<p>Heyy everyone l.was just hoping people could give me some ideas as to if I could realistically get into Stanford .i used to think I would do ok at an top school, but this forum has so many amazingly qualified people, I dont know where I stand anymore </p>
<p>Here are my stats .if anyone could give me any feedback Id be so grateful!!</p>
<p>School: considered one of the top 2-3 girls schools in canada</p>
<p>Did my GCSEs and got 6A*s and 2 As
Currently in grade 11 all Grade 12 courses or APs
Average 90%
Taking the hardest courseload available next year will have 8 APs by the time I graduate
- I heard that Canadian schools are considered more rigorous than US is this true?</p>
<p>ExtraCurriculars:
- Piano 9 years UK system Grade 7
- Kung fu 8 years purple belt
- Tennis and badminton 8 years
- Duke of Ed Gold Award
- Model UN 4 years
- School newspaper Editor in chief 5 years
- School literary magazine
- Debating team 3 years
- School yearbook Journalistic head 3 years
- Choir 8 years
- Acted in, written, directed and was stage manager for school productions
- School band 5 years
- Flute player 2 years
- School prefect
- Student council
- Over 500 hours of community service</p>
<p>If someone could just give me any advice on where to apply and how realistic my chances at a top school are, Id really reallllly appreciate it thanks!!</p>
<p>You have a ton of EC's. I would HIGHLY recommend cutting that list down your top three. Do you have any SAT or ACT socres to submit? How about the SAT2's? Some of those EC's look good, but from your post, we can't really tell what you have accomplished with each of them. Can you list any awards that you have earned? Remember: its not the amount of time you spend doing the activity, its what you accomplish in that time. Other than that, you have the chances of an average applicant, assuming you have pretty good sat and sat2 scores.</p>
<p>some awards ive earned - from my GCSEs i had one of the top 5 marks worldwide in english literature......in terms of writing/english awards - some of those school awards, 1st place in a province-wide literary contest...ive earned some awards for my piano (national, international competitions)......won badminton/tennis tournaments, kung fu tournametns...that sort of thing....</p>
<p>i just sat the SAT IIs today.....so hopefuly once thosse scores come through i'll have a better idea of what im doing...</p>
<p>What are your SAT I scores? Also, as someone that did GCSEs and was admitted to Stanford, I would say that your GCSE results are good but not outstanding. 8 GCSEs is not a very rigorous courseload and you didn't get straight A* like many candidates do. I think this is made up for by your Enlish Literature letter though, which is a prestigious award. Was your exam board AQA?</p>
<p>inuendo - i havent done the SAT I yet...plan to do that in june.....and in terms of gcse - i did nine (science was a dual award....As in both)....i hope the english lit letter makes up for that, im not sure if it's going to carry a lot of prestige tho.....what sort of grades did you get at gcse? also does it make a difference if i did my first gcse at 12? and that im a year ahead....i dont know whether or not to mention this....i also did Add Maths - are u familiar with that?</p>
<p>yeah my exam board for eng was aqa...and then edexcel for the others obviously...apart from Add Maths which was Cambridge</p>
<p>Sorry, I'm not faimilar with GCSE at all, but your ECs look pretty good. Just make sure you focus on like three of those, rather than having a listing of 15 activities.</p>
<p>No I am not familiar with Add Maths. I assume it is a GCSE version of an AEA in Maths or Cambridge's own STEP. </p>
<p>Regarding the number of GCSEs, I thought you would have done 9 and perhaps had forgot to mention 1 because 8 would be below average for a student such as yourself. 6A* 3A are good results but with your Literature letter and the Add Math paper, they become very good results. </p>
<p>You could probably weave in that you did your first GCSE at 12 somewhere on your application. I assume it is a foreign language like French though and, if so, will not get you much credit since a native speaker can easily do a second language GCSE. I would try to draw as much attention as possible to your English Literature award letter, especially if you are pursuing a major in English or Classics or a related field. I received the same award for Economics and I stated that I intended to major in economics so it gave the award added emphasis. </p>
<p>Lastly, are you not doing GCE A-Levels or at least AS-Levels?</p>
<p>Yea, they will probably compare your SAT and other test scores to other students to give them a better idea about where you are. I am assuming they know the different grading scale in Canada. The school should also send information about how their system works. Also, having people from Canado makes them more diverse so maybe it will help you! :)</p>
<p>Add Maths is pretty much a first year Math course - so it's like taking an AP, i guess, in grade 10...which is not too hard...</p>
<p>thanks a lot for the advice...the first GCSE i did was Maths, actually...does that carry more credibility than a language?.. and yeah i hope the literature letter does help me out, especially since i will be continuing with english for a long time, if not majoring in it...</p>
<p>im not doing a-levels now....i came to canada after doing GCSE's so i'm in the canadian system now, with APs obviously...</p>
<p>also, ilabcurious1423, im hoping my SAT scores do help me out (hope i did well!!) in indicating to colleges where i stand in comparison to US students....but how important is an amazing score..... a friend of mine got 1340 on her SAT and got into columbia with full financial aid...but then again, she had a lot else going for her.....</p>
<p>I am not too familiar with the difficulty of the Add Math course or any grading involved in it so I cannot comment there. Regarding the GCSE math though, I think doing it when you were 12 will be looked at as something outstanding so you should definitely highlight it somewhere in on your application. If you don't mind me asking what grade did you get when you did it?</p>
<p>The SAT I is relatively important in the admissions process but it is by no means definitive to the outcome. I think a 1400+ (old SAT) is what a Stanford hopeful should aim for although numerous candidates get in with less than that.</p>
<p>college-woot, the basic thing they look at for international students are your SAT scores, both on the Reasoning and Subject tests. That's the primary factor. that's what will make them give you a second look. GCSE's don't count much as there are many of us who have them (I took edexcel London GCE). The next thing they would look at are your A-levels (taking them this month). APs will help too if you have the opportunity. But the truth is, aside from how good your application is generally, your transcripts and your SATs are what really count.</p>
<p>inuendo, I will be going to Oxford (provided I meet my A Level offer).</p>
<p>college-woot : Your GCSE's are very good, they won't adversely affect your application. The SATS will probably have a greater impact like Jrock said, so focus on them as well. </p>
<p>If you have time to spare, work on essays and SATS rather than worrying about your GCSE's. Trust me, you'll be better for it.</p>