<p>Hello!</p>
<p>I'm currently a sophomore in high school, and I have begun to think about what colleges I would be interested in and narrowing down my choices based on my personal preferences and ideals. I was wondering whether I actually have a chance at schools such as Stanford (loved the school ever since I saw the campus and watched a class :) ) or Ivy Leagues. Again, I'm a sophomore, so my transcript isn't yet well-rounded, but I'm hoping with the foundations I have now it might seem very plausible that I'll shape up into a good candidate.</p>
<p>First, GPA. I go to the 6th best and most demanding high school in the nation, and I've heard admissions officers recognize Bs at my school to be the equivalent of As at others. I have gotten mostly A-s so far, couple A-s, and one B+, so I'd say I have a GPA of about 3.8 (my school doesn't calculate for us because then there's too much pressure). However, again this is one of the most demanding schools in the nation and well-known by Ivy League officers to be so, and I'm taking a junior-level course load (I got a B+ in a high-level junior class that is considered to be senior-material). I'm kind of worried about my grades not being up to par....but anyways...</p>
<p>I have only taken the PSAT, and I got a 2160, so it's entirely possible that my junior year I'll be able to pull that up to ~2200-2300. </p>
<p>My teachers all admire me very much (some consider me their top students), so I'm not worried about teacher recs.
I think i'll be able to write an outstanding essay (I'm a state-qualified writer and I've written a published novel etc...).</p>
<p>Ok, ECs.
Varsity Tennis Two Years (so far...and I'll do it all four years is certain)
Only girl in Math Club and Math club leader.
Qualified AMC scorer.
On the debate team (have won many awards and stuff) and go to out-of-state competitions and 2-3 week debate camps during the summer.
Top writer on the school newspaper and likely candidate to be editor-in-chief senior year.
Published Writer (published a novel recently)
Qualifier for State writing competition.
Peer tutor for a year so far (and going to remain one)
Elementary school tutor for kids with learning disabilities for two years so far (and going to remain one).
My most important EC that I have the biggest passion for is my neuroscience work; that's literally all I do. I'm working with professors at UC Berkeley in their neuroscience lab and am working on developing a computer program for elementary school students that helps kids rapidly overcome reading and learning disabilities using neuroscience-based research. My dad is a computer scientist so its shaping up well, and this is actually something that I'm passionate about (I had the idea from a neuroscience book I was reading about FastforWord, a learning disability program, and I wanted to help the kids with learning disabilities I'm tutoring).</p>
<p>Was schooled in French for two years, I'm Romanian, speak French, Romanian, English (obviously), and Italian fluently, and can read Chinese and Japanese almost fluently (can barely speak it though which is awkward), and I'm taking four years of Spanish (wouldn't say I'm fluent, but good speaker yes). Does this background do anything?</p>
<p>Anyways, this is only my soph year, so hopefully I'll be able to build on these foundations to become a strong candidate for these schools. I love Stanford the most. Does it seem likely?</p>