athletic conference. My son didn’t know which schools were in that league when he was 14, and he just graduated from Princeton.</p>

<p>What does any of this mean? Absolutely nothing.</p>

19

<p>

So you read some unattributed anonymous stuff on the web and thought you ought to check if it was correct – by getting more unattributed anonymous replies! Truly a remarkable mind. Stanford really should be the Ivy at the top of your list, they will assuredly welcome you onto campus.</p>

20

<p>Oh goodness, cut the kid some slack. He’s not professing to be an expert, he’s here to LEARN (which he expressed very clearly), and how can anyone learn when they just get attacked whenever they make a mistake or ask a question someone else deems stupid? </p>

<p>OP, you seem like a great kid, and your English is fantastic by the way - you write more coherently than one of my friends who’s applying to an Ivy League school and her first language is English! As far as tips go:</p>

<p>•Get good grades. This is imperative. Without this, you’re kind of sunk. </p>

<p>•Take hard classes. I’m not sure what programs are in the Netherlands or how they break things down, but AP classes, honors classes, and IB are all key to being seriously considered. </p>

<p>•Do cool stuff. You mentioned you already have passions - that’s awesome. Push the envelope with whatever it is you’re passionate about. If you love the technical side of theater, don’t just do it at your school, try to get an internship or job, or anything with a local playhouse. If you love soccer, don’t just play on the school/club team. Volunteer on the weekends to coach younger kids, get a job as a referee or a scorekeeper. Don’t try to do it all tomorrow, but keep it in mind for the future. This kind of stuff shows initiative, and elite schools eat that up. </p>

<p>•Brainstorm for your essays. I bet a lot of people with disagree with me on this, but hear me out. At some point, something cool will happen to you, or you will have an insight, and you will forget it. I kept a running list of cool things that I thought could be potential essay topics for my freshman, sophomore and junior years, and it has helped me so much. For example, I do gymnastics, and one of the things I’ve learned from gymnastics (from the balance beam, specifically) is the importance of mind over matter. If you don’t believe you will fail, if failure does not even occur to you as something that will happen, that your only choice is to what degree you will succeed, then you tend to be a lot more successful. I ended up expanding on this idea for mine of Stanford supplemental essays. It wasn’t exactly what I had envisioned, but just having a lot of starting points makes everything a lot less daunting. </p>

<p>•Stay friendly with teachers and GCs. You should be nice to everyone, but these people are especially important. They will write a recommendation for you, they will be advocating for you throughout the process, it’s important that you be on good terms with them. You don’t have to buy them Christmas presents, but always be friendly and polite, participate in class, do your homework, all that good stuff. </p>

<p>•Standardized tests - Don’t wait until the last minute. Plan to take these tests your junior year. I know kids who are taking them as seniors, and they all say it is absolutely terrible. </p>

<p>•Have fun. Don’t lose your personality along the way. Seriously, just that alone will set you apart from the automatons out there. </p>