What are my chances for Stanford?

<p>Hi I'm Anthony and I'm a junior in high school.
I am an african-american student and have a gpa of 3.8 and I am taking all honors and A.P classes.
I have been on the student council representative for juniors and a co-captain of the chess club. I served as a manager for the sophomore baseball team and was a trainer for the varsity football team in freshman year. I was a founding member of the Mount Carmel Republicans in sophomore year and I ran track freshman year. My work has been published in my school newspaper as well as in the alumni magazine. I am an internationally published poet through the International Society of Poets and have taken second place in the freshman poetry contest. I was nominated for Who's WHo Among American High School students for my sophomore year. I have participated at a water station at the Chicago Half Marathon. I have taken creative writing classes at the University of Chicago. This class was only allowed for honors sophomores. I have also taken a creative writing course at Columbia College in Chicago. I plan to score at least 1700-1800 on the SAT or get between a 29-31 on the ACT.
So what are my chances?</p>

<p>You would need higher SAT/ACT scores</p>

<p>Good background to a degree, but some of your stuff helps, some doesn't.</p>

<p>First, drop the "Who's Who" thing. You actually pay to get listed, and they send the opportunity to everyone, so the colleges consider that a scam.
Same with the International Poets stuff--not really considered very prestigious--you pay to enter, they give some back in prizes, and pocket the rest--so it's not really a great thing. </p>

<p>On the other hand, the writing courses at the colleges are great, as is the student government stuff and heading up clubs. As far as your volunteer stuff, it's nice that you volunteered for one day, but they are looking for long-term volunteering for a cause you really care about.</p>

<p>As far as test scores, yes, you will need higher SAT/ACT test scores. But Stanford will consider your URM (underrepresented minority) status and not require scores as high from you as for most of the people they accept.</p>

<p>Lastly, consider contacts and networks. Who do you know and who have you worked with to learn about Stanford or a particular area of interest in your major? These will be things you will need. Also consider competitions in academic areas or the arts (science, math, music, etc.). How good are you?</p>

<p>All of this is used by Stanford to decide who gets in.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>