"Uniqueness" at Stanford?

Applying to College
1

<p>They say Stanford admission largely relies on "following your passion"...well, I haven't been keeping up with the EC game long enough to develop any amazing state or national recognitions, etc...and my parents have never beat me with the metaphorical stick or forced me to do any ECs.</p>

<p>I'm a junior. My passion is community service, which I realize is kind of a vague interest. More specifically, I relish small helpful acts and locally based events like Relay for Life (fundraiser to fight cancer). I have and will hold several leadership and initiative-taking positions in my school's community service (Interact) club, and I plan to start at least one local fundraiser. Also I should soon be volunteering 8 hours a month for a year at a local hospital (this is really common though). All this is no big deal on paper, compared to the epic activities of most Stanford applicants, who have been involved in community service stuff for most of their lives. It seems like my only hope would be to demonstrate some unique philosophical perspective in my essay/application that would make me stand out from the resume padders who have sheer numbers on their side. </p>

<p>I have a few other decent activities (yearbook, cultural clubs, sport) and qualifications (AP Chem. as a sophomore if that helps?), but nothing amazing. GPA like 4.217 weighted, school is a moderately competitive public.</p>

<p>I'm kind of torn between history + humanities stuff and biology. I've read that Berkeley and Stanford are both great for these, and I want to apply to both mostly because I think I could go to Stanford for free (<60,000 income bracket) if that program is still in effect next year. I know it's a huuuge reach though.</p>

<p>Since this has been kind of rambling, I'll summarize: Do I have any hope? Would Stanford admissions believe I'm really "passionate" even if my community service activities didn't start until late sophomore/mostly junior year? Let me know if I need to make something clearer.</p>

2

<p>You don’t need an unusual philosophical perspective, as you put it, for Stanford admission. I don’t feel they are looking for that. Maybe for a U-Chicago essay they’d like to see an uber-intellectual, but not in a Stanford essay.</p>

<p>I wouldn’t worry too much about starting a main EC as a junior. Something like going out in the community is not typically done before junior year. Most people, even admits of elite schools, are just involved with school and/or school activities the first couple of years.</p>

3

<p>Thanks for the input, it helps keep things in perspective…still, I don’t see how I can distinguish myself from all the applicants who are equally strong or much stronger. ~2400 freshman admits aren’t many…</p>