Should I even be dreaming about Stanford?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I'm applying to five schools. I've been accepted to Northern Arizona University and the University of Arizona. Next I have Alabama, Auburn, and finally Stanford. Stanford is the one I'm really truly worried about because it is my number 1. </p>

<p>I am a senior in high school from Arizona. Female, white.</p>

<p>Weighted GPA (as of end of junior year): 4.817
Unweighted GPA: 3.99 (one B, in a dual enrollment college course)
Rank: 2/190</p>

<p>SAT I: 2290 (CR:750 M:760 W:780)
ACT: 33 </p>

<p>Course Rigor:
I have taken all the honors and AP classes that were available to me at my school. </p>

<p>Honors Classes:
-Honors Earth Science
-Honors English 1
-Honors Algebra 2
-Honors World History
-Honors English 2
-Honors Biology
-Honors Pre-Calculus
-Honors Spanish 3
-Honors Physics
-Honors Chemistry</p>

<p>AP Classes:
-AP English Literature
-AP Calculus AB
-AP Biology
-AP Environmental Science
-AP US Government
-AP English Language</p>

<p>Dual Enrollment:
-History 141/142 (6 credits)</p>

<p>I took Algebra 1 and Geometry in middle school and I was planning on taking AP Calc BC my senior year but my school didn't offer it. I was also going to take AP Spanish but my school got rid of that class, too.</p>

<p>Extra-curriculars:
-School newspaper (10): published in Converge Magazine
-Track and Field (10)
-Cheerleading (10)
-Class of 2012 (11-12): fundraising with student council, planning prom and various other school events
-Link Crew (11-12): assist freshmen in acclimating to high school environment
-Science Club (11-12): secretary 12, science olympiad (placed at state competition)
-National Honors Society (10-12): treasurer 12
-School Musical (12)</p>

<p>Summer:
The summer before senior year I only did two things. Our summers only have six weeks but for the first five I was recovering from a major surgery that I had at the beginning of the summer. The last week I shadowed a town prosecutor.</p>

<p>Honors/Awards:
-Arizona State Math Competition: top in school
-Arizona State Science Olympiad competition: 3rd place microbiology
-National Merit Semifinalist (and possibly finalist)</p>

<p>I haven't written my essays yet, but I'm being completely honest with everything. I've decided that if I get accepted, I want it to be because I was myself and not pretending to be anyone else. </p>

<p>Well, that's all I've got!</p>

2

<p>Yes, you have a shot at Stanford, it’s not the best but you are a competitive applicant. Anyways, I’m just curious, you have a huge drop between Stanford and your next best school. Any reason you don’t have any other elite schools besides Stanford because you clearly have a realistic chance at schools like Northwestern or Cal for example.</p>

3

<p>Well I’m a Tucson girl and I absolutely love the University of Arizona. Everything about the University of Arizona makes me incredibly happy. When I walk on campus, I can’t help but be overwhelmed with my love of the school. </p>

<p>I guess I never really had a “goal” college I wanted to go to. I always figured I would end up at the University of Arizona. Sometimes I feel like my hard work would be wasted if I went to the U of A, but I plan on going into medicine, so I might as well save my money now. I looked into Cal but I would hate being a golden bear! This seems very ridiculous, but one of the things I was taking into account when deciding on which schools to apply was sports programs. I have grown up watching the University of Arizona play basketball and football so I wanted to stay in the conference. Stanford is like the Ivy of the west and it is in the Pac-12, so it seemed optimal for me.</p>

<p>Plus, Stanford or Arizona would be close to home for me, which is definitely a consideration.</p>

4

<p>I totally understand how you feel. I grew up in Ann Arbor, cheering for my Wolverines, and I just loved and always wanted to go to Michigan. Michigan just seemed like the perfect college, everything about it just seemed right. I didn’t really even consider MSU as a safety because of how much I hated them. I never really wanted to go elsewhere even though for a while, I was convinced it would be a good idea to aim higher, I had Northwestern as my top target, but at the end of the day, I figured I would somehow end up at Michigan. I guess you see now that’s where I’m going. </p>

<p>Of course there is a huge difference between going to Michigan and going to Arizona. Academically speaking, Arizona is probably not the strongest institution ever and you could do better. However, when considering colleges you need to look at exactly what you want to major in and how strong the school is there. You can go to a school that is considered “crappy” in almost everything but a specific program and still do just fine. Additionally, you need to consider money. If you aren’t exactly a multimillionaire and you want to go to med school, cost should be a huge consideration. It may actually be a better idea to get a huge scholarship from a less prestigious institution than to attend a more prestigious institution but get huge amounts of debt. If you are a star student and perform well on your standardized tests, there is no reason you can’t go to an elite med school from a less prestigious school. I’m sure you realize this but there are far more factors in selecting a college than simply academic strength. You need to look at everything and simply where your comfort zone is. I disagree that attending U of A would be wasting your hard work. Trust me, everything you have done in the past will come back to help, or haunt, you in the future. For a student as strong as you are, I’m certain you will get a huge scholarship from them. Additionally, this hard work prepares you for what it takes to be elite in a general sense. Besides, if U of A doesn’t actually work out, you can always transfer to a better academic school. Sometimes simply following your heart is the best idea. At least for me it’s worked out great. I wish you the best of luck in the future and hope you end up where you want to.</p>

5

<p>Sure, you have a chance, although it’s not a great one.</p>

<p>Stanford isn’t exactly “close” to Arizona, but it is a lot closer than the East Coast.</p>

6

<p>You are definitely a competitive applicant, only thing is your ECs dont really show alot of focus or leadership so that could hurt you. You should still consider applying to multiple top-tier schools aside from Stanford, I’d say at least consider USC, UCB, and CalTech on the west coast as well as maybe some decent east coast schools unless thats too far from your comfort zone.</p>