<p>@ OP:</p>
<p>The mailing means that they are interested in you, but it does not mean they will accept you. Stanford SCEA is VERY difficult (just as difficult as regular decision, if not harder, IMHO) because Stanford accepts many of its recruited athletes in the same decision plan, which means less slots (this is what I read on a CC post on this forum).</p>
<p>Besides your perfect scores, your other SAT scores, GPA, and most of your extracurriculars are average or only slightly above average. Don’t think that 800 is going to guarantee admission… I got a perfect score on the math section and was denied early action at Stanford.</p>
<p>However, the possible small hooks I do see include the cooking competition and the college classes that you have taken on James Joyce… that demonstrates the intellectual vitality Stanford is looking for.</p>
<p>Other than the college classes and the cooking competition, you are no different than a typical applicant to Stanford. Keep in mind that most Stanford acceptees have close to a 4.0 GPA and garnered citywide, statewide, or even nationwide attention through competitions or what not.</p>
<p>I would strongly suggest adding other match schools to your list, such as Tufts, Tulane, NYU, Wake Forest, etc. And Wharton is NOT a safety… it is a reach for any applicant, with an 8 percent acceptance rate. So get your head out of the clouds and get realistic, otherwise you may find yourself screwed when college decisions come back.</p>
<p>Apply to Stanford, but don’t assume you are going to get in… it is very hard for even the best applicants to get into Stanford and Ivy League schools these days.</p>