I’m happy that I get another shot and I plan on using the optional update form to the fullest.
Anyone know any significant awards/competitions I can sign up for and succeed in, over the next 3 months? I’m currently involved in a lot of research and sending manuscripts out for publication, but considering I already have published 2 papers, I’m not sure how much of a boost a 3rd one will be.
Please help me in anyway to buff up my application.
If awards are already in your path, fine. But there are so many other ways to show your fit, what they want.
Such as?
An award that can be won with just three months of effort probably isn’t going to impress AOs all that much. If it was that easy, there would be a lot of high school kids going for it. What skills and activities have you already got in the works? What goals are you currently working on? What are you currently doing to make your school or community a better place?
@lookingforward @eyemgh what are some ways to show fit?
@Groundwork2022 Ok thank you. I’m willing to study hard for difficult competitions like USABO too, but I think those results come after Feb 20, so I may have to divert my attention elsewhere. I think I can win a few tournaments with my local club team in our sport. We’re pretty good and nationally ranked. I’m also currently a leader of my school’s service club and have initiated a new project with a local company.
Also, do I send a letter of continued interest? If so, how do those work?
just keep your grades up- this is KEY, so DON’T let Senioritis set in, and report any new awards / tournament wins, etc.
There is no need to send a separate letter of continued interest. Just make sure you fill out the form Stanford sent you.That shows continued interest on your part. Your guidance counselor can reach out to Stanford to support your application.
By not rejecting you Stanford has indicated that they saw something that clicked with them, and will be taking a second look at your application.
good luck.
Are you legacy? And what are your stats, intended major?
@socaldad2002 I’m not legacy. I have perfect stats (act, subject test, gpa) and intend to major in chemistry (premed).
@menloparkmom Ok thank you. I have maintained the highest grades with the most rigorous schedule (7 APs) and am currently slated to be valedictorian. I will make sure to send that optional update form. How can the guidance counselor reach out to Stanford? What should I tell my GC to do? Do you have ideas for new competitions or awards I can attempt to win?
It’s not about any old awards, not when we’re talking Stanford. Nor titles in clubs (depends on what those are) or fundraising/working with middle schoolers. You’ve said you might be interested in medicine. What have you done with healthcare or community needs? What math or sci ECs?
Something intrigued them about you. You need to pick what you are doing that’s meaningful to them and show some new vigor. Anything change recently?
I was directing my question to @lookingforward hoping to get something concrete, since it was intimated there were concrete things that could be done. Alas, you got the response I expected…banal platitudes.
Personally, I do not believe there is anything you can do in addition to what you’ve done to improve your chances. Nor do I believe anyone can tell any candidate what they can do to improve their chances, short of the assumed high GPA and test scores.
You aren’t a celebrity, athlete, legacy or major donor, so you have done everything a candidate CAN do. Yet, it’s still statistically more likely you’ll be rejected than not. Why? They have FAR too many fully qualified candidates. There are over 40,000 HS Valedictorians in the US. Between MIT, Caltech and Stanford, they have less than 5000 first time freshman slots. The odds are staggeringly against even the best students. Anyone who tells you otherwise, but cannot offer concrete, replicable proof, is simply a charlatan.
The good news is, you’ve prepared well. Statistically speaking your likelihood of a successful career is similar at Stanford or your state flagship…very high. Don’t be too worried if you don’t get in. You didn’t do anything wrong.
Congratulations on your achievement and good luck!
Totally agree with @eyemgh. You’re an extremely bright student so you should know that there is really nothing more to do. Many kids with perfect scores don’t get into the schools they want to sometimes its just the school might assume you want to go elsewhere. Getting deferred is a win at this point. You can let your regional counsler for Stanford know that even with this recent news that it is the school you want to study at. Short and simple. Remember they are building a class and they need different types of students. Don’t take any of this personally. As I told my kids, you are going to be accepted, rejected and wait listed by some really great schools and they were…
There are the crapshoot believers, those who advocate just doing what you wish, and those who suggest appropriate consideration of what a college looks for, which takes some looking and thinking. An applicant to one of the tippy tops needs the latter.
I asked OP to take a look, at both what they like to find and what else he’s done/is doing, that hasn’t been told on CC and may not be in the app/supp This is not about naming a contest he can win by Feb. But nor is it at all about telling him to lean back, cycling back to the crapshoot theory. They’re looking for kids who don’t lean back, who do think.
I agree a defer is win. Now it’s up to an individual to seal it. Or not. I wouldn’t tell a kid to just cross his fingers or that it won’t matter. YMMV.
It’s more than scores or proclaiming your love. Or consoling one tht he can do just as well elsewhere. You want it? You go for it.
I disagree that there is nothing to be done. This is a deferral, not a waitlist. The AOs are going to reread the OP’s application top to bottom all over again sometime in the next few months. So if he has something new to add, get it on the table! Yes, the odds are low, but OP still has a better chance in RD than he would in getting off a waitlist.
@Groundwork2022 if that is pointed at me I mean like entering and winning a competition. That is why I suggested reaching out to the regional school counselor. Also sometimes the things that are not important can be. In our state my son was looking for “extra” stuff at one point. Then he was awarded some Illinois scholar award that it seemed like everyone at his school just received. He was hesitant to send it in since it didn’t separate him enough and we suggested that he knew all his friends got it also but do the schools he applied OOS really know about it so he sent it in as extra information. .
Also as stated schools are “building” a class and they want diversity in many areas. Schools want to see someone well rounded in many different areas. I don’t think writing another paper or trying to enter and win something is the correct approach. I think withstanding the pressure of waiting and submitting midyear scores etc is enough. Sometimes gc have a connection to the school. Yes, have that person talk to their contact.
A friend of ours kid had perfect GPA, 35 act and national debate school and personal champion a few years in a row. Went to debate camp and won like everything. Great kid. He was shocked when Stanford, Princeton, Harvard said no. He got accepted to Northwestern, Michigan and University of Chicago where he is currently at and could not see himself anywhere else. He self admitted a few years after acceptance that his essay and application was boring. He just talked about his accomplishments. Someone told him he didn’t have anything about being part of a team like sports or a group that he joined. It was all about just him.
The diversity a college like Stanford seeks is not some “default.” Not, “Oh, this kid likes Ultimate Frisbee and that one likes to cook.” Nor is it enough to be strong enough to wait. If there’s something vital missing or some new responsibility/impact, share it. (Know what matters versus what’s small potatoes.) Even just assuming the only option is a contest is worriesome, to me.
There are lots of reasons for a deferral. Considering the Nov 1 deadline is only half through the semester (half way to the 12/31 deadline,) and that apps willbe reviewed up through early March, many kids will continue being active, may find themselves with something to add. Something that does matter.
I am not saying there is nothing per se that anyone can do. I am saying there is nothing PREDICTABLE AND REPEATABLE that anyone can do that will guarantee they are successful. What you read out here over and over is stuff like "They’re looking for kids who don’t lean back… " What you never, EVER read out here is what leaning in is for a specific institution, nor do you see a whole bunch of students saying “thanks, I did x, y, and z, as you suggested and I got in.”
All that said, win a national math or science competition before the deadline, have a patent granted, etc. and it will not hurt. That though is very much akin to saying just run a sub-4 minute mile in the next few weeks. That will help your chances too.
I personally think running the sub par 4 minute mile is more interesting and very fast… Lol…
I good friend of ours does college counseling to the kids mostly going to the ivys and top ten schools. She wanted to see both of our kids resumes in junior year. My sons was all about chess. varsity top 5 in state, he taught at chess camp. He for pay, tutored a kid in chess and was a math peer to peer tutor. She said all the admissions counselors are going to see is just one item… You like chess. She said “what else you got” He said, "what do you mean, this takes up like 90% of my time… He learned to diversify and do others things that he liked. He didn’t think starting a club was a big deal. Etc. He had stuff to add.
Personally when all things are pretty equal, I would think the essays would really shine. If it doesn’t show a different side of yourself to me you become stale.
She totally agrees with this.
@Knowsstuff, I agree with the essay point completely!
Essays, where applicable, rule, probably to a fault for some majors.
It’s interesting. Essays are sort of like interviews. Multiple studies have confirmed that in a tech environment, interviews result in choosing worse candidates than had the hiring been done simply on the basis of resume review.
looking forward, I applied talking about how much I like to cook and I got in