Is SCEA worth it?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Stanford University
1

<p>I am 17 years old. I am full Egyptian(my parents immigrated from Egypt) with dual US-Egypt citizenship.</p>

<p>ACADEMICS:
9th grade: I was living in Japan and the school I went to did not offer honors or AP classes for freshmen.
10th grade: Biology Honors, Algebra 2/Trig, Chemistry, AP Euro(4), Pre-IB Language Arts 2, Spanish 2
11th grade: SL Economics(5s on Macro and Micro AP Tests), HL English, Spanish 3, IB TOK, Trig/Math Analysis(Pre-Calc), AP US History(4)
12th grade: HL Biology, HL History of the Americas, Math Methods SL, SL Spanish 4, HL English Year 2</p>

<p>HONORS AND AWARDS:
Honor Roll: 10th, 11th, and 12th
Distinguished Scholar: 10th, 11th, and 12th
Scholar Athlete: 10th, 11th, and 12th</p>

<p>CLUBS/ACTIVITIES/SPORTS:
JV and Varsity soccer: 9th through 12th
JV and Varsity Track: 9th, 10th, and 12th
Club Soccer: 10th, 11th, and 12th
Habitat for Humanity: 9th(in Japan)
Cambodian Relief Organization: 9th(Helped raise money to build a school)
National Honor Society: 11th and 12th</p>

<p>COMMUNITY SERVICE:
Volunteered for a non-profit cancer relief organization called GrantWishes with about 100 hours: 10th, 11th, and 12th
Volunteered as a counselor at a 6-week summer camp for kids with a total of 250 hours
Volunteered as an assistant coach helping teach kids the basics of several different sports with a total of 5 hours</p>

<p>LEADERSHIP:
JV captain for soccer: 9th
Camp counselor for 12 weeks
assistant coach teaching basic sports skills
NHS
Helped organize fundraiser at school for Habitat for Humanity club</p>

<p>PERSONAL BACKGROUND:
My passion in life is soccer. I've played soccer for 12 years and I've played in 3 different countries including Japan(on a local soccer team), in Egypt, and in the US. I'm fluent in Arabic and English.</p>

<p>My freshman year I did not do so well and my GPA was a 3.85( One B both semesters). My sophomore year I had a GPA of 4.21(straight A's). My Junior year I had a 4.5(straight A's). I feel like my SAT score is not where it should be but I got a 760 in Math, 720 in CR, and 670 in Writing. I also took the SAT II and i got a 670 in Literature and 740 in US History.</p>

<p>I would really like to major in international relations and minor in Arabic and Stanford is my #1 choice for college. This summer I'm doing a lot of research on the middle east both modern and historical. I'm writing my extended essay for IB on the peace and conflict between Israel and Egypt. For my internal assessment for HL History, I'm doing research on modern conflict in the Middle East as a by-product of the Cold War.</p>

<p>Thank You for taking the time to read all of this. Any feedback on what could boost my chances would be greatly appreciated. </p>

<p>Thank you for your help. Any advice on what I should improve on would be greatly appreciated.</p>

2

<p>Anyone? Please</p>

3

<p>Your chances are about average, which puts you at a one in eight chance. There isn’t anything that particularly sticks out as a wow factor aside from your fluency in Arabic and your Egyptian background. One suggestion, re-post this with only your most passionate EC’s.</p>

4

<p>What school are you giving up to apply to Stanford SCEA? Also, I agree that Stanford is a very good school, but wouldn’t some other schools be better for you like Michigan which is like #2 in the country for Arabic or UT-Austin or Berkeley; I’d feel like they offer more for your major and ideas than Stanford would.</p>

5

<p>You have a good shot at getting in, especially with a unique story like yours (being Egyptian and coming from immigrant parents). Stanford’s ranked #1 in international relations by US News and has a strong Arabic program as well. In fact, Stanford is currently beefing up its Middle Eastern studies focus. Decades ago, Stanford had the choice of focusing its efforts more on Soviet studies or the Middle East, and chose the former, which obviously wasn’t the best idea because the Soviet Union eventually fell (although some of Stanford’s scholars, like Condi Rice, have proven useful for IR with Russia - that’s why Rice was tapped for Secretary of State). More recently it’s recognized the need to pour more resources into its Middle East offerings, so it’ll be offering more classes, study abroad, overseas seminars, etc.</p>

<p>[The</a> Stanford Review Stanford Optimistic About Study Abroad in Middle East](<a href=“http://stanfordreview.org/article/stanford-optimistic-about-study-abroad-in-middle-east]The”>http://stanfordreview.org/article/stanford-optimistic-about-study-abroad-in-middle-east)</p>

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<p>[Stanford</a> slow to build offerings in Middle Eastern studies | Stanford Daily](<a href=“http://www.stanforddaily.com/2011/01/25/stanford-slow-to-build-offerings-in-middle-eastern-studies/]Stanford”>Stanford slow to build offerings in Middle Eastern studies)</p>

<p>If Stanford’s your first choice, it’d be worth it to apply SCEA.</p>

6

<p>Stanford is the #1 school I want to go to and I wasn’t planning on applying ED anywhere else. However, would my chances of getting in be better if I were to apply SCEA rather than RD?</p>

7

<p>^ in short, no. See this post (point #1, in answer to the same question):</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/13024493-post3.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/13024493-post3.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

8

<p>Wow that’s really helpful. Thank You</p>

9

<p>One more question. Is being Egyptian considered a hook(URM)? I go every summer for 2-3 months and I share both the American and Egyptian cultures equally</p>