<p>I know people probably post about getting into Stanford all the time, but even though I am only in 8th grade, it is my dream school.
I have made straight A's for all of middle school, with my overall average this last fall semester at a little over a 97. I am taking all of the honors classes offered this year and hope to take the maximum number offered each year in high school.
However, I have never taken the SAT or started preparing for it- should I start now or wait a year or so?
I run cross country with a mile time of 5:40-ish, and play baseball. I also have a ton of interests like ultimate frisbee, fishing, camping, hiking, climbing, etc. but I don't do any of them on a regular basis.
This year I am in the National Junior Beta Club, Student Council, Mathcounts Club, and Latin Club. Next year I am planning on joining at least a couple of high school clubs and starting one or two myself.
I'm a boy scout, currently a life scout, which is one step away from Eagle. I have around 50 or 60 service hours this year, and I hope to get around 100 for each year of high school. I think what makes Stanford so compelling for me is that I love to learn and I always want to know more, and Stanford is obviously a great academic and balanced school, exactly what I would imagine as the perfect college for me.
Besides this, what can I do throughout high school to look good to the admissions office at Stanford? I know a lot of what Stanford and other top colleges are going to be looking for is the essays and recommendations, but what can I do now and over the next couple of years to get ahead of the game?
Thanks-</p>
<p>Continue to be outstanding.</p>
<p>Also, cultivate an interest in a couple other schools. These schools are so selective that nobody can guarantee a spot for themselves short of donating enough money to have a building with your name on it. Last year Stanford accepted 6% of applicants. Be hopeful and realistic.</p>
<p>Thanks, I also really like Duke and Vandy. I’ll never give up on Stanford, but I’ll definitely have some other good schools in mind. :)</p>
<p>Do things you love. Drop the rest. Devote yourself to your passions - there’s no need to pad your resume for the sake of it.</p>
<p>At least get ONE run of the SAT in before high school - that run never gets shown to colleges unless you specifically request it (I requested it haha… I never did replicate that reading score). If it’s too late for that, at least take a practice test to see where you stand, and from there you can determine whether or not you need to start studying.</p>
<p>You look like you’re on the right track, but don’t slack.</p>
<p>You’re in the 8th grade. Honestly, the person you are now is NOTHING like the person you’re going to be when you apply to college. Like you, in the 8th grade I wanted to go to Stanford. In high school, I completely forgot about it until the end of junior year, when I started thinking more about college apps. You don’t need to be planning this early. To be totally honest, I spoke to a Stanford admissions officer and people who plan like crazy aren’t the type of students that do well there. They want passion, intelligence, and love of learning. If you have all those things, there’s no need to worry about admissions. I never once planned anything just for Stanford. I did what I loved, what I felt I should do, what felt right, and nothing more. </p>
<p>Follow your interests, do well in school, but most of all have fun. High school should be for enjoyment, not one long resume culminating in a college app. And don’t worry at all about the SAT. I took it once no studying, and then took it again with a week of light review, both times during my junior year. I was just admitted EA.</p>
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<p>There are hundreds of colleges like that. Of course, they don’t have the Stanford name . . .</p>
<p>I know, I’m in 8th grade after all, I won’t be applying anytime soon (thank goodness). I am just trying to ask for suggestions and see what kinds of people Stanford is looking for in their applicants.</p>
<p>If you want a good profile of accepted students, this year’s SCEA results thread should be a lot of help. It paints a pretty good picture of what kind of student is accepted</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/stanford-university/1425488-official-stanford-2017-scea-results-thread.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/stanford-university/1425488-official-stanford-2017-scea-results-thread.html</a></p>
<p>Dude relax. Just find something you are truly passionate about. You seem to like cross country… do it in high school. You look like you enjoy academics… show that. Don’t worry about college so early. Just get good grades and be a passionate person, the rest will fall in place.</p>
<p>Also on the note of what others said, have a bit of fun in high school. Forgot to mention this at first, but it IS true that you don’t have to focus on it that much.</p>
<p>Obviously don’t listen TOO closely to what anyone says, whether they were admitted or not. For instance, littlebuilder took it twice, with a “week of light review” and was admitted. Personally, I also took it twice junior year without a second of studying and was also admitted. But there are also kids I know who took a couple SAT courses to get the score they needed and were admitted. Everybody has their own path to Stanford; don’t do something just because somebody else you know did it.</p>
<p>But most of all, high school is going to be four of the best eight years of your life (adding college). I know people who go “I HATE HIGH SCHOOL” or “I can’t wait to leave” or “there’s too much drama,” but you get weekends off, summers off, friends all around, a laidback environment, no financial worries, few responsibilities… enjoy the time now, because as a senior, I can tell you, once it’s gone, it’s gone. And of the things you regret about high school, it’s not the 40 points you didn’t get on your SATs or the A- you got in English or the typo you made in your common app essay, it’s the things you never tried or the fun you didn’t have. That doesn’t mean tank your grades and such, but other posters are DEFINITELY correct when they say that high school is more than something you use to pad a college resume. Try new things, be passionate, be social, get your grades, take home some decent standardized testing awards, have fun. It’ll work out for you.</p>
<p>Please remember that college, Stanford included, is just a bridge to a greater kingdom. BTW there are many types of bridges to take you there. Also many highly successful people don’t need a bridge. They just swim for it. Stop dreaming about the bridge and start dreaming about the kingdom and especially how you can make the kingdom a better place. Who know’s? Maybe your such a strong swimmer that you don’t even need a bridge.</p>
<p>8th grade? my s2 is a 7th grader, i don’t think he even knows where stanford is.</p>