“other things I should do to boost my chances? Other things I should work on?”
Do you now what Stanford likes to see? And JHU, Harvard, Cornell, Princeton, Columbia, Northwestern, and Yale?
It isn’t just stats, some long list of activities, a paper, all the awards. Each of those colleges has it’s own identity and values, what it’s looking for, what it wants to find for the class. They want to glean how you think, how you stretch, they want to like you- and that’s a lot more than getting your composite ACT up. The app and supps are what you should think about, how to show them, beyond a resume.
Re-read and listen to @lookingforward: you have a too-long list of things you have done: now you need to knit them together into a compelling narrative.
Big hint: an essay along the lines of ‘my mother had a serious health crisis and now I am inspired to go into medicine’ is extremely unlikely to be a compelling narrative. Sounds harsh, but it’s generally true.
@asaltb Stanford is a private university so the OP’s state status doesn’t matter.
OP you have a number of reaches on your list. Do you have any safeties? Can you afford all of those schools?
You have a laundry list of activities. EC’s are fine if you can tie them together.
I would think you would make the initial cut and get to the next step. Beyond that, it would depend on all of the more subjective things they assess or look for - experience, outside achievement, commitment to subject, etc. - come to the fore. Not matter which way you cut it, that is the realm of luck. And I wish you the best of luck, it is good to have a dream.
This discussion is now closed. Everyone was a big help. I understand where everyone was coming from and I would like it if people would stop posting now. Thank you so much
Stanford seems a bit less test-conscious than most peers – a bit more holistic – so I’m not sure the OP needs to re-take, since 33 probably clears their test-score minimum; surely there are some non-athletes/legacies/URMs at Stanford with a 33 or lower.
Rather, what probably makes an application really pop for a school like Stanford is for the applicant to show, through ECs and essays, how he or she is going to make Stanford better, how he or she is going to fit in at Stanford, etc. I don’t believe Stanford cares quite as much about test scores as schools like, say, Washington U and Vanderbilt do. If Stanford wanted to, they could just admit all 2350+/3.9+ apps, slash half the admissions dept (and cost), and be done with it. The same goes for HYPM, maybe Duke, Penn, Chicago, Caltech, Columbia too.
Stanford is the HYP of California, and studying in California is a very popular course of action these days, so Stanford gets a ton of apps. It stands to reason that most of those are high-quality apps. Most applicants are looking at roughly a 5% chance of getting in.
Therefore, find some other reaches that you like, if you want to attend an Ivy-type school.
And in case you’re unlucky in those, make sure you find a few matches and at least one true safety. Make sure you like and can afford to attend all schools to which you apply.
For HYPSM I think it would be helpful to all if the primary interrogatory was changed. Instead of asking “what are my chances,” what one should really be asking is “am I a competitive applicant” at this school.
Good luck, OP.
Owing to the nature of CC, where we know many lurk, sometimes a discussion will continue. Especially for HYPSM+. You may be able to turn off notifications.
Agree, if the question had been, “Am I competitive?” the answer would have been, “Yes.” But now it’s up to you to figure out what S and it’s sisters really look for, turn “competitive” into an application package that will take you further.
UPDATE: I raised my ACT composite to a 34 (35 super score). From my 3-wk summed internship at Stanford, I was actually invited back for five more weeks to do research at the Stanford labs and I actually got to perform a titration experiment and performed it at the lab meeting with all the post docs. I am also getting a recommendation letter from the head scientist who runs the internship and coordinates some of the labs.
I’m sorry but this thread is closed!! JK!! Great job on the internship. I’m sure your in now especially with a recommendation letter from a faculty member.
