I posted here earlier what my chances of Stanford would be with a 26ACT 480SAT math 550SAT Reading and 580SAT Writing with a 3.75 GPA. I got what I expected, many people saying no. I guess it really was a dumb question. It’s just I toured stanford with a teen group this summer and felt so connected. I know I could probably get in a good college here but Stanford would be amazing. I honestly wish someone had shown it to me earlier, I would have worked harder.
BUT
Is it possible… if I were to get my ACT up to near perfect, my SAT scores near perfect, and raise my GPA to be in the 3.75-4.0 along with the essay describing my struggle with OCD, would I have a chance then? I still have a little hope and unless you’ve walked the campus you can’t begin to imagine it.
On top of all this, what if somehow I could go to another country and do charity work? I don’t have many extracurriculars now but I’d probably donate a kidney to get into Stanford. If I spent, say a month, in Africa helping the kids and adults, would I stand a chance?
Well, your test scores don’t need to be perfect to get into Stanford, in fact they often reject people with those perfect scores. As long as you can pull them up into the range (I’d say around 2250 for SAT, not sure about ACT) then you’re fine. They use test scores just to make sure you’re up to their standard of academics. Same with GPA. But in reference to your OCD, admissions officers don’t usually look at a handicap as a hook. If you can make it work well in your essays, go for it but if it’s just something to mention or a play for pity then it won’t get you anywhere. And, I’m not trying to be mean, but just wanting to be at Stanford isn’t going to get you in. Pretty much every applicant feels the same way and chances are that there are a lot of them who feel just as strongly but are more qualified. Also, charity work doesn’t have to be organized. Charity work can be things you did on your own and you can do charity work anywhere. Also, mission trips are a dime a dozen so the Africa trip wouldn’t help much. What about other extra curricular activities? How good are you at writing? All of these things are taken into consideration during the admissions process so don’t spend all of your time on testing. But honestly, if you haven’t done anything until now, you probably won’t get enough experience or leadership opportunities to really make an impact. Colleges look at how much time you’ve dedicated to each activity so trying to cram 4 years worth of ECs in right before application time won’t do you any good. Sorry if this isn’t the answer you were looking for but good luck with the rest of your apps!
It would be awesome if you could chance me back! http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1820147-but-srsly-what-are-my-chances-of-getting-into-stanford-ps-will-chance-back.html#latest
Thanks, and good luck again!
You are a senior correct? Not enough time to improve if you are. If you are a junior, then that will require hundreds of hours of prep and I don’t think you will be able to do it. You have no ec’s if I recall correctly from your previous post, which makes it impossible to get in even if you were to do whatever you said you would do. Btw, the charity work would not look very good as it basically shows you come from a privileged family. Doesn’t really add anything anymore. You don’t stand a chance. Please, I said it before, and I will say it again. You can go to a good college, but you are not prepared to handle the workload at Stanford. You will be more miserable than you think.
If you can retake either the SAT or the ACT and get a good score, you still might not have a chance because of your GPA and your lack of ECs. Now if Stanford is your dream, by all means apply. But though I know it’s not the answer you want, Stanford is such a high reach for you.
Your scores indicate that you would struggle in Stanford’s classes. I agree with @jarrett211, there is no time left for you to do EC’s in a month. Stanford will be looking at what you’ve done for the past four years and comparing that to the other thousands of kids who want in.
My son was waitlisted at Stanford, he’s a legacy. He did have some really good EC’s that were consistent with his major. His scores were very good. But, he is currently not a student there.
Just saying, as @GMTplus7 stated, going on any relief mission reeks of privilege. Only a select few of applicants have that time or money.
And another thing: I live in California, and have lived and roamed on Stanford’s campus for three summers. Is it beautiful? Yes. Is everyone cut for it? No. Please set your sights realistically. There are plenty of other schools that would love to have you, and just because they’re not Stanford doesn’t mean they aren’t good.
OP, you’re pinning your hopes on an 8+ point increase in your ACT or a 500+ point increase in your SAT. And that’s just to pull your test scores up to something approximating the average scores of admitted students. That sort of increase in scores would be something like a 1-in-10,000 occurrence, and you’d need to spend half your waking hours on prep.
Stanford also requires you to send all test scores, so they’d see the ~1600 SAT and the 26 ACT no matter what you score later on. When given the choice between an applicant with that sort of score on their report and one who scored above their midrange on his/her first or second attempt, it’s not hard to guess who they’ll pick.
Let Stanford go. There’s close to 1000 four-year colleges in this country, and you’d be happy at a number of them. Even with near-perfect test scores and a GPA in the 3.9+ bucket, your odds at Stanford would be about 5%, the grim probability most students face. As things currently stand, they’re maybe 1/100th of that. You’ll feel far better about yourself the moment you stop setting the bar no lower than acceptance at one of the most selective schools in the world.
This is meant kindly, although it may not be received as such. It is time to consider that your OCD is contributing to your perseveration about Stanford, which is just one of hundreds of great and beautiful schools in the nation.
Use the coping skills you have to break away from obsessing about getting into this one school. It is unhealthy for you and a waste of your precious time and energy. Focus on realistic improvements in your “package” (Scores, gpa, ECs) and revisit school choice after you have done so. I have great confidence that if you step away and just focus on being “the best you that you can be” you will find the process less stressful and the outcome more meaningful.