<p>Now that it's been a few weeks since I submitted my REA Stanford app, I can't help but look for some kind of early indication of my chances. I made a similar post on the Stanford forum a couple months ago, but thought it would fit better here. </p>
<p>Overall, I'm a 17 year old white male from rural Colorado, I go to a farily large public high school that doesn't exactly provide an overwhelming number of AP courses or interesting ECs, but the main theme of my essays and really my entire application was how my perception of rural life changed and I began finding opportunities for success because of my rural background. I would like to pursue Politcal Science.</p>
<p>GPA: 4.0 (UW) 4.195 (W)
Class Rank: 4/337 although I'll be moving up to #1 because of my 1st semester grades/course load</p>
<p>ACT Composite: 34; Superscores: 35W, 35R, 35M, 32S, 10 Essay
SAT (one sitting): 2230; 760CR, 740M, 730W
SAT II: 760 Math 2, 750 Lit
AP: Statistics (5), Biology (4)</p>
<p>Again, not a lot of opportunities for AP classes but I have taken/am taking the hardest schedule possible and am taking 3 more APs this year and keeping straight As</p>
<p>ECs
- Founded an initiative at my school that registers/pre-registers all juniors and seniors to vote, informs them about local, state, and national issues, empowers through the voting process and the power of the youth vote
- Democratic Fellowship - management of voter contact, volunteer recruitment, and get out the vote operations in our county for the 2014 midterm elections
- Member of a number of local ballot initiatives (Rec Center, school funding property tax, etc.), served as a sort of bridge between these intiatives and youth because I was consistenly the youngest person in the room by a few decades
- President of National Honor Society - revolutionized how the organization was run (new committee and project management systems, etc.), added two legacy projects, completely changed the face and public opinion regarding an organization that had a reputation for being a resume-builder. Also had a rec letter from the teacher that sponsors NHS that hits on all of this really really well
- 1st chair tenor sax in Advanced Jazz - Regional Honor Jazz 3/3 years, member of an independent jazz combo that played gigs around the area
- Basketball (through 11th), Baseball (through 10th) - Athletics is the main dark spot on my application, I quit for a number of different reasons, mainly time commitment, but also because of the pressure of the cultural value our community places on athletics, I just decided it wasn't for me and moved to politics
- Our town's youth council
- Member of Student Council
- 100s of hours coaching/refereeing youth basketball, baseball, and softball</p>
<p>Work Experience:
- Sno-Ball trolley
- Christmas Tree Farm
- Car detailing
- Office Maintenance</p>
<p>Awards:
- Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony Humanitarian Award
- Rotary Youth Leadership Awards Retreat - Student Activist Award
- League of Women Voters "Making Democracy Work" Award
- Rotary Student of the Week
- WATS Talent Search Honor Student</p>
<p>I also attended the Stanford Summer Institutes last summer where I studied Sociology and connected really well with my teacher there who wrote my optional recommendation letter.</p>
<p>I feel fairly confident in my essays, although I worry that I didn't address my political activism directly enough. It just never quite came off authentic, although I know that my other recommenders and interviewer will bring it up. I just felt more comfortable focusing on my character itself. </p>
<p>Absolutely stunning recommendations, I definitely chose the right teachers. </p>
<p>Also just had my interview and it went outstanding, my interviewer really focused on advocating for rural students and me specifically (having never interviewed anyone that's gotten in).</p>
<p>As I said at the beginning, the most critical element of my application is the effect that my rural background has had on my character. I had a very pronounced transition in the last couple years from disgust with where I grew up (some of which could probably be attributed to my failure in athletics), to appreciation of this town, and that changed mindset allowed me to get as involved politically as I have, which is why I made that the main focus of my essays along with my interview. </p>
<p>Sorry for the length, but what do you guys think? I hope that what I've done can be placed in the context of what's been made available to me here in Small Town, USA, but overall I'm really proud of the impact that I've made. </p>
<p>Is my acceptance REA a realistic possibility?</p>