<p>I am currently a junior at a well respected school and would really like to go to Stanford. I can't decide if it is worth it applying to Stanford Restricted Early Action because I will not be able to apply early to any other schools. Am I a good enough candidate for Stanford for it to be worth the risk?</p>
<p>Grades
unweighted gpa of 4.0 and a cumulative weighted of 4.35 my junior year weighted is a 4.67
8 honors/AP classes</p>
<p>Extra curricular
volleyball for 4 years (one bronze at junior nationals)
rowing for 2 years (I'm not good enough to be recruited but I am still contacting the coach)
played violin in orchestra for 9 years (concert master one year)
president and founder of a successful club
volunteered at a local aquarium two hours a week for the past 4 years (trained an octopus to open jars :D )
National Honors Society
California Scholarship Federation
2 time student of the month
will be doing an internship at Boeing this summer </p>
<p>SAT
Havent taken the real one yet but I have scored a 2310 on a practice through Compass </p>
<p>Letters of Rec
One from AP Chem teacher (Junior year teacher got over 100 percent)
One from Honors English teacher (Junior year teacher)
One from club contact </p>
<p>Essays </p>
<p>Science is my passion and I hope to make this shine in my essays</p>
<p>REA for Stanford is very competitive. In this year 2012-2013, only 725 out of >6000 applicants get admitted. These 725 includes recruited and *hooked", which I read from other posts that will be something like one hundred something. Only good scores won’t be enough, strong EC and extraordinary essay are needed. Check out the REA admitted thread to see the stats and others. Sometime, it may be a better strategy to apply RD if there is nothing in your resume really stands out.</p>
<p>schools. Am I a good enough candidate for Stanford for it to be worth the risk?</p>
<p>My son was recently accepted to Stanford REA but he was still able to apply to a few other schools that mandated early action for scholarships. So, look over the websites of some of your other choices - you may find that REA at Stanford doesn’t place you in such a restricted positon as you originally thought. As a parent, I can only encourage you to chase your dreams … if you believe Stanford is the best fit for you, then go into the REA process with confidence and a realization that only a small percertage get in. Who they choose isn’t based just on numbers; they want to know you and how you plan to change the world. I hope this helps - keep up all your great success in and out of school.</p>
<p>Applying REA to S would be a respectable choice. Keep in mind, however, that REA at S is extremely competitive (they reject the majority of applicants outright - I think it’s about 60-70%, as opposed to other elite colleges like Yale and Harvard that only reject ~20-30% early). Essays are the most important part of Stanford’s (as well as any other elite college’s) application.</p>
<p>If you are absolutely certain about S being your first choice next fall, apply REA.</p>