I want to apply to Stanford, Berkeley, USC & NYU! Feedback?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

So here are my stats…
Unweighted gpa - 3.85
Weighted gpa - 4.15
ACT score - 28 (yes, I know, its pretty low)

My extracurriculars…

  • Internship at a local newspaper “Gorizont”
  • Internship at Crowdfund Productions
  • President of “Future Business Leaders of America” club
  • Jefferson County Youth Leadership Program - leader position
  • Member of National Honors Society
  • Member of Peacejam Foundation Club
  • Senior Mentor & Tutor (for freshman students)
  • Cross Country Running

Awards…

  • “Mighty Mustang” Of The Year (teacher nominated)
  • Ambassadors For Youth Award + congressional record (teacher nominated)
  • Academic Letter (x3)
  • Boulder Half Marathon (1st place in age category)
  • ViewBug Photography Contest Winner

Other mentions…

  • I’m originally from Russia, but I live in Colorado now. (out of state advantage)
  • I fluently speak three languages - Russian, English & Spanish
  • This summer I’m attending a pre-college summer journalism program at Stanford University where I’ll be living in the dorms and attending real college classes. I’m also spending a week at Johnson & Wales University attending another summer program.
  • I’ve done 200+ hours of volunteering, and traveled to 40+ countries (lived in 3)
  • My parents attended the #1 and #2 best colleges in Russia; both very successful in their careers

Thats about it! So what are my odds at Stanford, Berkeley, University of Southern California & New York University? I have a few safety schools too, in case I get rejected everywhere. I know I can get really good letters of rec too!

Caucasian / Female / Top 10% of Class / No disabilities

2

Nice extracurricular activities and awards! I think you definitely have a chance, but maybe take the ACT again and see how well you do. Have you taken the SAT before?

3

Hi and thank you, I try! (: I could take the ACT again but I’m afraid I could score lower because I already spent a lot of time studying for the last one and I’m a person who hates timed testing - I am always forced to guess on the last few because I run out of time. I am actually taking the SAT three weeks from today, so I’m hoping I will do better on the SAT than I did on the ACT, but I don’t know yet.

4

@Redmadam Don’t worry, I’m pretty sure many people feel the same way you do (about the timing issue). I myself am slow at taking test because I’m afraid of missing little details. I think you made a good decision about trying the SAT. The SAT has more logical questions and the vocabulary is pretty intense in the reading portion. The math is very easy on there but does require you to think of what to do in order to get the answer (it’s not as straightforward). Many of my friends say that they were tight on time for the ACT. Btw, what grade are you in?

5

Well, it certainly doesn’t hurt to apply. Do you have four match schools yet?

6

@AnniiT Thanks! Currently I’m a high school junior (11th grade). Thats useful, thank you ~ I bought a SAT practice book to study from a few days ago and I’m planning on starting this weekend.

@MidwestDad3 I think NYU, USC and UC Santa Barbara are my match schools. And I know it doesn’t hurt to apply, but each college has an application fee and my parents aren’t willing to pay it so I will only be able to apply to three or four colleges and I need to make a decision. If there wasn’t an application fee I’d apply to 10+ colleges.

7

@Redmadam Nice! You’re just a grade ahead of me. Anyway, I recommend if you must take the SAT again after the one in June, take it again in September BEFORE the change, which is next year. This way, you wouldn’t have to worry about the change affecting your score or stressing over about the fact that it’s changing. I’m planning to spend this whole summer studying SAT and taking it for the first time in September and then next January if I have to. When you’re practicing, I recommend timing yourself and seeing how well you do. This really helps so that you will be used to pacing yourself during the actual test. And also, I heard that the blue SAT book is very helpful (:

8

@AnniiT Thanks! Good luck studying for the SAT. I had no idea it was changing - so thanks for letting me know, I guess thats what I’ll have to do! I’ll take the ACT twice and the SAT twice and see which one I do the best on and then submit those scores to colleges. Its just sad that Stanford wants all test scores, so I’ll have to send both ACT and SAT scores there if I apply.

9

I don’t think anyone should count NYU or USC as a safety! They are ridiculously competitive, and I’d say your ACT score is a bit low to make you a sure thing at either. You’re right on target for UCSB with your ACT, but it’ll be harder to get in as an OOS applicant. If you get better SAT scores than ACT, that may make a difference.

If your parents don’t want to pay for a lot of application fees, then are they able to pay for college? What’s your budget? NYU is not at all generous, so if you do get in, it’ll cost 60K+ per year. USC is also quite pricey, as is any UC for someone OOS. And if your parents ARE able to pay full freight for school… why are they nickel/diming you on apps!? I would apply to at least 4-5 schools that are matches/safeties. I’m not sure if any of these four schools are match schools for you. (Stanford isn’t a match for anyone, and being OOS for the UCs just makes your odds tougher) But of course apply to all 4, because I wouldn’t say you won’t get in to any, just that they’re reaches. Doing the Stanford summer program will probably give you a boost for Stanford!

10

@proudterrier I am counting NYU and USC as fit schools, not safety schools. My safety schools have 50-65% acceptance rates, dont worry! (: I know they’re competitive, but I have a decent chance of getting in, unlike Stanford and Berkeley which are reach schools.

Nope, my parents are not helping me pay for college at all, I’m paying 100% myself because both of my parents received full scholarships for their colleges, so they have very high expectations for me. I’ve been working to save up money for college since I was a freshman in high school, but I only have about ~$5k right now. I also received a scholarship a few months ago for another $1,000. Also that is why I’m so excited for the Stanford program, I’ll ask some of the Stanford professors from the summer program to write me letters of rec to boost my odds at Stanford!

Also, haha sorry but what exactly does OOS mean?

11

@Redmadam I think you have a good shot if getting into Stanford if you believe in yourself. Do well on the SAT and continue with your extracurricular activities and your chances will increase. My cousin went to Stanford btw and he told me that he was in the student government, he received many physics awards, and he did extremely well on the SAT.

12

You have a nice profile.

Your GPA and test scores aren’t exceptional but do not stress it. GPA and Test Scores are only 2 factors.

You should have a great chance at NYU and maybe USC (keep in mind that USC is the best private school in SoCal, so lots of child stars will go there thus they take up spaces of those who were at the top of their class but couldn’t pay - money speaks).

For the others, it will depend on your major. Stanford (please keep in mind that Stanford rejects roughly 95% of its applicants and that number gets higher by the year) and Cal want to see that you took initiative in your major. If you’re majoring in Journalism or something else closely related you have a good chance. These things are more important to them besides GPA and test scores.

“This summer I’m attending a pre-college summer journalism program at Stanford University where I’ll be living in the dorms and attending real college classes.” - This will not help you get into Stanford by any means and they clearly state that. It’s 10-12k and it’s usually meant for those who can pay. Almost 98% of people who actually got accepted to Stanford did not attend the HS Summer or any summer course at Stanford. Some schools might not like that you didn’t attend their summer course (Berkeley has their own) and you chose to apply/attend Stanford’s instead. But take that with a grain of salt. You can use the summer program to your advantage to taste college life and experience it at first hand.

Best of luck and welcome to Stanford for this summer.

13

OOS is out-of-state. All California UCs give preference to in-state residents, and don’t generally give financial aid to out-of-state applicants, so if your parents won’t or can’t contribute to your college fund, any California UC will not be a good school for you. The total cost to attend UCSB as an out-of-state student will be about 60K a year. Neither will NYU, which is not generous with financial aid and doesn’t do merit aid. USC could go either way–they do have some merit scholarships, but the field is competitive. Stanford meets full need, but if your parents make good money, you won’t qualify there. You need to find out what their EFC–expected family contribution is–so you have a realistic notion of what most schools will expect you to pay.

So bearing that in mind: you need to find schools that you can not only get into, but which are likely to give you merit scholarships. I would advise looking at CC’s list of scholarship schools. Start with University of Alabama, where with your stats you would automatically qualify for a merit scholarship. Do your safeties generally give merit aid? I think you’d be competitive for merit aid at a lot of schools, but not necessarily the top tier ones.

And talk to your parents. I understand their perspective, but with all due respect, the university system in Russia/Europe is very, very, very different from here. I know that over there, if you’re a top, gifted and qualified student (attending a university-track high school), you can relatively easily a scholarship to go to a top uni. I think it’s a really awesome system, but it’s not the one we have here, unfortunately. The U.S. university system is relentlessly capitalist, which means most people, including brilliant and gifted people, are expected to pay full freight. Full rides are the exception, and you need pretty big hooks to get them, especially at elite schools. Many elite schools don’t offer merit scholarships at all, because they don’t have to–all of their applicants are outstanding. Hence why places like NYU don’t give lots of full scholarships.

So talk to them–if they have ANY means by which to support your college education, they should consider it. You say they’re really successful, so I suspect when they fill out their FAFSA, most schools will come back and won’t give you a lot of financial aid. Now, it’s their right to not give you any money for college, but if that is truly the case, you’ll have to change your college application list so it exclusively is composed of schools that not only give merit, but where your stats are above their average applicant profile, so you’re competitive for those scholarships.

14

Are you applying to 3-4 schools in addition to the 4 you list here (USC, UCB, NYU, and Stanford) or is that your complete list? Your stats are decent although test are too low, and you have interesting EC’s, but I would say all of the school you list are reaches for you. As an Out-of-State (OOS) student, I would say even UCSB is a reach- I would definitely not count it or NYU or USC as either matches or safeties. Stanford is a big reach for anyone, no matter what their stats. I would hate to see you only apply to these schools and then not have any options in the event you are not admitted to any.

In addition, you need to run the net price calculators that are available on every college website. Even though you are planning to pay for school, your parent’s income will be considered when you apply for financial aid, so depending on their situation, you may not receive much aid. You will receive little or no aid from UCSB or UCB because you are OOS (the UC’s expect OOS student to pay full amounts), so the cost at either will be around $55,000 per year. NYU is around $60,000 per year and Stanford & USC run about $65,000. Even if you are admitted to any, your stats are probably not high enough to receive much in scholarships. As a student, you are limited to borrowing around $30,000 total over the 4 years of school, unless you have a co-signer for more than that. Are your parents willing to co-sign for a loan for possibly over $200,000 for the 4 years? I hope not, because that is a huge debt to take on as a student and you would be responsible to pay that money back after you graduate. It’s great that your parents were able to get through college on scholarships, but that was in Russia. Even many U.S. parents here were able to get through on loans and scholarships easily 25 years ago, but college costs in the US have increased astronomically since then and it is not a realistic expectation any more. Just be sure to run the financial calculators for each of your schools to make sure they are going to be affordable for you. If you find they are not, try to come up with a group of schools that are more feasible. If you can get your test scores up, you should be able to get some decent money at many schools, but probably not the ones you listed. I don’t want to put a damper on your excitement, but I would hate even more to have you apply to a limited list of schools only to find out that you either are not accepted at or can’t afford any on the list.

15

Stanford long shot.
Berkeley maybe.
Competitive at the others.

16

Your weighted gpa seems pretty low for schools like Stanford and Cal. Does your school offer Honors and AP classes? I think you should seriously consider the advice given above about trying to find schools that you will be able to afford.

The comment that colleges will feel slighted that you did not attend their summer program is not correct. If it was, it would mean no one should ever attend a summer program because it would jeopardize their chances at all the other schools they are applying to that also offer summer programs, which obviously doesn’t make sense.

As of now, your grades and test scores are not competitive for Stanford (are you taking any subject tests or AP exams this year?). You should be aware that attending their summer program does not give you a boost in admissions even if you are able to get the professors to write you recommendations. They receive many such letters and largely treat them as just another rec (unless the student has done truly phenomenal research work with the professor or they stood out head and shoulders above the rest of the class in a course - which is rare for high schoolers to be able to do). Stanford has the lowest acceptance rate in the country which means that kids are trying every possible angle to get in. If all it takes is to sign up for some courses and ask the professors for recs, there would be a flood of kids doing that.

I’m sorry if I sound discouraging but I want to make sure you’re going into this with the proper expectations. You should take courses at Stanford for the enriching learning experience and not because you think it will enhance your chances of admission. Otherwise, your $10k would probably be more wisely spent on other things such as more college application fees.

You seem like a great kid and I’m sure you will end up at really good school but it is important for you to figure out where you can afford to attend first, especially if you are only applying to 3 or 4 schools. It doesn’t make sense to have reach schools on your small list that you probably can’t afford to attend even if you got in.

Good luck with your SAT exam and ACT exam if you decide to retake it. I would suggest sitting down with your parents and having a frank discussion with them before you do anything else. You will need to shape your college search around what comes out of this meeting.

Best of luck with everything!!

17

I hate to be the buzzkiller here, but I really don’t see any possibility of admission for Stanford unless you are a recruited athlete (you’d know if you are).

18

sat subject tests? either way bring your ACT to 33 at least to have a shot at stanford

19

@takeitallin Stanford, NYU, USC and Berkeley are the most prestigious schools I’m applying to, but I’ll also apply to a few safety schools. I’m thinking of Pepperdine and a few smaller state schools. Also I did a lot of calculating and my family’s annual net income is about $98,000, so I do qualify for financial aid at all the schools I’m considering.

@Falcon1
Thanks for the honest feedback, and I do realize that schools like Stanford are a reach, but I’ll give it a shot anyway. Yes, I’m taking three AP exams this year (or I took them last week so I dont know the results yet). I will be retaking the ACT in a few months and taking the SAT in three weeks from today. I’m also qualified for financial aid at most colleges because my family’s net household income is about ~$98,000. Lastly, I dont have to worry about application fees because I am using a SAT fee waiver, and for people who are eligible for the test waiver, the College Board also gives college app fee waivers, thankfully. Thanks for the feedback, definitely helpful!!

20

I know that Berkeley and NYU take intended major into account for admissions. Not sure about the other two. Overall, I would say these are your chances:

Stanford - reach
Berkeley - reach
USC - high match
NYU - match (reach if studying business, theatre or any other competitive major.

The ACT score is holding you back. To be competitive for Berkeley and Stanford, I think you need a score of at least 31. Maybe try the SAT?

Good luck!