Chance Me for Stanford REA: CA resident, 3.93 UW, 1550 SAT, ecology

Chance Me / Match Me
1

Demographics

  • US Citizen
  • State/Location of residency: California (Bay Area)
  • Type of high school (or current college for transfers): Private Christian school
  • Other special factors: 1st gen to college; uncle and aunt went to Stanford

Cost Constraints / Budget
None

Intended Major(s): Ecology; Earth Sciences; Biology

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 3.93
  • Weighted HS GPA: 4.41 (on 4-pt scale)
  • Class Rank: not provided by school
  • ACT/SAT Scores: 1550 sat (single-seating)

Grades

Took a mostly rigorous track.

Senior year: AP Calc BC, AP Gov, AP Lit, AP Econ, AP Physics 1

Previous years: AP Bio, AP Chem, AP Calc AB, AP Lang, AP Environmental Science

(Did receive a B in AP Chem, unfortunately.)

Awards

National Merit Semi-finalist [National; 11]

San Francisco International Innovative Music Competition; First Place; Romantic Solo Category [International; 9]

Scholastic Writing Gold Key [State; 11]

National Finalist; WGI Winds World Championships [Marching Band; National; 9, 10, 11]

Presidential Volunteer Service Award (PVSA), Gold [National; 9 and 10]

Extracurriculars:
Volunteer, Marine Mammal Hospital & Rehabilitation Center

Prepped food for 25+ seals/sea lions in hospice; repurposed 3,000+ seafood restaurant mussel shells to regrow coral on bleached reefs in the Cali bay.

President & Re-founder, Pre-Veterinary Studies Club

Revived after school club cuts, growing membership by 40%; launched 10+ new workshops; donated $800+ worth of clothes/toys to local animal shelter.

Section Leader & Soloist, Performing Indoor Ensemble (Marching Band)

Mentored 60+ peers; led 20+ competition victories as a soloist; organized sectionals to keep rehearsals running smoothly.

Veterinary Intern, UNI Pet Clinic

Streamlined clinic efficiency; handled 110+ patients; dosed prescriptions; translated 20+ client calls.

Teen Conservation Leader (TCL), Monterey Bay Aquarium

Taught 1,500+ guests on ocean conservation practices; survived interrogation under the relentless curiosity of kid visitors (e.g. “What’s a copecod?”)

Restoration Volunteer, The Wildlands Conservancy

Removed invasive plants/debris at Estero Americano Coast Preserve; initiated project to revive 3+ banana slug populations.

All-State Clarinetist, California Music Educators Association (CMEA)

Selected as 1 of the top 2% of musicians statewide; participated in a 5-day intensive camp culminating in an all-state concert.

Volunteer & Beekeeper, Happy Hollow Park & Zoo

Designed enrichment activities and prepared daily diets in commissary for 28+ species; tended to 3 on-site bee colonies.

Hair Salon Assistant, Family Business

Built and maintained booking site for ~65 clients/week (11.8k total bookings over 3.5 yrs); trained 6+ staff; served diverse clientele.

Principal Clarinetist, [Organization name for privacy]

Scholarship recipient; shared Korean-American music with 450+ attendees, promoting cross-cultural appreciation through traditional performances.

Responsibilities/Circumstances:

Assisting family or household members with tasks such as doctors’ appointments, bank visits, or visa interviews

Farm work or unpaid work for a family business

Interpreting or translating for family or household members

Essays/LORs/Other
I definitely think essays are the strongest part about my application and makes me unique.

LOR:

Calculus Teacher: Close relationship; I am a TA for him in senior year.

Sign Language Teacher: Not as close but we are generally friendly and I go to her office hours a lot.

Optional Music Teacher: Knows me inside and out; Has known me since 5th grade; Extremely deep relationship.

Schools

STANFORD REA (definite reach ahh)

  • Vanderbilt

  • Duke

  • Rice

  • U Mich - EA

  • CMU

  • USC

  • Northwestern

  • Northeastern

  • Boston University

  • Boston College

  • Fordham

  • U Washington

  • SDSU

  • Santa Clara University

  • Purdue

  • CAL states

  • UC schools

Unfortunately these are unordered because I don’t really know how “good” my application is. Would love some helpful feedback! Thanks so much :slight_smile:

2

Are you considering going for a DVM and becoming a veterinarian?

If so, then definitely budget for a full 8 years of university and go for an affordable bachelor’s degree. Saving money is important. Getting a DVM is a long road. It requires a lot of determination and a lot of effort over a long time period. While being a veterinarian can be a rewarding job, it is a lot of work and does not pay well enough to pay off the cost of the DVM program if you need to take even half of it as loans.

My older daughter got her DVM this past May and is working as a vet. She loves it. She has consistently reported that most of the students in her DVM program were taking on way too much debt. At her graduation we never talked about it because we did not want to make other students feel bad during what was a very joyous and very positive celebration.

DVM students come from a very wide range of undergraduate schools. Anything on your list, including any of the UCs, can prepare you well. Students in highly ranked DVM programs come from all over the place. Getting quite a bit of veterinary-related experience would be very helpful, and might be easier to come across in rural areas particularly if you want large animal experience.

Regarding chancing you, you are a very strong student. You are competitive for Stanford, but so are something like 80% of applicants (this number is taken from an article in the Stanford alumni magazine from a number of years ago, but I doubt that this has changed much over the years).

I expect that you will get some acceptances from some of your reach schools. Whether they are worth the cost compared to your in-state public schools is a tough question, and may depend upon whether you want to keep open the option of someday applying to an expensive graduate program (such as a DVM, or MD, or …).

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Stanford will only consider your parents when determining “legacy” status, not other relatives who may have attended Stanford (although if your aunt and uncle donated lots and lots of money, that might make a difference, because they do consider your family’s donor status).

You are a strong student with some great ECs, and it’s certainly worth applying to Stanford REA. Of course it’s a reach… as I’m sure you know, there are lots of very strong students in the Bay Area and they can’t admit all of them :slight_smile:

Make an effort to apply EA to all public universities on your list that offer this option, as well as any private ones that are allowed along with Stanford REA (due to having early merit scholarship deadlines) such as USC. Some public universities accept the majority of their class in EA, or may run out of space in popular majors, etc.

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Wow - great record. Not sure one can predict a Stanford acceptance but you’ll have some here - the last 5 for sure b4 UC and CSU. Note that Wash won’t see your 1550 but I suspect you are in.

You should cull your list. It’s too long.

I suspect others will come through too but those five for sure.

I think you built a list of big names for big name sake.

You might look at Arizona and Pitt which are exceptionally strong in your areas and drop some of the others. If you decide on Earth Science, look at School of Mines.

You want to find strength in your major vs overall school name and assuming grad school - while you have no budget, it’s more than four years of schooling to pay for.

Best of luck although you won’t need it.

5

If you might have an interest in studying the Earth through time, then consider applying to colleges with strong geosciences departments.

6

Assume everyone applying has your same stats, so your chance is about 4%. It’s basically a lottery school, but if it’s your first choice then why not take your chance? Do you have a 2nd choice? Some of the schools on your list have ED2 so you could possibly apply ED2 if you get denied from Stanford. Stanford denies most, they don’t defer a ton like some schools, so just be emotionally prepared. Good luck to you!