What are my chances at Stanford?

Chance Me / Match Me!
41

<p>As I have said, with this research – and resulting awards – I think it is worth taking as many admissions chances as you feel you can comfortably take. By that I mean: most of these schools will have Common Applicaton supplements and you need to really be able to spend quality time on each. UCs tend to be stats-reliant, so work on that math SAT, or Act and boost the scores for the sake of insurance. Berkeley is a phenomenal school so, of course, go for it. But remember, no school at this level is a shoo-in, you need safeties you feel are worth attending. As a local LAC, Occidental might be worth a shot. Another poster has also suggested other schools that are safeties where you can also get some merit aid. I would not recommend ignoring those suggestions.</p>

<p>RE: letters of rec. Your teachers and your research advisor are absolute priorities. Your summer job? You need to find out from each school how many letters are acceptable. Extra letters don’t always help, in all honesty. As for the lifeguarding? Shouldn’t that be the subject of one of your essays? Why ask for a rec. about it, when it might be more meaningful if YOU write about the experience and frame it in, perhaps, the terms you suggested might be part of such a letter of rec? If it is so meaningful to your development that you would request a letter about it, that suggests it is meaningful enough for you to write about yourself. In fact, an adcom might read such a letter and wonder why YOU didn’t write about it, rather than having someone else do it.</p>

<p>OK, now we’re at two schools! Let’s see more at all levels: one or two more reaches; three or four matches; three true safeties! Because: Berkeley may be more of a match; it is NO ONE’S safety school!</p>

42

<p>So, swingtime + others,</p>

<p>As of right now I have:</p>

<p>Reach/dream:

  1. Stanford (Should I apply EA? Would it put me at a disadvantage b/c or more competitive applicant pool?)
  2. Yale (I received the Yale Science and Engineering Associating award for most outstanding 11th grade project)
  3. Harvard
  4. Princeton</p>

<p>A bit lower:
5. University of Chicago
6. Brown
7. Vanderbilt</p>

<p>More of a match:
8. Cornell
9. UC Berkeley
10. Pomona </p>

<p>Likely
11. UC San Diego (Maybe I’ll magically get a huge UC Scholarship or something…)
12. UCLA
13. University of San Diego
14. UC Santa Barbara
15. Northeastern</p>

<p>I’m definitely going to cut of at least around 6, and I may add rice.
I’ll probably cut UCs ):</p>

<p>More about the SAT:</p>

<p>Is it worth retaking?
I didn’t study either time I took it because I’m way to busy, but I keep feeling like there’s so much pressure from all I hear about expensive SAT prep and such.
my combined CR + M is 1500… (700 M and 800 CR)</p>

<p>And thank you for the essay advice!
Ideas:

  1. About what its like to go from the safety of school and not having very many consequences for actions to having the responsibility for other people’s lives.
  2. About being born to teenage mother, watching her and father work their way through Community College to local university to becoming public school teachers while raising a family</p>

<p>thoughts?</p>

43

<p>Congrats on your intel isef achievement.</p>

<p>Now the issue is how best to match up your resume with a college; taking account the variables which include admission chances, type of school that “fits” you, and the cost. Therefore, for a school to appear on your list, that school needs to pass through each of these filters.</p>

<p>For example, take the university of San Diego. Fine school. Very, very expensive (55k per year). Limited merit scholarships (a grant of 20k still leaves a huge burden). Does a school where you will pay 35k per year stay on your list? If not, look for more schools. Some schools spread out their merit aid to more students; but each student receives a lower amount then a school which concentrates its scholarship money in fewer students. For those fortunate few the school becomes economically manageable. Do some research on this issue and you will find schools that are well within reach resume-wise and within reach financially.</p>

<p>The best pure financial grant schools are the 8 ivy league schools plus (perhaps) Stanford. HPYS are reaches (but your scores in the main component of the SAT are now fine in light of the rest of your resume) in the sense that those schools are crap shoots for just about any resume. The remaining Ivys are well within reach for you. Now, there are huge differences between Brown and Columbia (course required, type of students, etc), but both will provide you with a challenging academic environment and surround you with chronic over achieving kids. So, you need to really consider where you think you fit. Depending upon your family income and assets, these schools may be the easiest to afford (though do not believe all you read about their financial aid - the devil is always in the details).</p>

<p>There are several schools which offer full merit scholarships to a handful of students (basically an attempt to “buy” kids out of the ivies). Depending on the type school (size, location majors, etc.), these schools may interest you - look at Davidson, Elon, Wofford, Duke, Rice, JHU, and the like.</p>

<p>Some schools have " colleges within colleges" meaning a small honors program within a very large state flagship institution. Many of these honors programs are scholarship based and may appeal to you financially, be a safety school, and allow you to pursue your major while surrounded by some really bright comrades.</p>

<p>It was nice meeting you at ISEF. Keep on trucking towards your goals.</p>

44

<p>Swimmer, I think a plan is now emerging, and here are my thoughts.</p>

<p>1). Step one: refining list of schools and researching others. You are now in the research and review phase. Before you get to stemit’s very wise strategy, you need to immerse yourself in research about schools and, then, a first revision of the list. For every school currently on the list, determine why you really want to go, so that schools that are just “on” the list to be on a list can be removed. Ask yourself “why ____?” for each school. Is there a compelling reason for HYP in addition to S? Or are these just names? Each of these schools is VERY different. So, why Harvard? Why Yale? Why Princeton? Do this for each tier of your current list. In tier two, Chicago and Brown could NOT be more different. Chicago is reknowned for its core; Brown for its open curriculum. These schools often draw very differnet types of applicants. Why are both on the list? You certainly do not need this many UC schools. Berkeley, of course. Maybe one other. Which one? It is time to get a good college guide and really read it. Try The Fiske Guide to Collges. Very good and in-depth descriptions and analyses. It will hep you develop a list. After you get together a revised list of colleges – and this may take several weeks of real research – go to step two.</p>

45

<p>1). Cont. I am glad to see Pomona on your list. Could be a nice fit for you. You can apply to more than one of the Claremont schools, so if you like both, you can apply to BOTH Pomona and Harvey Mudd. The Claremont schools, esp. Pomona, have money, so aid probably wouldn’t be an issue. Again, I urge you to at least research Carleton College in Minnesota, seems a match and it has decent FA. Remember that very few schools promise to meet full demonstrated financial need and these are schools you particularly want to research and pursue (all the Ivies, Stanford, Chicago, and a few other top unis, plus some very good LACS…). Is MIT worth a look to you? </p>

<p>2). Step two: stemit’s strategy of subjecting schools on a deeply researched and revised list to the required tests of admissions difficulty, fit, cost so that the ultimate list has a mix of reaches, matches, and safeties which include FINANCIAL safeties. Application fees add up, so you want a list of schools that you would attend, but you need to work on ways of cutting that list down so that the actual process of applying is affordable for you.</p>

<p>3). Step three: all summer work on essays! Start NOW!!! You CANNOT spend too much time on essays. But DO NOT get a book on how to write college essays. What you need are one or two trusted readers/critics who will be available as you shape and craft these essays. Don’t kid yourself, these will take months. They are your opportunity to tell the colleges something crucial about yourself that test scores, research papers and grades, do not tell, though the essays can bring context and even greater meaning to the “objective” data. Your two proposed essay topics are fantastic, in my opinion. For the Common App. there will be one of five hundred words which will go to all schools via that Common App. Several schools – like Harvard and Pomona – offer opportunities for more open-ended supplementary essays. One of your two could function as your main Common App. essay, the other as that open-ended one for those schools whose supplements allow such. Which one is up to you. The process of thinking and writing over the summer will reveal which topic works best for which function. Or, perhaps something else will emerge. The point is, use this summer to write the college essays. I cannot overstate their importance.</p>

<p>4). Yes, apply EA to Stanford. If, after all of your research, it remains your dream, go for it!!!</p>

<p>5). SATS? I don’t know if it is necessary for you to retake the SATS. I don’t think your applications will fall or rise on them. But if YOU should decide you want to retake, it is NOT necessary to pay for test prep. Just get a good test prep book and prep yourself over the summer, one to two hours per week. But really, essays are more important!!!</p>

<p>6). Several colleges on your current list allow you to send science research supplements, Pomona and Harvard, for sure. Take advantage of this option where ever it presents itself!!!</p>

<p>OK, you have research and list revision to do. Report back. We care!!!</p>

46

<p>So I’ve really fallen in love with Brown- I did more research and I still like both Chicago and Brown because I like a balanced schedule and my chosen schedule at Brown will likely be close to the core at Chicago. But overall I just like Brown better, almost as much as Stanford. It’s probably 3rd on my list right after UC Berkeley. Will a high score on the math 2 test help compensate for my 700 in math? And how much will my 800 in cr help? I took subject tests today- math 2, chem, and us history. Will</p>

47

<p>Will good sat 2 scores help much? I got a 770 math 2 and us history and a 780 chem</p>

48

<p>I think your scores are absolutely fine! Remember, there is Intel in the mix here and that ups the game. Therefore, I would not worry any more about scores at this point. And yes, the SAT II Math score compensates for the math score on SAT I (even though that 700 is fine). Your scores are absolutely within the acceptable ranges for the schools you are most interested in. It is time to move on past tests!!! Test time is over!!</p>

<p>Essays are now crucial. You need them to be your focus this summer, application-wise. And securing those recs.</p>

<p>Schools. I see that you like Brown. Great! It seems as though your reach schools at this point are: Stanford, Brown, and Chicago. All three are very different and at each you will get a fantastic education. I am a Uchicago alum, so I am a partisan. In terms of environment, however, as highly intelligent and accomplished as students are at all three schools, be advised that U of C has long been self-consciously intellectual and has defined itself by an intensely intellectual vibe that is less present at Stanford or Brown. In terms of “vibe” I would say that Stanford and Brown may be closer in spirit than Chicago is to either of them. This isn’t to suggest that Stanford and Brown students are less intellectually accomplished, but to suggest rather that they don’t wear their intellectualism on their sleeves to the extent that Chicago kids have been known to wear theirs.</p>

<p>I note that Berkeley is still in the mix. Good.</p>

<p>What are the easier schools? You know, those pesky matches and safeties? I think you need three real matches and two real safeties. Clearly now there are four schools you really seem to like (and, I assume Stanford is still your early app. choice). As qualified as you are, however, you know no responsible person can say you WILL get into those four. Therefore, being the responsible person that I am, I still want to see that list of matches and safeties (including financial safeties).</p>

<p>I am glad for you that test taking is done. Now you can work on the other components of the process: enlarging your school list to include matches and safeties; working on the essays. FYI: Chicago’s essay topics have been released and I think over at the Chicago Forum they have been posted. Chicago PRIZES the essays. So if you are serious about Chicago, be SERIOUS about the Chicago-specific essays.</p>

49

<p>Okay, I totally see that a bunch of other people have gotten really invested in this, but if you want a fellow rising seniors two cents, based on knowing many seniors who have gone on to attend the “reach” colleges your looking at…</p>

<p>I cannot stress this enough and it’s been proven anecdotally time and time again, each Ivy has a student profile. They may say that they don’t, they may say they take a range, and they do in terms of interest (you want enough people who like Physics to balance out the hordes interested in Econ or PolSci), but I can tell you that Dartmouth has never taken a kid from our school who hasn’t played at least one season of Varsity athletics. Cornell is heavy on the stats, Yale takes the all-around superstars, etc.</p>

<p>You should really evaluate the list of Ivy’s you have based on what YOUR interested in. Right off the bat, HYP. They are all SO different, I genuinely do not believe it when someone tells me they like each of them. Harvard is close to UPenn’s size and has a heavy, heavy focus on their highly-renowned professional schools (law, business, and medicine) as well as their graduate departments. If your interested in Harvard, it’s because you like cutthroat academia and what gets you going is striving in a place filled with overachievers. Princeton, on the other hand, is heavily undergrad focussed. You can depend on some quality one-on-one time with professors there, although they have a more stringent core than the other two schools. Finally, there’s Yale, or the ‘Hogwarts’ of the Ivies, where students fall in love after 1 tour. Their residential college, sweet spot in terms of size (a truly “midsize” university), coupled with big professional programs is another option.</p>

<p>You see how you can’t like all 3? Looking at your application, I think that you have an equal chance with all of them. Your transcript is extremely rigorous and if you can just raise your SAT by 100 points to 2200, then you will be right in their range. </p>

<p>I think your list should definitely be rejigged though. Here’s how I would interpret your list:</p>

<p>DREAM SCHOOL/ SIGNIFICANT REACH:

  1. Harvard
  2. Yale
  3. Princeton
  4. Stanford.
  5. Brown
  6. University of Chicago
  7. Pomona</p>

<p>REGULAR REACH:

  1. Cornell
  2. UC - Berkley </p>

<p>MATCH:

  1. Vanderbilt
  2. UCLA
  3. UC - San Diego
  4. UC - Santa Barbara</p>

<p>SAFETY:
5. Northeastern</p>

<p>You need more safeties!! Pomona, with a 13% acceptance rate (which will only go down), is more competitive than Cornell or UPenn to score an acceptance to. As the only super-elite liberal arts college of the West, there is a lot of competition to get in. EVERY Ivy is a huge reach, with the exceptions of Cornell and UPenn, which because of sheer size, can qualify as regular reaches (that will definitely change in the coming years, I bet).</p>

<p>I definitely think you match all the UC schools with your stats. Northeastern is certainly a safety, and I would work on securing some more of those. A lot of your schools seem plucked from the ‘Top 30’ of US News & World Report. Like I said, no person can be genuinely interested in each of HYP, no person can genuinely be interested in both Brown and Cornell. Their philosophies, their student bodies, their vibe, those 2 schools could not be more different. And with all the big universities you have on here, I have no idea how Pomona fits in. </p>

<p>Instead of looking at brand-names, sit down and think about what you want in a college. Does name matter to you? How about size? Do you need a focus on the undergrad? Location? Do you want a college town or a rural school? Do you want a Greek system or not? Then look at colleges and the search will go far quicker, as you will have criteria to narrow down your options.</p>

<p>Good luck! Please chance back! And sorry for the novel, haha, I didn’t think I would write this much.</p>

50

<p>Swimmer2345. Please read post #48, I wrote very late last night. Has my final thoughts on your tests. As I say, you are done. I say that because your application is shaping up to be so much RICHER than stats. You have Intel. The essays, which we know will be superb. Recs., which should also be superb. Now is the time to really shape the application! If you can do this over the summer – WOW!! I think you can send in some really competitive applications. You have reached the numbers threshold for all your schools. What will “sell” you is everything else.</p>

<p>Back to colleges:</p>

<p>1). Please reread posts #39 (alwaysleah), #43 (stemit), #'s 44-45 (me). You need to spend some time going over the various colleges we recommmended and college selection strategies, BECAUSE FA is an issue. Leah had GREAT suggestions on admissions/FA safeties for you. Leah’s suggestions really could be your safeties! Please take her VERY SERIOUSLY. Stemit had great great recs and college selection strategies that you need to also take very seriously, also with a few match schools (Davidson, Elon…) that you really should NOT ignore. I see that you take seriously my Pomona rec. YES!!! A good school for you with PHENOMENAL FA. It is a Stanford kind of LAC. It is a VERY heavily endowed school and they will give you great FA! I know it is in Minnesota, but I also want you to seriously consider Carleton College, ranked #6 LAC by USNWR. GREAT sciences! GREAT FA!!! Be advised that Pomona is not a technical match, only because of admissions competitivness, though I think (and you know my rule) you are an EXTREMELY competitive candidate. I mean, INTEL FINALIST. You ARE competitive. I am going to go out on a limb here and call Carleton a (high) match for you. That is why I am pushing it. I think it is a match, and I think you could get a great package.</p>

<p>2). OK, this is probably not going to help you do what I said you should do, you know… more matches and safeties (though if you take Leah and Stemit’s recs seriously, and Carleton, you could be set on those, because you need at least three matches and three safeties), but…OK…I think you can add one or two more REAL reaches. No guarantees, of course. But you are shaping up to be a strong enough candidate that it may be to your advantage. Think about this, but I am going to suggest that you consider MIT and another very top Ivy. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain if admitted, because they have great FA. </p>

<p>Which top IVY??? Hmmmm. You would need to research and decide which “feels” right to you. Because of my own experience there, I say you might – might – enjoy Harvard. Of course, it is a CRAP shoot for everyone. But as I say, your application seems to me to be very competitive, so why not take the risk? You have the confidence in yourself to be able to handle it. My experience there was that essentially the kids are great. This is just a personal reflection, but I find the kids at Harvard less socially pretentious than the kids at Princeton and Yale. And Harvard is LESS bound to mere stats than either of them for admissions. Harvard is known for occasional risk-taking in its admissions. Harvard looks for just phenomenal kids and if in many ways one is phenomenal, having perfect scores becomes irrelevant to Harvard. You have met the score threshold for Harvard, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. And having gone to grad school there and taught there, I just have a feeling that it could be a fit for you, though CERTAINLY NOT a match. Were I you, I would take the risk and apply to Harvard. I encourage you to apply to Harvard, not because I KNOW you will get in, but because IF you did, you would do well. Just my informed 2 cents. You WON’T get in if you DON’T apply. And, like Pomona, Harvard accepts science supplements, and THIS will really help you!</p>

<p>Keep us posted, esp., when you get your final list together.</p>

51

<p>Swimmer2345, having you been reading comments lately?</p>

52

<p>@swingtime: Yes! I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately actually</p>

<p>So about University of Chicago, people who know me have been telling me it might not be a great fit, so I’m going to do more research and then decide if I want to apply.</p>

<p>Carleton College-I did some research and I really like it, I just am not so sure about the location. I would really prefer to stay in California because of family, unless I absolutely love love the school.</p>

<p>I definitely did a lot more research into top Ivies to decide which I actually want to apply to. I like Harvard a lot, I like the philosophy and I read a very well written article on their admissions website about the pressures students face and about finding balance-which is always something I am working on and I would like to attend a school with the same idea. I also liked Princeton’s focus on undergraduate research and the size of the school. Yale-I couldn’t quite get a feel for from the website. Brown-I still love the school and the open curriculum. Cornell-also really like.</p>

<p>So now my list looks a bit more like:</p>

<p>Reaches (but hopefully I’ll get into a few)

  • Stanford-Early Action
  • Harvard
  • Brown
  • Princeton (a bit on the maybe apply side)</p>

<p>Less of a reach

  • Cornell
  • Pomona</p>

<p>Match

  • UC Berkeley (I may be wrong on this, but based on test scores and in-state I think its a match)</p>

<p>Safety (based on what I know and test scores)

  • UC San Diego (I loved the school, but cons: its very big and I won’t get much financial aid)
  • Northeastern
    *UCLA (maybe more of a match?)</p>

<p>Schools I am continuing to do research on:
*UChicago
*Carleton College
*Yale
*Harvey Mudd-will be applying for fall FAST program
*CalTech
*MIT</p>

<p>But about how many colleges should I apply to?
Next week I am seeing a college advisor for an hour to help me sort through the list-a great gift from a friend.</p>

<p>I’ve also been working on narrowing down my EC’s to ten
So now a “what are my chances” post should look like:</p>

<p>STATS:
SAT: 2210 superscore, 2200 single sitting 800cr/700m/710 w
SAT II: 770 math II, 770 US History, 780 Chem
ACT: not taking, I’ve invested too much time and money in the SAT
APs: 5-US, 5-Calc BC (5-AB subscore), 4-Chem, 4-European History
GPA: 4.00 UW/4.7(?) W
Rank: 1/~300</p>

<p>Junior year:
AP Calc BC
Honors English
APUSH
AP Chem
Spanish 3
Art 1</p>

<p>Senior year:
Honors Gov/Econ
AP Stats
AP Bio
Honors Physics (no AP offered)
AP English lit
ROP video or photo
Spanish 4-community college, AP equivalent b/c of course conficts
Advanced Spanish conversation</p>

<p>ECs (its 10 for the common app right?)

  1. ISEF Finalist + 2nd place state science fair + 1st place county
  2. 10 years competitive swimming
  3. Youth Aide for Junior Guards (about 650 hours over 2 summers)
  4. COSMOS-Particle physics and astrophysics
  5. Mock Trial-3 years, captain senior year
  6. 4 years varsity HS swimming
  7. Junior guards-8 years
  8. Surf team-5 years</p>

<p>Will the different science fairs be separate ECs?</p>

<p>AWARDS/HONORS:
*Grand award winner county science fair
*Yale Science and Engineering Association Award for most outstanding 11th grade project
*2nd at state science fair
*ISEF finalist
*Award from Office of Naval Research for original research + $8000 scholarship
*Junior guards awards (should I include these)
* I think I have 4 most outstandings and 1 most improved
*AP Scholar with Honor
*Commended Scholar from NMSC (is this important?)

  • Surf team awards (should I include these?)
    * 1 fourth place and like 10 fifth places in finals</p>

<p>Question: CSF-is this important and do I need to join?</p>

<p>Well that was really long, mostly for my own benefit of listing everything out…but if you made it this far, thanks for reading!</p>

53

<p>IMPORTANT: To add to ECs:</p>

<ul>
<li>Science project is being continued! I will be working on publication in a journal hopefully near the end of August/early fall!
My project will be submitted as a science supplement!</li>
</ul>

<p>And in awards: I’ll graduate with a seal of biliteracy</p>

54

<p>and Note: I will have taken every AP offered except for:
AP Physics (because offered on a rotating basis and not offered when I could take it)
AP Spanish (but taking equivalent at community college so I could take two science classes senior year)</p>

55

<p>WOW!!! Swimmer2345, you know I don’t believe in “chancing.” However, I do believe you will have a successful admissions season. That is not a prediction based upon assumed admission to any specific schools, but based upon my sense that you WILL ultimately attend a school you will be very proud to attend.</p>

<p>Your schools. Know you need financial aid, so let me warn you about Brown and Chicago. Financial aid from these schools can sometimes be less than fantastic. If that is sufficient reason to “dump” Chicago, so be it. I went to Chicago and loved it. But here is the thing: Chicago and Brown are not often spoken of in the same breath. When I was in grad school at Harvard, several of my cohort were Brown graduates. We spoke often about our diametrically opposed schools. In no such conversation did I ever feel that Brown would have been for me. My Brown friends never felt differently about Chicago. Because of their disparate educational philosophies these schools often – not always, but often – draw from different applicant pools. Though it hurts me to say it, if you are that enamored of Stanford and Brown, which have more in common with each other than either has with Chicago, Chicago may not be a “fit.” Princeton? Give it some thought. One issue with Princeton is the lingering whiff of social exclusivity, re: the “eating clubs.” Personally I have always disliked Princeton because of the extremely preppy vibe. Again, that is me. But I will also say that if you LOVE Brown, Princeton will present another set of social challenges. Perhaps visit. But that is the “rap” against Princeton: it hasn’t completely discarded the preppy/socially exclusive reputation. Unlike Princeton kids, Harvard kids are a bit more down to earth. I say, having taught there, that with only one exception, I loved my Harvard students. Great kids!!! Apply with confidence. If accepted you WILL find a niche and love your experience. MIT and/or CalTech? I’d say pick one or the other. My sense, given your relative well-roundedness, is that you would be more comfortable at MIT. MIT has extraordinary sciences, of course, but some EXCEPTIONALLY strong programs in the humanities and social sciences as well (you can cross-register with Harvard, if you get into MIT, and vice versa). CalTech is more exclusively sciency, for what it is worth. As for Carleton, I am going to advise it anyway, because of the great FA. And the same goes for Harvey Mudd. Yale is excellent, and is worth more research! Less preppy and pretentious than Princeton, but more so (in my experience) than Harvard.</p>

<p>How many schools? Hmmm. I don’t think there is anything wrong with you applying to twelve schools. Your reaches look great (although you should research Princeton more and see if the preppy vibe is one you are comfortable with), and all of them provide great undergraduate educations. Both Pomona and Cornell are great choices. Your match/safeties look good (though FA is an issue). Of the ones you are still researching? I wouldn’t throw Carleton and Mudd out, yet. And I would pick EITHER MIT OR CalTech, as they are VERY different and you may find one is more appealing to you than another, after your research. </p>

<p>At this point, you are in great shape. Let us know how your meeting goes!!! And start on those essays. You will have a lot of them. That is the one thing that could limit the number of schools to which you apply. Think about it. How many of these schools will have substantial application supplements? If you have TOO many apps., can you devote sufficient time to all, when you want each application to be absolutely sterling? As I say, twelve is not an unreasonable number.</p>

56

<p>holy crap. sorry, I skimmed most of the posts, but I’m really tired and am not gonna chance you. But I did have a question.
What’s your name? because I think I might have met you at ISEF =D (I was there from NY competing in CS) haha</p>

57

<p>I would say you have a decent shot as long as you write a good essay and bump your SAT</p>

58

<p>The SAT is FINE! Swimmer is an Intel Finalist, for gosh sakes!!!</p>

59

<p>You should definitely increase your SAT score. congrats on going off to ISEF! that really helps you in your college apps. the one thing that stands out in your app is the swimming. if you have awards in that and are rather exceptional, that could help you immensely. Otherwise, you are just another “typical” stanford applicant. best of luck!</p>

60

<p>You will be in the last round of decisions at Stanford or any of the other schools to which you have mentioned. Remember that even from there, where all applicants are qualified, you still will only have around a one in three chance of acceptance. Also, for a safety-ish, maybe Carnegie Mellon? Not in Cali, but a very cool school indeed.</p>