Soon to be high school junior with some questions.

Colleges and Universities A-Z Stanford University
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<p>Hi everyone, I'm new. This may be a long post but bear with me if you will. I've been looking at colleges during this summer(at their websites only for right now) and have made the decision of making Stanford as my first choice. What I'm interested in for a major is something along the lines of exercise science/kinesiology. I've tried to see if Stanford had this as a major but I couldn't really find a list. Now the second paragraph and maybe more is going to be more so about my chances of getting in so if you insist, just answer my first question. This will be a long one.</p>

<p>I'm assuming it's generally bad to start off really good(my freshman year, 3.8-4.0 GPA's) to kind of ehh(sophomore year, 3.0-3.3)? In my sophomore year I did get a D for geometry as a final semester grade so I understand that it may do some (hopefully only subtle) damage on my application. I intend to make it up during night school during my actual junior year or summer school. Beyond that, I did absolutely no extracurriculars during these first two years. The whole time during those years I was forced to do this and join that so in the end I just didn't want to do anything. So, how would I improve upon this during the next two years? It's too late to do any changes to my classes. </p>

<p>Freshmen year I only did English honors, Sophomore year I did Japanese 3-4H and junior I will go on to Jap5-6H. So all I can really do is pump up those extracurriculars? I know I shouldn't do stuff I hate just to look good. I also intend on doing the SAT prep and taking the test twice. Senior year, I was hoping I could ease up a little bit but I plan on hauling even more ass since I did not do any AP courses. I'm nothing close to an overachiever, but I'm stressed a little about this ever since I decided on my own to make this my own incentive. If anyone can pass a few tips especially according to my situation I'd greatly appreciate it. Other than that, I'll search on my own here. Thanks.</p>

<p>EDIT: And I just realized I should've posted this in the 2010 section. Sorry.</p>

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<p>The Stanford 2010 section means Stanford class of 2010, not high school class of 2010. If you were looking for advices on your chances, posting in the chances forum would help. </p>

<p>If I were you, I'd really look into the safety schools. Also, you'll need to know your SAT scores before gauging your chances.</p>

<p>"Senior year, I was hoping I could ease up a little bit..."
Think again. You're gonna have to take the hardest schedule you can manage to even be considered.</p>

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<p>It's impossible to give you tips to improve unless we know what it is your school offers in the way of AP courses.</p>

<p>You won't be doing yourself a lot of favors if you try and take it easy your senior year, that's for sure. You don't have to kill yourself, but, to be frank, you're going to need all the help you can get.</p>

<p>A 3.0-.3 sophmore year is not very good at all. Now, you do have 1 and 1/2 more years to do something about that, but even if you got straight A's you're probably going to be no more than average academically, and even that's a stretch.</p>

<p>My advice to you, aside from challenging yourself and doing well academically, would be to find some EC's you can really commit yourself to and invest a lot of time in them.</p>

<p>You say you're interested in exercise science. How'd that come about? Is it just something you thought looked cool and interesting, or did you have an experience with it that made you think that's something you wanted to do. You still have a chance to get involved in something related to this before you'll have to apply. Whether it's working in a lab, shadowing a Doc that does that sort of stuff, etc. if it's truly your passion find an activity that allows you to show your interest and not just tell about it.</p>

<p>At the end of the day your GPA is going to be whatever it's going to be, but when it comes to your EC's it's entirely feasible to go from having zero of any sort of consequence to one or two in which you've delved really deeply and developed a real love for/interest in.</p>

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<p>I'm sorry but..safety schools? As for why exercise science/kinesiology, it's a personal interest from experience(which is completely off topic) so I'm not choosing it just for the hell of it. As for finding anything to do about it as mentioned(shadowing a doctor,etc) I have yet to find anything in my school, but I guess I'll have to dig deeper..the closest thing I'll probably get to at school is taking physiology when I'm a senior. I just mentioned the easing during senior because it SEEMED like that the majority of the people did do that,so it was just an assumption. After reading your posts I know for sure I won't be doing that at all. </p>

<p>Also, apologies for posting here again. I didn't even notice the chances section. But I guess I'll just make this into a more specific advice in my situation rather than chances. When it came to looking for ECs, I just had this minor conflict with myself in regards to just doing it because it LOOKS good or because I WANTED to and will find a good experience from it. Either way, thanks to you two for the reality checks. I'll really need to push it. To add to the additional stress, my counselor isn't very approachable or friendly whatsoever for advice. So talking to her will just be another obstacle. In terms of what AP classes my school offers, I can't remember all from the top of my head..but I know we have a good amount.</p>

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<p>"As for why exercise science/kinesiology, it's a personal interest from experience(which is completely off topic) so I'm not choosing it just for the hell of it."</p>

<p>The thing is, it's not completely off topic. It's quite on topic, actually. Right now, at least from what you posted, there's nothing in your application that really distinguishes you. Now, plenty of people get in every year with nothing that really distinguishes them. They all have the grades, the EC's and write good essays, but they're not standouts in any sense of the word when compared with the rest of the students Stanford lets in.</p>

<p>Nevertheless, having something on your application that distinguishes you can really help your chances of getting in, especially when an other wise good student hits a roadbump (D in geometry) or an off year (3.0-3.3). It gives the admissions officer a reason to go to bat for you where they otherwise might not.</p>

<p>Having a personal/career interest like exercise kinesiology is something that I guarantee they don't read everyday. A lot of people want to be doctors, or world savers, but not a lot of people want to do what you do. If you have a compelling reason as to why you want to do it, and can prove that you haven't just decided on it because you saw it on tv or something, that could work hugely in your favor.</p>

<p>Now, it won't single-handedly get you in. You're going to need to improve the other areas of your application, no doubt. One or two questionable numbers can be overlooked, but an application full of question marks is something you just can't have. There are simply too many people that are too good for them to be able to justify the risk you would present - no matter how compelling other aspects of your application are.</p>

<p>So, all that being what it is, if I were you I would not only start to put some serious thought into this passion of yours, but I would do everything I can, both in and out of school, to explore it. Not only should this be enjoyable for you, but it also goes a long way towards showing admissions people that you're more than just talk and that you've actually put some blood, sweat and thought into this thing.</p>

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<p>Really? I've always felt that either way I'm going to be pretty insignificant regardless of what I intend to do. Well if that's the case and you guys are interested in reading my life story then here it goes on why I want to study exercise science. </p>

<p>The reason why I want to get into this major is, I live it pretty much. My whole life I've been overweight(as well as all the other things that came with it;depression,etc) but after doing some serious consideration, I've changed my diet and exercise. It has taken me over 3 summers to get to where I am now. I've put my sweat and blood towards something that's not academic but it certainly relates to it and made me a better person. My family has a history of diabetes and my dad has it. So me getting diabetes may be an inevitability IF I didn't change. </p>

<p>So if I pick up the opportunity to get to work with diabetic people then I will certainly be willing to look forward to it(I've been thinking of that as a career but it seems like I'd have to go to medschool for that).I just want my dad to be alive to see me graduate college. And my dad immigrated to the U.S and had nothing so I want to make him proud. What may make this distinguishable is I don't really care for the salary. If I did, then I'd just major in chemical engineering. When I did fail to change my diet and exercise lifestyle during those times, I read and read on my own time about the subject to further my knowledge because again, it was very interesting to me on how the body works and adapt. I had the knowledge, I just didn't have the consistency and self discipline to actually apply to it until not recently. Even though it's high up there, I do indeed want to contribute something to the world,especially since you know, the obesity epidemic. Yeah sounds kind of far fetched, but it's something I'd like to do. So most of my reasons are really personal reasons. Beyond that, exercise science incorporates my other favorite subjects: Philosophy and psychology.</p>

<p>That's pretty much the highlights on why I want to study this. But since I'm aiming Stanford, I'm still trying to find whether or not they offer what I'm looking for.</p>