CC Threads are not the best for schools for Stanford since so much weight is placed on character, fit, essays, recs , stuff that is impossible to judge objectively.
Obviously you need the stats to be considered and I think you’re perfectly qualified. However, you have to work extremely hard on those essays and get amazing recs, be lucky among numerous other things to get in. That’s basically the case for almost every accepted applicant. There’s no reason to say that Stanford is dream with a 35 ACT and a 4.0. I think it’s a reach and OP will have to find some way to stand out in order to be admitted, but he/she is not at a disadvantage when applying. The OP is academically qualified for Stanford, just like the other 80% of applicants.
I think you’re misinterpreting the policy. I believe the rule is that you must submit all scores from each company that you send any score from. For example, if you want to send an SAT, you must submit all SATs and SAT subject tests. If you want to submit an ACT, you must submit all ACT sittings. I believe you’re allowed to withhold the scores from one company altogether though, so you could only send ACT scores (if you don’t take subject tests)
Actually, at Stanford they would do exactly what justonedad did. They would also look at the high school profile to understand how competitive their high school really is which is pretty easy to do. Your ACT score is exceptional, your UW GPA is also very strong. Your SAT is so so. My D this year was in the exact same boat and she took 3 subject tests and submitted her strong ACT 790, 730 and 750 subject tests along with her SAT. Summarily rejected REA. If you want to go to Stanford you need to improve your SAT score and submit Subject tests
@tlf123098 Please don’t muddy the waters for the thousands of potential students who read this. It’s not complicated to understand.
The Stanford admissions policy is that students must submit ALL scores on ALL SAT and ACT tests taken.
@Wje9164be Do you mind if I ask how good you think your D’s letters of rec, EC’s, and essays were?
Oh, I dunno if this is worth anything at Stanford, but could the fact that I’m a female going into STEM majors be considered a hook? If not at Stanford, then would it be at Berkeley/Davis/SJSU?
Just to be 100% clear, as @JustOneDad noted, Stanford’s admission website expressly states that: “Applicants must self-report and submit all SAT scores and all ACT scores. Applicants may not use the College Board’s Score Choice feature or “hide” any scores with either testing agency.” However, with respect to SAT subject tests, the website states: “SAT Subject Tests are recommended but not required. Applicants who do not take SAT Subject Tests will not be at a disadvantage. Because SAT Subject Tests are optional, applicants may use Score Choice to selectively send their SAT Subject Test scores.”
Also, I don’t think a female going into STEM majors is a “hook” in the way that recruited athlete, legacy, development, URM is a hook. Depending on the applicant pool and their institutional needs/priorities, it might get you another look. On a few of the tours that we have taken, students or admission reps have said things like “38% of our engineering students are women and we are looking to get closer to 50%” so I would think that at those schools, being a woman interested in STEM could be an advantage but hard to say how much.
I think her essays were good but I’m not sure how tailored they were to Stanford. Her letters of recommendation were probably good by the standard of a large public high school but not as strong as someone going to a top private school might get. She was president of the speech team, led Model UN conferences, played violin in a very strong school orchestra, took part in Youth and Government, went to Girls State. So, I think you would say her EC’s were good but not great without state championships or national competitions. In the vernacular of HYPSM she did not demonstrate exceptional talent. My D regrets not appyling to Brown ED because she would have been stronger relative to the pool of applicants and because the difference between RD and ED at Brown is bigger than whatever REA boost you get at Stanford. My advice to you is to honestly look at where you stand relative to other applicants and apply ED or REA where you have a reasonabel chance. Stanford is very, very tought to get into. The applicant pool at Stanford is incredibly strong. Watch Erin Andrews video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96XL8vBBB7o
I don’t know how 100% applicable the video is (and thank you for the link!) but I was wondering about the accuracy of her saying “I won’t compare Student 1 to Student 2 because they go to different schools and have different opportunities.”
@JustOneDad you said “I know that’s hard to hear when you are accustomed to getting all kinds of academic honors at your school, but you need to know what exists outside your community. And, you will be compared to it.” So do you think that’s beneficial at all?
And it’s at least comforting in the fact that Andrews wanted to see more specific ideals when going into EC’s and such instead of lots of general work, since I think I do that more to an extent. Although I’m not a superstar or anything like that.
It’s beneficial to get a realistic appraisal of where you rank, particularly if you come from a school where the bar isn’t set very high. Every year I see a number of applicants who are 7th or 12th in their class or something and are surprised when they don’t get admitted to Harvard or Stanford. It would even be a bit easier to accept their surprise if they were the Valedictorian. Apparently, someone has been telling them what a great student they are and they think that makes them competitive for the top schools.
Consider the facts; there are 30,000 or 35,000 high schools in the nation. On average, Stanford and Harvard together can accept about one student from every ten schools.
Yeah, that makes sense. Although at the same time, isn’t there only so high you can go when there’s a low bar? If I’m taking advantage of the opportunities I have in my area (and that are beneficial, not just fluff so I seem “impressive” on my application as opposed to being dedicated) then isn’t there a point where I can’t do as good as those people who have the ability to take those fancy opportunities because of the area they live? But yeah. Not a lot of positions open so it pays to do the absolute most you can, no matter where you come from, because you’re still against those people in the end.
You can’t blame all mediocrity, for lack of a better word, on your surroundings. Sure, if your school only offers 3 AP courses, that’s all you can take. But, what you can do is take courses that challenge you online or from a local college.
You’re STEM, did you enter any national competitions?
Did you start a robotics club (or whatever)?
I know you got a state award, but out of all the high schools in your state, how many were in that competition?
Don’t get discouraged, you appear to be a really good student, but I’m just pointing out where you are not competitive for Stanford and the SAT scores loom up front.
Of all the things you’ve noted, do you feel like you’ve maxed any of them out?
Good points on all of that. Thanks for all the information and time you put into answering my questions! (And giving me doses of reality when I need them XD)
So, if you had to pick something, what do you feel your passion is at this time in your life?
@MasterLillyclaw why don’t you just study for SAT Subject test over the summer and take it in October? You will need to have those tests for majority of the schools on your list any way. You cannot be strong CS candidate without at least SAT Math2 test.
I know it sounds somewhat weird to put it in a general sense, but I really love to learn. Like, knowing that there is always more for me to discover about topics is fascinating to me, and I think that’s part of the reason I developed a taste for CS, because there’s so much I could DO with it! I mean, if you learn about history or something, that’s kind of… it. It’s cool to learn with in the first place, but something that can constantly develop like CS does just seems much more interesting. I think I led a bit more of a “kid” childhood (I actually allowed myself free time here and there) than most people, so I’m probably a bit behind on the CS skills wagon, but that just makes me want to learn it more. I want to be able to apply myself in college to things like CS so I can be my best as an adult (and still hopefully learn more along the way).
@ballerina16 I was planning on doing EA for Stanford and I don’t think that the subject tests would come in on time. Unless it’s just silly for me to try to do EA and I should apply normal and take them in October?
October is the last test you can take for EA. As far as I know, Stanford EA does not give you any advantages unless you are an outstanding candidate or have hooks.
I like that, you’ll do fine wherever you go. 
You should apply normal which might help you get some of those tests in.
What about advanced FFA degrees?