Can I get into Stanford? Need advice.

websensation
Thu, 26 Jan 2017 18:11:21 +0000

@ilyaspark I have a different opinion. I think you have just as good chance as anyone else. The fact you had to adapt to the US culture and that English is not your native language but you overcame that difficulty is HUGE imo. Therefore, play up this angle, get good scores and continue to get good grades and try to write very honest and likable essays. I think you have an excellent chance. I think you are the type of applicants that Stanford will give another look so go for it. The fact you speak Russian and English in itself is a huge advantage imo for any college and jobs.

Most of the students who are accepted at Stanford or HYPM are not out of this world “special”; your achievements are just as good if not better than a lot of them. But having said that, do apply to other good colleges and safeties. If you don’t get into Stanford at undergrad level, you can always try again at grad level. Go for it if that’s your goal. There is no shame in trying and failing. Go with your strengths rather than dwelling on your weak points. You can have all kinds of weaknesses, but if you want to succeed, you have to ride your strong points. Don’t listen to nay-sayers. I have gotten into an Ivy and top law school with 3.0 gpa. I even applied to Harvard with this grade and didn’t get in. You have to have guts to achieve your goals.

An example: My kid is IMO just a smart, helpful, pretty good with languages and motivated kid with not out of this world stats or achievements but still got into Stanford with likable and sincere essays. IMO I think he had good chance to get into Yale also but didn’t apply because he likes warm weather. So IMO you have just as good chance as any other applicants to get into Stanford.