Yale/Stanford Chances

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hi there,
I'm currently a sophomore at an American High School. It has always been my dream and primary motivation to get into Stanford or Yale. I messed up sophomore year, and so I was wondering what are my chances of getting into one of the above colleges.
I was treasurer of my graduating class my freshman year, and I served as the student leadership team representative this year. I am actively involved in debate as that is my central passion. Freshman year of debate, I won 5 novice level tournaments, and this year I made it to elimination rounds at every tournament I attended, and lost in finals at one of the tournaments. I have been on the JV Tennis team for the last 2 years. I am president and founder of my school's FBLA club, and Vic President of the debate club. For my debate club, I was the first to bring in a certified coach, as we had not had one for a while. I am enrolled in the Johns Hopkins CTY program. My grades and SAT are as stands:
Freshman Year:
Algebra 2 /Trigonometry: A A-
Physical Education: A- A-
Biology: A A+
Spanish: A+ A
Student Council: B B+
English 1 Advanced: A- A</p>

<p>Sophomore Year:
AP Calculus AB: A- A-
Honors Chemistry: B B+
English 2 Advanced: A+ B
Spanish: A- A-
Student Council: B B
AP World History: B+ A-</p>

<p>SAT (Taken in 7th Grade): 1990
I am currently working on a startup, and also own a blog which sells debate related information. I am working with a friend to develop an app we are selling the school district.
Any thoughts/suggestions?
I am just trying to maximize my chances, any comments or help would be greatly appreciated!</p>

2

<p>Both schools are reach-for-everyone type of schools. Your record has enough B grades that you would be at a significant disadvantage compared to the numerous straight-A applicants at those schools, making them extreme reaches for you.</p>

3

<p>That SAT score is pretty amazing for a 7th grader.</p>

4

<p>Well done in getting ahead on the college search. You’ve come to the right place to find individuals experienced in the college admissions arena. Your ECs are few but show commitment. I think you just need to continue what you’re doing in that area. Get that blog and startup and app OUT THERE. It’s a fantastic way to intrigue admissions officers and a great point to talk about in essays and interviews. Try to get involved in volunteer work; colleges love to see that you’re a community type of person and want to help give back! Start studying for the SAT now by preparing for the PSAT and get it done as early as possible. Try not to let it seep past the March test date of your junior year! I think you need to aim for a 2300+ to get into schools like Yale and Stanford but there’s no real “magic number”. Your biggest weakness is your GPA. It’s drastically low by sophomore year. You need to do everything you can to get a 4.0 junior year and first semester of your senior year. Try to pursue an internship or selective program the summer after junior year in the area you’re interested in studying. </p>

<p>Well that’s my 2 cents of random advice! Best of luck and hopefully you get into either of your dream schools!</p>

<p>Chance back? [Chance</a> the New Guy? Penn, Harvard, Chicago and More!!](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1509778-chance-new-guy-penn-harvard-chicago-more-will-chance-back.html]Chance”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1509778-chance-new-guy-penn-harvard-chicago-more-will-chance-back.html)</p>

5

<p>This post doesn’t really belong in the chances forum, because your question is more like “what should I do to increase my chances at Y/S?”, not “what are my chances based on things I’ve already done?”. No one can give you even remote chances with so little information: junior year really is the game changer. Get a 2200+ SAT, take all the APs you can, do the things you’re talking about doing, and you might have a shot at both schools.</p>

<p>It would be nice if you had a startup and an app developed, but that’s not part of your application until you’re successful doing it, so DO NOT STOP. And that doesn’t matter if you’re applying to Yale and Stanford or your state flagship or your local community college, do these things because you want to be an accomplished, interesting person, no Puritan era sports conference will make you those things.</p>

<p>When I first came to this website, I made a post that was not too different from yours. I wanted to know if I could get into Stanford and Columbia, and I said I had plans to do all sorts of interesting things so that I could make that happen. I was told that I had no chance at those schools, which was very upsetting at the time. I then made a terrible mistake. I became so focused on gaining admission to a prestigious school that I used this end goal as the reason to pursue “greatness”.</p>

<p>I lost the forest because of all the trees in the way.</p>

<p>You cannot rest your goals on something as illusory as the prospect of Stanford, especially when you know, not suspect, but truly know that admission to such a school is not likely. You will truly undermine your goals if you approach them this way, which will undermine your chances at admission.</p>

<p>Read: trying to be admitted will prevent you from being admitted.</p>

<p>I am not accusing you of this same type of thinking, but I do see the possible danger of you entering this path. I beg you not to feel attacked or devalued as I did; I do not know you or how you will react, and that is precisely why I feel it is important that I emphasize that I write this only for your benefit; it is a lesson that would have assisted me greatly, had I accepted its truth earlier. I beseech you to place any emotional reaction to what I’ve said on hold, and allow the message to digest in your mind.</p>

<p>Those who delivered the message to me did not do so lightly, I would feel terrible if I produced the same reaction today.</p>

<p>Steve Jobs never graduated from Reed College, and he got fired from his own company. The value was in the work, not the institution. Create for yourself, and you will not fail. Stay hungry, stay foolish.</p>

<p>Stanford is a reach for everybody, man. In the mean time, research some of those schools further on down the US News list, find some financial safeties and some good matches, and make this summer legendary.</p>

<p>I hope this helps, because you have a better starting position than I did.</p>

6

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<p>Energia writes with great wisdom. These elite schools are way stations in life, not final destinations. Of course you should try your best to get accepted, but ultimately you cannot allow your ego to be hurt if some random group of strangers on an admissions committee decline to grant you the acceptance nod.</p>

<p>Realize that for Yale and Stanford, the acceptance odds are long and the competition is brutal. Even perfect academic stats are no guarantee of acceptance at HYPSM. My son, for example, had a 1/400 class rank, 36.0 ACT, dual 800 SAT IIs and was a National AP Scholar with “best of my career” letters of recommendation and got turned down by Yale and MIT. It happens, and it’s not the end of the world.</p>

<p>The balanced approach is to select a group of schools with the attributes that appeal to you, but with a laddered scale of acceptance rates up to around 35% plus a safety school or two that you wouldn’t mind attending. If you do this, you can be assured of being accepted to a challenging school that may well turn out to be a better fit than the ones you thought you most wanted.</p>

<p>In the end my son was accepted to 4 top-20 colleges and is now attending Brown. He originally thought he wanted to attend MIT based on its literature, due to its strong math and science program, its quirky humor and its collaborative rather than competitive environment. As it turns out, he discovered that Brown has all of these features but wrapped in a more-flexible open curriculum and with a nicer balance of both artsy and nerd types. He could not have been happier anywhere else.</p>

<p>Trust that things will work out and that you will ultimately find a place to call home for your college years.</p>

7

<p>By the way, if any of you know USC admits, or are veterans of the admissions process, help out by CHANCING ME.</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1511218-usc-uva-chances.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1511218-usc-uva-chances.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

8

<p>I agree with much of what has already been posted. Yale and Stanford are super-reaches for everyone. Yes, they expect a fantastic GPA and high test scores. But beyond that, they’re looking for complete, interesting, giving, and driven individuals. This can be demonstrated through volunteership, and a focus on your particular interest. Do you want to be a scientist? Get experience in a lab. Want to become a businessman? Find a local business willing to mentor you. Get out in your community, start a drive for a cause you care about, make an impact. But this advice does come with a caveat. Don’t do these activities because it’ll look good on a resume. Do them because you have genuine interest. College admission reps can sniff out activities that seem fake. Don’t do anything because it’ll help “get you in”. Do your best in junior year, and get involved outside of your school. Find safeties that you truly love, and some match schools with manageable acceptance rates. Remember that there are many schools beyond HYPSM that may be a perfect match for you. Succeed in Junior year for yourself and your personal growth with college admissions as a benefit. Best of luck.</p>