Should I Even Apply?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Stanford University
1

<p>Ok, I am completely confused on the admissions process. I just do not get it. I have lurked here for a while. I see people an SAT of 1800, GPA of 3.4, people without strong academic or strong EC get in. Then, I see people with perfect SAT & SAT II scores, extremely strong EC, don't get in. I read this thread of a parent complaining of how his/her daughter got rejected when she had like a 4.0, captain of all 3 sports, strong EC get in. </p>

<p>Quote:</p>

<p>Two years ago my daughter applied SCEA. My H and I are both legacies, and she was far more qualified than either of us had been. D's GPA was 4.5, top 3 percent of her large class. SAT single sitting 2240, superscore 2330. SAT II: math 2 - 800, physics -760, Spanish - 740. She was a 12 letter, 3 sport athlete, with all-league honors in all three sports, and was captain of all her teams senior year. She had a sectional rating in tennis and played on an elite travel soccer team. She also had 800 service hours, was president of a major school-community organization, was involved in several other school clubs, and played the piano and cello at a very high level. She had jobs in retail and tutoring, and spent her summers in meaningful ways (including Stanford's EPGY summer program). We thought she was a strong candidate for Stanford, especially with a legacy boost. Once I discovered CC, I knew that she was an average candidate at best, but her SAT scores and EC's were still above average. We had been told that if other things were equal, a legacy candidate would be selected; and we had received the form letter from admissions advising us that legacy candidates were admitted at twice the rate of all applicants.</p>

<p>Initially, D was deferred, and invited to submit supplemental information. She carefully submitted additional information: NMS finalist, winner of two essay contests ($5000 and $1000 prizes), many sports awards and honors, distinction in piano competitions, etc. Also perfect grades in all AP classes. D was rejected in the RD round. She was very sad.</p>

<p>End Quote</p>

<p>Then I read that their neighbor got accepted with weak grades and ec. What does it take to get in? Some people say it is a gamble. But in this video, a Stanford Representative states it is not and blah blah blah. I hear they care more about personality and passion, rather than just grades. Someone in this board said they are building a "city". This made me think. But does anyone know any insights?
Link ---> Stanford--How</a> do you respond to the observation: "Admissions is all just a gamble"? - YouTube</p>

<p>Couple of Questions
1. Does Applying for Financial Aid have ANY affect on your chances.
2. Can we send additional info ( I would like to send HARD PROOF & EVIDENCE of my websites and earnings )</p>

<p>My Info</p>

<p>Status: Junior
Race: White
City: San Diego
Class Rank: Do Not know officially but maybe top 5-15%
School: Private-Catholic
Family Income: $120,000+
SAT - Took two practice tests ( will take the real one this year )
First Score - 2230
Second - 2268</p>

<p>Freshman ( I messed up big time. I did not get serious enough. I started getting serious in my soph. year )</p>

<p>World History - B/A
Algebra 1 - B/B
Religion - A/A
Spanish 1 - C/C
PE - A/A
English - B/B</p>

<p>Sophomore</p>

<p>European History - A/A
Geometry - A-/A
Religion - A/A
Spanish 2 - A-/A-
Art - A/A
English - A/A-</p>

<p>This is my schedule for my junior year.</p>

<p>AP US History
Algebra 2
AP philosophy
Spanish 3
Honors English
Graphic Design</p>

<p>Senior Year </p>

<p>TBD</p>

<p>EC:
- Made, optimized, and manage my Dad's plumbing company website. I helped it make the first page of google when people type in "Plumbing Companies in San Diego".
- Over 500 hours of community service ( hospital, Volunteer for San Diego ( play sports with Kids, start projects, etc.., Father Joe's Village ( help homeless ), Math peer to peer tutoring at my school, Volunteer San Diego.
- Varsity Basketball
- Varsity Track
- Varsity hockey
- Drama ( Crew only - not a performer )
- I like designing and making websites.
- I am a founder of a Laker Forum which has over 20,000+ members
- I make a "money networking" website, which I make about on average $3200-3900 a month from it ( yes, I personally started, and made the website and made the income all by myself (with money support from parents)
- Volunteer at my school's orphanage
- Co-Founder of a charity that sends "care packages" to soldiers( founded it with the help of the Catholic Ministry Department at my school )
- American Red Cross
- Key Club
- Took Stanford CS online classes
- Internship at Microsoft
- Graphic Designer ( You know the covers for games like Madden, NBA 2k, etc and how they have a cover with an athlete, I do the same thing except I use the pictures of our school's athletes, and do some thing clever for the paper/team schedule.<br>
- Recommendations: Algebra 1 & 2 teacher, English 2 & honors English teacher, Volunteer director, letter from my school's Director of Technology & Advancement
I really want to major in CS, which is why I chose Stanford. What are my chances.</p>

2

<p>Honestly, I think if you truly are passionate about attending Stanford and majoring in CS, you’re going to need to show that way more. I’m looking at your EC’s are the interests are really spread out, while you’re “Tech” area isn’t shining as much as it could. Many people with Good stats get rejected from Stanford because they have nothing to pull that truly diversifies them. People think they can get in by being good at everything, and very few of those people get in, as I’ve heard someone say, “Jack of all trades, Master of nothing”. I’m not going to go in depth because this is in the wrong forum, either way, your recs + essays are what truly make/break people. Assuming you do AVERAGE on those, I would give you 8-10%.</p>

3

<p>As a parent, here’s my advice: first, you MUST have the grades/scores to be “in the conversation”, but perfect scores are not required (my daughter had a weighted 4.3+ and 2290 superscore and was honored with an offer) nor are they sufficient (see the above qualifications who did not get in). After that, however, I believe the admissions staff is looking on how to select which 1800 people (from a pool of 35000 who are roughly equal in their grade/SAT numbers) to extend an offer to. IMHO, that winnowing is based on who you are as a person, which can only be shown in the strength and uniqueness of your written application (particularly your personal statement and the supplements), your EC’s (do you show passion for something or are you just “larding” the resume with random service hours), and your personal “voice”.
All that being said, the advice I gave my daughter (who has had her heart set on Stanford since grade school) when she wondered “Should I even apply” is this- “You have the grades and SAT to at least be ‘in the conversation’. If you DO apply, know that there are so MANY worthy candidates that there is better than a 9 out of 10 chance that they will have to say ‘No’ to you–but if you DON’T apply, there is ZERO chance for them to say ‘Yes’ to you!”</p>

4

<p>I think Stanford is looking to fill a diverse pool of candidates. The other person (who didn’t get in) with being a varsity captain, wonder why she did not apply as an athlete. Also maybe she was from a highly competitive school with other candidates that filled the same profile. Maybe the essay was boring - who knows. Like I had indicated before, the only 2 people that I know got in - one turned our high school around, the other had a clear national music talent (both top of their class - with a super gpa/high scores). The third person I know was an international student with varied background. I think there are only so many spots after they fill their athletic/talent quotas and 93% of the candidates will get rejected.</p>

<p>To reply to your original post, you are only a junior now. But you already started a business. That gives you a leg up and then it will all be that essay…I do agree. Not applying is 0% chance, applying is 7% chance. So yes one should apply.</p>

5

<p>Thank you so much for replying guys! I have one question though. Is it ok that I can send examples of my work and copies of website earnings to them? I really want to prove that it is true and that I am not lying. Thanks!</p>

6

<p>Chance me!!!
Academics-Sophomore Year: Honors Algebra2/Trig., Honors English, Honors Chemistry, AP European History, and Spanish level three
GPA: 4.0 unweighted.
Athletics: Member of Varsity Tennis Team(One Year) and Varsity Swimming teams(Two years).
Extra-Curricular Activities: Member of school orchestra where I play the violin. I have been studying privately for six years. In addition, I also played the piano for ten years. And I competed in music festivals such as, NYSSMA, Area All State, and BCMEA. Member of National Honor Society(NHS), Spanish Club, and Student Government.
Working Experience: Research assistant at the Department of Economics at SUNY Binghamton(Fall 2011, Research Assistant at Cornell University Department of Economics(Spring 2012), and Intern at either the IRS or the Federal Reserve(Summer 2012)
Summer Camps: Harvard Summer School( Summer 2011 took Econ and Political Science courses for a total of 8 undergraduate credits) and Summer Institute for the Gifted(Summer 2010).
Future plans for next year:
Courses for Junior Year: Honors Pre-Calculus, IB English HL-1, IB Physics, IB Spanish 4, AP US History, and Principles of Microeconomics(Fall Semester-4credits undergraduate)/Principles of Macroeconomics (Spring Semester- 4 credits undergraduate) at Suny Binghamton.
Planning on taking 5 AP exams in Junior Year( English Literature and Composition,U.S.HistoryMicroeconomics, Macroeconomics, and Calculus AB). In addition, to the SAT, SAT Subject Tests ( U.S. History and World History), and PSAT.
I am planning on transferring to either Phillips Andover or Phillips Exeter Academy for Senior Year and I plan on taking the following AP exams senior year: Calculus BC, Statistics
Awards: Three scholar athlete awards and three varsity letters.</p>

7

<p>^lol sophomore.</p>

8

<p>I am a junior, could you chance me please…I am from New York State.</p>