Well, considering the fact that I am a rising senior with a few months left to apply to my schools, I am worried my chances of gaining admission are slim at best. You see, i’m trying to do something during this summer that will boost up my application such as gaining an internship or joining a research program, yet my efforts have shown no luck since then(considering here in San Antonio TX, internships are scarce or absent for high school students). I realize I have less than 2 months left before school starts and I was suggesting if anyone could help me with any advice with what I can do to truly boost my application. Note that my GPA is fairly high with a strong amount of AP classes taken, my EC’s are mediocre at best, and have few volunteer hours; that is why I ask anyone here with any suggestions to tell me what I can do with my remaining time. In case anyone is wondering, i’m interested in applying to Stanford, MIT, Princeton, UC Berkeley etc., my majors of choice are computer science and business administration and like I stated, i’m applying soon for Early Action at Stanford.
Start crafting your essays and see if your favorite english teacher can read them to give you some feedback. What are your test scores?
Have you used all your connections to find what you want to do? Spoken to family friends, friends with parents in businesses you like, asked your parents to check at their jobs for possibilities, asked your teachers for assistance? This is where you demonstrate initiative, creativity and your networking skills…all invaluable traits.
Contact your favorite local non-profits - the volunteer coordinator is a starting point - and mention your computer skills. As if you can volunteer with their IT or business areas so you can learn more about managing a non-profit. Yes, it’s volunteer work (and yes, you can call it an internship if you like). Most of the smaller non-profits would welcome someone who can put in significant time (20+ hrs/week) - enough to make payback on training worthwhile. If you are good, you will quickly identify opportunities to contribute more than just grunt work and make yourself valuable.
Sorry for a late reply, but my test scores are like this
SAT: 1580
ACT: 23
SAT II: Math Level II: 550 Physics: 450
These test scores are absolutely atrocious for me. I know they are too low for any of the schools i mentioned. I did not even study for any of these tests. I hope to retake the ACT and SAT in time before Stanford’s Early Action deadline.
What’s your GPA?
Increasing your SAT by at least 500 is near impossible, unless you had a really bad day during your first SAT. And 500 isn’t even enough. You will need to increase your SAT2 too.
Honestly you will not make the EA deadline. Your ACT, SAT and Subject tests are too low.
Stanford EA is in November. If you decide to retake SAT in Oct, then you won’t make the subject tests’
At this point you should focus entirely on your test scores. Instead of doing SAT and its subject tests, focus on ACT. Get it to at least 30+
Please do not take this the wrong way - but I really think you need to get a grasp on your school list. Those test scores will probably not get you into those schools. Look up the name of the school in quotes like “Stanford” and then also put in “Common Data Set” and 2014. So it would like like this … “Standford” “Common Data Set” 2014 in the google search box. You can do this for most schools - and you can find the scores of those who were admitted last fall. You need to be realistic about your list. You can put a couple reaches - where your GPA and test scores are in the upper 25% of those admitted - but you need to have a couple where your stats match the majority of those admitted and definitely in state safety or two. You didn’t even talk about GPA, or how much you can afford, which are other factors.
So, with the time left this summer, I think ACDC666 has the right advice - study for the ACT. Take practice tests, there is some great info on this site with study tips. Go to the ACT website and answer the daily questions. Sign up for word of the day on dictionary dot com. Anything and all you can do to get your test scores up.
Second - start looking at the applications for the schools. Do they take common app? If so, start working on those essays. Sometimes each school has additional essays.
So my advice - revise your school list after some research. Study for the ACT and take it in October and probably December. Work on your applications and essays.
Good luck.
Chances are slim to none that you will raise your test scores to a level to be a viable candidate at the schools you listed. You really need to rework your college list to one of schools that you have a realistic chance for admit.
This has to be a joke. Unless you’re a Native American transsexual whose parents donated a few million to Stanford it’s simply not going to happen.
You should take the application fee for Stanford and use it to take yourself and a friend out to dinner. It will be money much better spent than applying to Stanford.
Closing thread for obvious reasons.