Chance me for EA

Colleges & Universities Stanford University
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<p>Non-URM
Non-Legacy
Non-Athlete
Rising Senior</p>

<p>State: Illinois</p>

<p>School: Semi-competitive
Rank: 4/202
GPA: 4.458/~4.5
Transcript: Hardest courses.</p>

<p>SAT I:</p>

<p>CR: 800
M: 760
W: 800</p>

<p>C: 2360</p>

<p>SAT II:</p>

<p>Literature: 760
World History: 750</p>

<p>Will take Math II in September. Should be my highest score based on SparkNotes practice tests averaging 760.</p>

<p>AP’s:</p>

<p>My school has not offered me any AP’s, but I self-studied 8, receiving 4 4’s, 3 5’s, and I cancelled the 8th. </p>

<p>EC’s:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Founded, running a charity that’s donated a bunch of bookcases and several thousand children books to local organizations that care for children. (3-4)</p></li>
<li><p>Playing ukulele at various local events, lessons, etc. (1-4)</p></li>
<li><p>Scholastic Bowl: 2 team captain, 2 lead scorer, 3 varsity letters. (2-4)</p></li>
<li><p>Writing teacher study guides for educational video company. PAID JOB. (1-4) </p></li>
<li><p>Volunteering at local library. (1-4)</p></li>
<li><p>Working 15 hours a week at a local gym/fitness club. (3-4)</p></li>
<li><p>Ping-Pong Club. (2-4)</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Awards: </p>

<ol>
<li>National Merit Semi-Finalist</li>
<li>AP Scholar with Distinction
3-6. Various school awards like HOBY, etc.</li>
</ol>

<p>Essays:</p>

<p>I think these will be the compelling part of my application. My Common App EC essay is about my #1 EC, and main Common App essay is pretty cool. </p>

<p>Recs:</p>

<p>1: Very good (he’s my scholastic bowl coach)
2: Possibly best ever
Counselor: Very possibly best ever, as well. <3 my counselor.</p>

<hr>

<p>I’d appreciated a chance to Stanford EA. I want to be a Philosophy major with a minor in Spanish. I’m also looking for other top Philosophy programs… It’s hard to find rankings for that online for some reason. So, if you’re familiar with any… Also, give me as much constructive criticism as possible, specifically about things that I can change by November. I’d also appreciate if it some of the experts on this site like Silverturtle would give me some advice. I read a lot of your guys’ and you do a good job. I’ve learned a lot on CC.</p>

2

<p>Well your academics look fine and your ECs are fine too. Now it depends on how your essays/recs fit into your “total package,” and it’s not like we can figure out your chances based on “my main common app essay is pretty cool.”</p>

<p>In my opinion, you’re already going to get accepted to most of the schools you apply to just based on your academics and ECs. It’s just HYPS that will be the problem. To get into some of them, you will want to make yourself unique. If an admissions officer just finished reading your application, you want him to remember you as the “____ kid.” Whatever makes you you, or whatever makes you unique from the tens of thousands of other kids applying for your spot. It’s easier for an admissions officer to fight for you to get you into the “next round” when they can remember you as the “___ kid,” not just another name on a page with good academics and good ECs. So, you want your total application package to build on each other and make you that “____ kid.” Your academics have put your foot in the door, now your ECs, essays, and recs will let you sink or swim.</p>

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<p>I concur with llpitch. I like the fact that you took it upon yourself to take APs since your school doesn’t offer them. (On the other hand, the non-competitiveness of your high school somewhat diminishes the significance of your gpa, but your test scores are nice.) Also good is that you held down paid employment throughout high school.</p>

<p>Princeton has a superb philosophy department too. Good luck.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the responses. So, in attempting to present myself in a certain way, is there anything that sticks out to you about my app? If nothing else I could do kind of a library/lit type thing –> 800 on Cr/Writing, founded book donation, volunteered at library, maybe my common app could be about being in a library or something of that sort?</p>

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<p>Effective, persuasive college essays come from the heart, so only use the library/literary theme if it will genuinely speak to something essential about you–while also helping the admissions people understand how that essential something will add tangibly to the community at Stanford. E.g., in your library volunteering, have you maybe served as a literacy volunteer or helped teach English as a second language to non-native English speakers? And if so, might you continue to do so as a Stanford student, perhaps in East Palo Alto schools or elsewhere? (Being bookish and having high SAT scores won’t distinguish you much in the Stanford applicant pool.) I wonder if any of Stanford’s orchestras or other musical ensembles need a ukulele player? ; )</p>

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<p>Lol, yeah I kind of realized that. A lot of people will have those “literary qualifications.” Thanks for the help. I will seriously consider your advice.</p>

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<p>Great advice from zenkoan. I pretty much did what he said about essays in all of my essays.</p>

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<p>BTW my essay is about how Homer’s Odyssey influenced me…</p>

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<p>Oh, HIGHreachNoob, there’s no place like home! ; )</p>

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<p>Can’t argue with that :P</p>

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<p>oh btw how do you know you’re semi-finalist…are you just predicting based on past year’s cutoffs? I’m just curious since I didn’t think it came out until September</p>

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<p>You know, I really don’t think applicants know what they’re talking about when they exaggerate their recs as “the best ever.” Seriously, it seems like every other chance me thread involves “amazing” or “the best ever” recs, but, in reality, how many of them actually fall in that category? Very few. What’s more, most HYPS applicants are at the top of their class and have won their teachers’ favor – that’s what makes them qualified for such institutions in the first place. So what are the chances your recs are going to be leagues above everyone else’s? Not very high. </p>

<p>You’re not supposed to see them, and, even if you do, you don’t know what the adcoms will qualify as an amazing rec. So, in the end, both you and your teacher are essentially on the same playing field as everyone else applying to HYPS. Just because a teacher likes you doesn’t mean your rec will be superb. </p>

<p>The same thing applies to essays. Most HYPS applicants can write well, so it really takes something else to write an extraordinary essay among a pool like that. Don’t be so quick to assume your essays are “compelling” or “amazing.” Hubris could be your downfall. </p>

<p>Sorry, I just felt like I had to get that out of my system.</p>

<p>Anyway, the ukulele is unique, and your paid job seems interesting. Most of the other stuff is fairly commonplace, though. </p>

<p>You’re obviously qualified. No one can really provide you with accurate chances. Like everyone else said – really work on the essays, especially for Stanford (and don’t be so quick to assume they’re extraordinary).</p>

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<p>Notice my terminology –> best ever. It’s an option on the Common App rec, and both teacher/counselor have actually discussed this with me. I’m not using it as an adjective to describe the recommendation… that would be absurd. Let me put it this way… I am “planning for good essays, and hoping for good recs.”</p>

<p>adibo: just guessing, im above last years cutoff by 3</p>

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<p>Gosh, TheAscendancy, you seem to be in sort of a cantankerous mood. I understand what you’re saying about irrationally-exuberant applicants generally, but I really didn’t detect any whiffs of hubris in the OP’s questions or comments. His or her recommenders, e.g., may have let him or her know what the letters would contain (my recommenders certainly did, and sent me courtesy copies even though I signed the waivers and would never have requested copies). And I think he or she was just expressing an intention to make a strong effort to produce good essays, not assuming they would automatically be considered amazing.</p>

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<p>^Cross-posted with OP, apparently.</p>

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</p>

<p>You’re right about that one. It was directed as much to all the chance me threads that involve “amazing” recs as it was to the OP.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>My apologies if I misinterpreted your post. However, your wording was admittedly ambiguous. How else was I to interpret “best ever” or “the compelling part of my application”? Very few people think of the boxes your teachers check, especially when what they write about you is far more important than which boxes they pick.</p>

<p>In all seriousness, I’m just a bit irritated by the abundance of threads that involve ignorant predictions about the quality of an applicant’s essays/recs. I mean you no ill-will when I say this, and if I happened to misinterpret your intent, then I apologize, and feel free to ignore my comments. </p>

<p>I wish you the best of luck.</p>

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<p>^Thanks. Congrats on Yale BTW</p>

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<p>I hear you, TheAscendancy, and I can relate. I actually never discuss “chances”, just try to share what I’ve managed to glean from lots of reading and having been through the process myself. I also never go to the “What Are My Chances?” section, since it’s almost always the blind leading the blind there. Even worse are the self-styled “experts” who haven’t even been through an admissions cycle themselves, yet assess people’s chances, and render their opinions based on little other than a bunch of old stats and an urgent desire to feel some control in an inherently-uncontrollable process. I understand that people need to vent their anxieties (which is why cc exists, I suppose) but those “What Are My Chances?” threads are a serious waste of time.</p>