Should I apply?

<p>I'm currently a junior. With some luck, my weighted GPA will be 4.3 by the time I want to apply and my SAT is already 2250</p>

<p>Of course, there are plenty of people out there who have much better scores then me and would still get outright rejected. But I do have a relatively interesting story. I was born in Turkey and lived there until I was 4, when I moved to the states. I stayed in the US until 2 months into my freshman year, and spent the rest of my freshman year in Turkey. I decided I didn't like the Turkish educational system, so I told my parents to send me to an international school in Spain, where I've stayed and will be staying until the end of my senior year. So over the course of my high school years, I have been through the educational system of 3 countries, so it's safe to say I'm a pretty cosmopolitan guy </p>

<ul>
<li>I know 4 languages and I am more than fluent in all of them:</li>
<li>English ( easily my best language)</li>
<li>Turkish</li>
<li>Russian ( My mother is Russian, and I have a Russian passport in addition to my Turkish passport)</li>
<li><p>Spanish (I'll have spent 3 years in Spain)</p></li>
<li><p>SAT 2 Spanish: 800</p></li>
<li><p>SAT 2 Math Level 2: TBD</p></li>
</ul>

<p>-Extracurriculars: I play on an American Football team here in Spain, and we actively travel through all parts of the country, Portugal and France to play other teams. Europe doesn't really have the school teams that exist in America; if you want to play sports in Europe, you have to join a club.</p>

<ul>
<li><p>This summer I'll be going to Africa to help construct houses and teach English and Turkish in one of my dad's schools ( he's an architect for this international school)</p></li>
<li><p>I regularly do community work here (not actually sure of the hours.</p></li>
<li><p>My Course load this years</p></li>
<li><p>Spanish</p></li>
<li><p>Biology</p></li>
<li><p>Trigonometry</p></li>
<li><p>AP Econ</p></li>
<li><p>AP World</p></li>
<li><p>AP Euro</p></li>
<li><p>AP Literature</p></li>
</ul>

<p>That's most of what my application may look like, barre a few details.</p>

<p>My question is, should I bother applying? I know how ridiculously hard it can be to get into this school and there probably are people out there with more interesting applications and higher grades. My biggest thing is the fact that I have been exposed to such a wide array of views ( seriously, my mother comes from a formerly communist, and atheist, Russian family. My mother still owns an apartment that was given to my grandfather by Stalin after WW2. My father, on the other hand, comes from a highly conservative Muslim family.), so maybe if Stanford is looking for that type of student I might get accepted.</p>

<p>Yes, you should definitely apply!!!</p>

<p>You should definitely apply, but in your app, try and focus on how these experience that you have had contribute to you as a person, not how, for example, you made the world a better place by constructing houses in Africa. They want to know what makes you tick, what inspires you, and how you will contribute to intellectual vitality at Stanford. While all of the things you listed may (and probably will) contribute to that, your accolades in and of themselves are not the only thing Stanford cares about</p>

<p>Never not apply, if that makes sense. If you don’t you apply, you will spend your whole life wondering if you would have made it or not. I don’t know, just my 2 cents lol. </p>

<p>Always apply, it can never hurt (minus being out the application fee). Your multicultural background is certainly an asset, and your grades and SAT score are perfectly fine. As long as that SAT is weighted more or less evenly (not two 800s and a 650) it’s a perfectly fine score that if you want, can still be improved in the coming months although to be honest it’s not really necessary. Stanford’s review process is incredibly holistic, arguably more so even than the average ivy. They do not admit solely on numbers, proven by what the average SAT score is. Here are their numbers:
Test Scores – 25th / 75th Percentile
SAT Critical Reading: 680 / 780
SAT Math: 700 / 790
SAT Writing: 700 / 780</p>

<p>If you take a straight average, the average SAT score for an admitted Stanford student is a 2215 (2220 rounded to SAT standards). You’re already above that. </p>

<p>Long story short, apply! </p>