Hi, everyone!
I’m currently upcoming senior who will be applying this fall.
I’m expecting to get 32+ on ACT this fall
SAT II Math 2 770 Chem 730
unweighted GPA 4.0
I am an international student but enroll in a private american high school.
freshman year my course is messed up by the counselor but junior year i took duel enrollment calculus 1, ap physics 1, ap us history, ap english lang, ap computer science, an honor course and self-studied ap environmental science.
Senior i’ll be taking duel enrollment calculus 2, ap physics C, ap gov, duel enrollment micro/macro, ap english lit, ap biology, duel enrollment statistics, an honor course and a IT course for casio A++.
Activities: jazz band(10-12), varsity rowing(9-12), key club(11-12), NHS, FIRST robotics team(leader) with other minor clubs
My school had some serious problem with my GPA so ranking does not reflect me at all but my course load is the hardest possible at my school. And Chinese is my natural language. Ive only been speaking english 24/7 for the past two years.
I spent most of my time on robotics from January to April each year. Usually everyday from 7 to past mid night, sometimes 3 or 4 in the morning and go to school the next day. So i dont have much of other activities or practice much for standerlized tests.
Im thinking about applying Stanford’s REA to study engineering area. After reading threads about Stanford admissions I dont think I have much of chance so should i try REA Stanford or ED some other relatively easier college?
It’s often hard to chance people accurately on here if they don’t go into detail about their extracurriculars. Take robotics, for example. Are you simply a member of a team? Or are you a captain that leads a team that has won regional championships and qualified for worlds? (I only know a little bit about robotics) It makes a difference.
However, with what you have told me, you don’t really stand out as an international applicant. I believe Stanford likes to have 10% of its student body comprised of international students. You compete for 1 of 200 spots, I, an American citizen, compete for 1 of 1800 (around). So the competition to get in is much tougher for you than it is for an American student. You need to improve your profile. An ACT of a 32 is good, but not exceptional for Stanford. Aim to get at least a 34. Also, you will want to have a class rank; at least I think Stanford will want to see it. Good luck!
If you dream of Stanford go ahead and try. If you ED and get in, you will have a 0 chance of getting in stanford. Whatever you have now isn’t 0. Will you be satisfied at, duke, for example, without thinking about stanford? Also I agree that from the looks of things, your chances aren’t high unless you’ve won international recognition. Do as you think is best, but even if you like stanford, stanford may not like you back.
Look at some of the really good state engineering schools in the midwest/south like Purdue & Georgia Tech. Both have >30% admission rates and are within reach of your current stats. You will need a 34+ ACT score as an international to be competitive otherwise.