What are my chances of getting into Stanford? +Other Misc. Stuff.

Colleges and Universities A-Z Stanford University
1

<p>Hey everyone! I am currently a junior in high school. I know that being accepted into Stanford is a crapshoot for even the strongest applicant, and that the system is arbitrary to an extent. I don't have a college counselor, so I'm taking a gamble and seeing whether CC can give me some college advice. My goals from this thread are twofold:</p>

<ol>
<li>Understanding how likely it is that I will be accepted to Stanford.</li>
<li>Learning about some other schools that viewers of this thread think that I would like. </li>
</ol>

<p>If you could help me with either of those two point, I would be eternally grateful. Anyways, on to the stats.
__</p>

<p>Note: My current grades are fairly high (96+ in all classes) and therefore I will pretend for the sake of this bio I received straight A's second semester of Junior year. This is to simplify the process a bit, and provide a "best case scenario" situation for college admissions. </p>

<p>Personal Bio:
-Ethnicity: White/Jewish
-Hooks: Father, Sister, Grandfather all went to Stanford.
-Income: ~$150K</p>

<p>Unweighted GPA: 4.0
Class Rank: 1/363
Weighted GPA: 4.63
Weighted Class Rank: 2/363</p>

<p>Junior year course load:
1. IB TOK 1
2. IB Math HL 3
3. IB English HL 1
4. IB 20th Century World History 1
5. IB Physics HL 1
6. FREE
7. IB Mandarin SL 4
8. IB Chemistry HL 2</p>

<p>Standardized Testing:
SAT: 2230 (first sitting). 790M 740R 700W
ACT: None
SAT II: None so far</p>

<p>Good Extra Curriculars:
-Captain of state championship winning chess team 2013+2014. 2014 Year had highest national championship finish in school history.
-7 years of scouting. Eagle Scout and Senior Patrol Leader of troop of 40 kids. Attending Philmont this August.
-Constitution Team Unit 6 Captain. 30+ hours a week, year before us won national championship. Lost at state but team we lost to won national championship.
-4 Years of Cross Country</p>

<p>Extra Curriculars I might not put on application:
-Member of Mock Trial team freshman year - made it to state.
-150+ hours of community service at Free Geek, a hardware recycling non-profit. (Much more community service from scouts)</p>

<p>Awards:
-BSA Eagle scout award.
-Youth leadership award for Eagle Project
-National Honor Society/Honor Roll</p>

<p>Project/Essay idea:
-Really cool project I'm working on. Spent 10 days in China on an exchange program. Lived with a kid who spoke a spoke a dialect of Mandarin with his parents. They would translate their dialect into standard chinese for me. I asked if their existed an online resource for the pronunciation of their dialect, they said there was no such thing. I am currently working on a data base that translates english and chinese into the dialect, and offers audio pronunciation for each would. Estimated to take several hundred hours to complete. Might try to write an essay about this. </p>

<p>Stanford specific essay:
-Spent 8 weeks during summer after sophomore year at HSSC program at Stanford. Spent about 5 hours a day 5 days a week playing chess across from the library with people who came by (met tons of interesting people). Learned how to play shogi on Wednesdays, and even met/played world senior chess champion Larry Kaufmann. </p>

<p>Optional/Risky essay:
-In 8th grade made equivalent of $20,000 in Runescape (might not mention game name) after figuring out a way to break the system. Made chance of winning a gambling game higher than 50%. Perhaps a good essay because colleges like students who can see how a system works and how to break it. I figured out that one could manipulate their position in the server queue, and therefore strike first in the "duel arena", leading to a much high chance of victory. Lost everything because even with a 55% win chance, betting all your money is a bad idea. </p>

<p>This essay might not work because:
-8th grade is too long ago
-Lost everything in the end
-Kind of weird to talk about video games in college essay.</p>

<p>Anyways, what do you guys think? Bonus if you can tell me whether my last essay works or not. Remember, my two goals out of this thread were to.</p>

<ol>
<li>Understand how likely it is that I will be accepted to Stanford.</li>
<li>learn about some other schools that viewers of this thread think that I would like. </li>
</ol>

<p>To be honest another reason for this thread was so that I could vent a bit. I've worked my ass off over the last three years and I try not to talk about any of it at school. I think this is a healthy way to unload without pissing off my friends. </p>

<p>Thanks,
An Eager Junior</p>

2

<ol>
<li> Since you didn’t say anything about what you want to study or any preferences for college campus (coast, culture, size, etc) I have no idea how you could relate to any advice about other colleges.</li>
<li> I think the Runescape essay would be a bad idea. You didn’t make $20k equivalent in Runescape, you made $0 since you lost it all. Secondly, since it sounds like cheating (manipulate the server queue), so I am not sure what you are trying to demonstrate with that.<br></li>
</ol>

3

<p>OP. I am truly puzzled as to why you need to pose this chance thread when you have the best resources at hand in your sister (who is at Stanford), your father and grandfather who are alums…they can personally tell you like no other…YOUR chances…since they have your REAL academic record, ECs, the strength of your essays, and the probable strength of your recommendations (since they are familiar with your HS and their teachers)…</p>

<p>…having said that, you have the academic and extracurricular credentials to be very competitive among the applicants especially since you are LEGACY…but, like I said, I am NOT privy to your ESSAYS and RECOMMENDATIONS which will either make you or break you…because it is the INTANGIBLES (your true voice, passion, genuineness, intellectual vitality, and empathy) that will determine your decision…</p>

<p>PS: since you have strong family legacy…I would strongly recommend using REA to get the maximum potential boost (rather than waiting for regular round)…hope this helps.</p>