What classes do you have to take in high school to get into Stanford?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Stanford University
1

I am a freshmen in high school and I have wanted to go to Stanford since I went to the campus.

I am currently in my second semester as a freshman in high school. During my first semester I had a cumulative GPA of 3.6667, but I know this doesn’t matter because freshmen year doesn’t really count. I just want to know if I am on a good track to getting into Stanford. Currently I have pretty bad grades (A GPA Of 3.00) but I have plans on getting them up. I am currently taking the classes of biology, intro business, geometry, English 1A, Spanish 1, and pe 1. The classes I am planning on taking in sophomore year are chemistry, choir, English 2A, Spanish 2, algebra 2, and ap world history (I am not taking pe during sophomore year because I will be taking it over the summer). I am wondering if I should be taking more advanced math (I cannot take algebra 2 over the summer because it is full and I already signed up for pe 2) and if I should take calculus after junior year because I can’t take it during my sophomore summer because I will be taking a coding class. I also do swimming and I am average at it, but I’m not the best. So I am also wondering if I should be taking more honors and ap classes because this year I am taking honors English and next year I will be taking honors English and ap world history.

I really want to get into Stanford and I am being told that if I don’t get my grades up they won’t accept me. Can people who are going to Stanford or where accepted to Stanford answer my questions?

Up to what math course did you finish in high school?

What honors and ap classes did you take in high school?

Thank You.

2

I am also planning on studying engineering, because I love engineering.

3

What are my chances of getting into Stanford?

4

"I really want to get into Stanford and I am being told that if I don’t get my grades up they won’t accept me. "

You should read this article:

http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/applying_sideways

Everything mentioned in the article also applies to Stanford. There’s literally nothing that will guarantee you acceptance, except for your dad being Bill Gates or Barack Obama (or a comparably famous person). Seemingly “perfect” people will be rejected, and seemingly “unremarkable” people will be accepted. Many people who get into Stanford will not get into Harvard. And many people who get into Stanford won’t get into Harvard. Why? Who knows. It’s not random, but it is unpredictable. So stop searching for the formula and chill out. Do what Applying Sideways recommends.

Having said all of this, though, you should look at the Class of 2018 profile to see what kinds of academic credentials Stanford admits tend to have:

http://admission.stanford.edu/basics/selection/profile.html

If you’re ranked in the top 10% of your high school class, score above 700 on every section of the SAT and/or above 32 on the ACT, and score above 700 on two subject tests, then you’re going to be competitive academically. These should be your goals. Having said this, though, people with lower stats are admitted, but they usually bring something more (i.e., extraordinary ability in one area like Football) to the table.

“I know this doesn’t matter because freshmen year doesn’t really count”

You can’t change the past, so what’s done is done. But you should know that freshman year does affect class rank, which does count.

“So I am also wondering if I should be taking more honors and ap classes because this year I am taking honors English and next year I will be taking honors English and ap world history.”

Take classes because they interest you. Don’t take classes just to get into Stanford.

“Up to what math course did you finish in high school?”

AP Calculus BC, which seems to be pretty average among my classmates here. Above-average would be taking Multivariable Calc, Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, or Number Theory (or some combination thereof) in high school

“What honors and ap classes did you take in high school?”

All of the ones my school offered

5

"I really want to get into Stanford and I am being told that if I don’t get my grades up they won’t accept me. "

Cristina, 75% of the students who get accepted at Stanford have a 4.0 GPA (perfect). The other 25% are very close to perfect.

There are tons of nice schools where you could study more engineering than you knew what to do with.

6

I agree with everything @aleaiactaest says on general admissions. Admissions is hard to predict, and there isn’t a check-off sheet that you can use to figure out if you’ll get into somewhere. And you’re a freshman. Just get through high school and take the classes that you want to take. I took newspaper and yearbook classes because I enjoyed them, and Stanford seemed to have enjoyed my essay on my passion for photography. @aleaiactaest is right; take the classes that interest you. Do things that you’re passionate about.

For math courses: I finished up to AP Calc AB.

For AP classes: I didn’t take all that was offered (it was impossible to fit into my schedule), but AP Human Geography, AP World History, AP English Lit, AP English Lang, AP Chem, AP Phys B, AP Bio, AP Art History, AP Spanish, AP Calc AB. I think that was it.

7

Stanford reports the mean GPA of the incoming class is ~4.2 (better than perfect). I expect Stanford recalculates with a higher maximum than 4.0, which explains why Stanford reports a larger portion of their class has 4.0+ than Ivy Leagues. This recalculation does not include freshman year, and Stanford has a history of making admissions decisions consistent with putting little weight into a rocky freshman year, so there is still hope for the OP. However, if she continues with the same level of grades, I agree that the chance of admission is low.

8

Have you ever considered what the reasoning behind that is? What other schools are on the record as doing that?

9

I’d expect that sophomore and junior years are more relevant to performance in college, both due to being nearer in time and due to taking more advanced classes that are more similar to the ones that the student will be taking in college. Some students also find entering high school to be a difficult transition, and it can take some time to get the performance up to their usual level. In Stanford’s case, I expect influence from the UC’s admission system also played a roll. The UCs and Stanford have a similar method of recalculation GPA without freshman year, not considering +/-, focusing on core classes, etc (It’s also possible that UC was influenced by Stanford, and Stanford was first in this method). As I recall, Carnegie Mellon and Johns Hopkins also recalculate without freshman year. I’m sure there are others. Note that this does not mean that freshman year does not matter. They still review transcripts and see freshman year. However, it is quite a bit less influential than later years for admissions decisions.

10

Have you considered what types of applicants would be more likely to have a difficult Freshman year?