STANFORD and other schools :)

<p>I'm a junior at a public high school with about 1300 students, so class size is ~350.
I've posted this once before at the beginning of Jr year but I redid it because now it's updated :)</p>

<p>Gender: F
Nationality: White, but moved to the States when I was 5 from Europe. I lived in 3 different countries previous to moving here. English is my 2nd/3rd language. </p>

<p>State:MA</p>

<p>SAT: 2210
Writing: 750
Math: 780
Reading: 680
[possibly retaking]</p>

<p>Math II: 780
Math I: 700
Bio: 620 (this is embarassing hahaha)</p>

<p>AP Scores:
AP Calculus B/C: 4
AP Calculuc A/B: 5
AP US History: 5</p>

<p><em>probably taking the ACT in the early fall</em></p>

<p>College GPA: 4.4
I'm not sure if ^ that is UW, or W. Our school just calls it our "college GPA." The other one they give is is out of 5.0, and mine is 5.75 / 5.0. </p>

<p>Class Rank: Top 1%, that's all I know. </p>

<p>Sports:</p>

<p>-Diving (9-12) Varsity (10-12) --> made it to Sectionals this previous year, and hoping for States this upcoming year. </p>

<p>-Gymnastics (9-12) Varsity (9-12)</p>

<p>-Outdoor Track (11-12) JV</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
-German Club (Co-Pres 11, 12)
-Education and Leadership for a Nonviolent Age (ELNA) (Co-Pres, 12)
-Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD)
-Earth Club
-Also, I do 2 diving club teams, so I do it year-round.</p>

<p>Other Activities:
-Model UN Conference (2009)
-ELNA Leadership Conference (2009)</p>

<p>Community Service and Jobs:
-CIT at a camp, 2 summers in a row (about 180 hours)
-Relay For Life (24 hours)
-Math Tutoring (20 hours)
-Chem Tutoring (3 hours, it was to prepare someone for a test)
-ELNA Family Feud Night (we raised $2000 for Angels of Hope - Uganda)
-ELNA Concert for Haiti (we raised money (not sure how much yet) for Haiti)
-Babysitting, like everyone else in this world...haha =P</p>

<p>Awards:
-National Honor Society (11,12)
-High Honor Roll (every term so far)
-National German Exam Finalist (scored over 90% each time I've taken it)
-National Merit Scholarship - Commended Student
-Class night for the 2010ers this week, but a few of us juniors get book awards - can't wait to see which one I get</p>

<p>Summer Stuff:
-CIT at a camp
-Indiana University Diving Academy (went this summer - SO amazing)
-Nanotech lab research - my lab was researching a cure for cancer through nano particles.</p>

<p>Courseload:
I've always taken the highest course available in every subject, and usually get in the A range of grades, with the occasional B+ (but rarely!)</p>

<p>Junior Year:
AP Calc BC
AP US History
Honors German 3
Honors English
Honors Biology
Normal Spanish 4 (long story: no Spanish course - 5th year, 4th year, OR AP - fit into my schedule except normal level Spanish 4. I wanted to take Spanish regardless because I really do enjoy learning languages. My counselor will explain this in my rec, she said). </p>

<p>Senior Year:
AP English
AP Spanish
AP Statistics
AP Physics C
I/S Multivariable Calculus
Honors German 4
Intro to Art // Sketchbooking</p>

<p>So, I'm applying to a LOT of schools. Don't tell me I need to take some off my list. I'm aware. But it's not happening. </p>

<p>Brown
Columbia
Cornell
Dartmouth
Duke
Georgetown
Johns Hopkins
MIT
McGill
Princeton
Rice
Stanford * (applying Restrictive Early Action)
UC - Berkeley
UCLA
UPenn
USC
UCSD
Yale
Wash U - St Louis</p>

<p>Also, I'm having trouble finding safeties that I would actually <em>want</em> to go to. I'm thinking like a school with 3000-7000 students, close to, if not in, a big city, etc. Any ideas? </p>

<p>Hooks: First generation immigrant (English is my second, technically third, language), diver (NOT scuba, springboard), <strong>research in a nanotech lab this summer</strong></p>

<p>Also, I'm attaching a diving video to apps because I want to dive in college, though it really depends on how good the school is at sports...I ideally want a D3 school.</p>

<p>So you say you want a D3 school so you can dive, but I count at least 14 D1s on you list. What don’t I understand?</p>

<p>Your EC’s are really good. Retaking the SAT’s would improve your chances at the Ivy League schools.</p>

<p>Unfortunately, all the top schools you’re applying to will not accept both the Math 1 and Math 2. You’ll only be able to submit one math, which should obviously be Math 2. That leaves another test to report, and I highly recommend you take another subject test and do better than a 620 if you want to get into Stanford or the like. :)</p>

<p>Other than that: your SAT Critical Reading is a problem. Aim for a 700 or higher.</p>

<p>Your EC’s are good. If you have killer essays, that could push you over the top.</p>

<p>Also, sorry to mention it, but are you sure having such a large list of schools is a good idea? The best thing to do is have about 10 schools: 5 reaches, 3 matches, and 2 safeties.</p>

<p>Anyways: my predictions-</p>

<p>Brown - Mid-to-high reach
Columbia - Mid-to-high reach
Cornell - Mid reach
Dartmouth - Mid-to-high reach
Duke - Mid reach
Georgetown - Mid reach
Johns Hopkins - Mid reach
MIT - Mid-to-high reach
McGill - Match
Princeton - Mid-to-high reach
Rice - Mid reach
Stanford - Mid-to-high reach
UC - Berkeley - Low reach
UCLA - Low reach
UPenn - Mid-reach
USC - Low reach
UCSD - Match
Yale - Mid-to-high reach
Wash U - St Louis - Mid-Reach</p>

<p>You should be able to get into at least a few of your reaches, maybe more if your essays and recs are outstanding. I wouldn’t bank on Stanford, though. It’s possible, but unlikely.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

<p>What you don’t understand is that I’m not going to rule out a great school just because it’s D1. If it’s D1, I can suck it up and dive IM or with a club team. Or if it’s a bad D1 I can deal with it and dive competitively. </p>

<p>Also I know about the Math 1 and the Math 2, I’ll probably take another SAT II and hopefully do well. </p>

<p>And yeah I was considering retaking the SAT, but moreso trying out the ACT (and actually studying for it, since I didn’t really for the SAT). </p>

<p>I’m hoping that being from a really underrepresented country (Bulgaria) will help me a lot. </p>

<p>Also, one of my recs is going to be phenomenal. When I asked the teacher she smiled and agreed without a problem and said “Oh, you shouldn’t be a problem” and laughed. She’s actually the ELNA leader (the club I’m most active in) and I really respect her, and vice versa, I think. The other teacher will probably give me a pretty good rec since I’ve known him for 8 years, but not as good as the other. </p>

<p>Also, my essays so far are pretty good - very unique since I have had experiences different from most people. One is about airports (don’t judge - all my friends love that one haha) and the other is about Bulgaria (but it’s not cliched, I promise). </p>

<p>In addition, I’m applying REA to Stanford – will that help me?</p>

<p>Also how would something like USC be a low reach? It’s scores are
Scores Verbal Math Writing Composite (out of)
SAT I * 620 - 720 650 - 750 640 - 730 1910 - 2200 (2400) </p>

<p>My verbal is in the range, my math is above, and my writing is above. What am I not understanding?</p>