Alright, so I already know that stats wise my chances are incredibly low, but Stanford really is my absolute dream school. I applied indicating interest towards art practice, and submitted under the Regular decision deadline along with my portfolio. I’m also applying for UCLA, UCB, UCI, UCSD, UCD, and UCSC in addition to Loyola Marymount and possibly Pepperdine. I’m already set on being an art major, and even though my SAT and GPA is far from “Stanford” level, I was wondering if I at least have a shot.
I am Hispanic (Mexican) and Asian (Korean). I have a cousin who graduated from Stanford and got a M. Ed. (Though I don’t think this counts for much). Living under a single mom with my brother. I was born in California and my dad has residency there, but I do not.
I’m a military dependent and currently go to a DODEA school in Korea. My school is small and has a senior class of 36 students, and is limited in staff and funding so we have a limited selection of classes. I’m fairly higher than the overall school average, which was about 1020 for the SAT. Ranking wise, I am #1.
SAT: 1390 (new), 630 math, 760 reading, 22 on the essay
GPA: 4.0 unweighted, 4.19 weighted
I took the SAT 3 times getting 1320, 1300, and then 1390. I had originally planned to take it again or at least take a subject test, but our school only provides venue for a fraction of the actual testing dates and has had a number of occasions where testing is cancelled. The only other place to take it is several hours up north and gets filled the moment there is the chance to apply.
I took regular courses throughout 9th and 10th grade (students were not allowed to take AP at my school until junior year, they only started letting sophomores take 1 AP class once I became a junior ugh)
Junior Year I took AP Studio Art Drawing (4), AP Biology (4), AP English Language and Composition (5), and AP U.S. History (5). Our schedule allows 7 classes, so that would be 4/7 AP with the other classes being required courses to graduate.
Senior Year I’m currently taking AP Studio Art 2D Design, AP U.S. Government, AP Environmental Science, AP Statistics, and AP English Literature and Composition.
Activities: NHS (Treasurer), SNHS (Secretary), Drama Club (Was Lead Actress/Awarded Best Actress and represented my school in an international Drama competition for two years), Junior Class Officer (Public Affairs)
Honors: Won bronze at an Intl. String Orchestra competition, AP Scholar, District 1st Place Scholarship Essay Contest winner.
Work: I’ve been a freelancing voice actress since 9th grade and plan to continue doing so in college. I work all year for about 26 hours a week. I’ve voiced tests, audio books, commercials, animations, video games etc. Some work of notoriety would be voicing the exhibitions for the Korea National Museum and being the (english) voice of the national subway system.
Essays/Short Answers: I honestly really liked my personal essay when I submitted (It was about my conceptualization and how I perceive ideas as experiences and try to capture them in art), but after reading more of the “good” essays that actually got people accepted, I felt that mine may not have been as “casual” or “down-to-earth” as it should have been, instead trying to use imagery to “artistically” describe my thought process. I would say that I used my true voice far more in the short answers as well as the additional information section. I used the additional info to describe more of my life as a military brat and how living overseas has changed my perspective on the world.
Portfolio: Given that Stanford IS Stanford, I understand that they are looking for potential art students that express “extraordinary talent” as they put it. I truly love art and I want my portfolio to be able to make an impression to Stanford as to who I am as an artist. However, I don’t have incredibly advanced or hyper-realistic technique with my work, and was really hoping that my concepts themselves would be able to shine through.
My Portfolio:
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I also included a bit of a mini story with each piece when submitting the portfolio, to further my topic on how art is like an experience as described in my personal essay. This image has an example of one of my captions.
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Once again, I know that Stanford is really selective and often even rejects seemingly ideal candidates, but is there any chance that I might make it? If not, do I have a shot at any of the other schools I’m applying to?