<p>I’m new to this forum and have had one dream my entire life. I want to attend Stanford University. I am a sophomore in high school and was wondering what I need to start doing right now to improve my chances of getting in. I’m a straight “A” student and am involved in many organizations and sports. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>Your “dream” is too narrow and shallow. Top schools read apps from label-obsessed kids all day long. </p>
<p>Your dream should be be a great scholar, love to learn and love to affect others around you with gifts you’ve been given. Right now, if obtaining a diploma from a name school that validates your sense of achievement and success is your guidepost, then I’ll tell you that actual acceptees to schools like Stanford are miles a head of you. </p>
<p>Admittance to Stanford, HYP et al is just a stepping stone and a natural outcome of their journey to amazing things. And frankly, they are the kind of people for whom their alma mater really don’t matter. There’s the rub.</p>
<p>And if you don’t understand this, your chances of submitting a truly unique (i.e viable) application to HYPMS is severely curtailed.</p>
<p>your dream is perfect. not much else to say. you also convey yourself in a polite sincere manner.</p>
<p>It sounds like you are doing everything that you can. Stanford, and other top schools, will be looking for sincere diligent unique individuals.</p>
<p>It is very important to find things that you like to do, and do them consisitently. This is better than having a smattering of activities which may look good in print. Most people will say a few things that you love will present yourself better on an application.</p>
<p>There is no ‘best’ way to improve your percentages (no matter what a person does, you are still aiming at the ‘NBA’ level of schools, if you see what I mean.</p>
<p>Straight As will help you immensely compared to others. I would recommend starting to study for the SATs in tenth grade. My suggestion is slow and steady with that since you would be starting so far in advance.</p>
<p>I think it is a great idea to visit schools, even now. My own feeling is that there is nothing like visiting a place, just don’t evaluate a place only on the few people that you meet during a visit. - You should also keep an open mind towards other schools. There are about 3000 colleges in the US. A lot of them are great. For example Pomona and Cal Tech in Cali come to my mind as top notch schools, and many many others.</p>
<p>Of course, on a more specific note, you should apply Early to Stanford if you are a competitive applicant come 12th grade since that always helps your chances (more at some schools than others)</p>
<p>with all due respect to the post before me, I find it to be pessimistic and inaccurate (there is some valuable information buried in there but it needs to be dissected out, re-phrased, and turned upside down). I think that you will probably get in to Stanford as an excellent Freshman in 3 years. your attitude and perspective is just right for a 10th grade student.</p>
<p>1) I agree the OP seems to be on the right academic path. Congrats!</p>
<p>2) But I highly doubt OP could tell you “why Stanford” other than it’s a lofty goal of supposed greatness</p>
<p>3) I suspect OP’s answer to “why stanford” would fit like a glove with “why UCB” or “why USC” or “why Brown”</p>
<p>4) thus my admonition for the OP to stop being “label obsessed” – a common theme with many CC new arrivals</p>
<p>5) bbccpp: Your " I think that you will probably get in to Stanford " severely diminishes your overall stance. Given Stanford’s ~6% accept rate, what has the OP displayed that isn’t true of 80,000 other Sophomores at this very moment? Since 36600+ people applied last year, I think it’s safe to assume they almost all looked like the OP three years prior. Yet 94% were rejected .</p>
<p>6) The OP has good reason to feel accomplished. Congrats for sure. But to be laser beam focused on a single name is, IMHO unhealthy and fraught with peril. Come 2 yrs, I hope OP submits a great Stanford app and even gets in. That’s be wonderful (Palo Alto’s weather is paradise). But I want to divert OP from some immature attitudes and tunnel vision that are quick routes to disappointment.</p>
<p>Excellent and well-considered points, all.</p>
<p>I can only base my opinion on the information at hand. I see a tenth grade student construct a perfectly contexted, concise, well-mannered paragraph on the correct thread of the correct Web Forum relevant to his/her question regarding his/her dream school, Stanford.</p>
<p>In my opinion, despite the competitive nature of Stanford (I believe that the Early Action stats are better and would be the modus for this particular student), I think he/she has a 75-80% chance of getting in as a senior.</p>
<p>This is just the personal opinon of a regular non-Adcom person. I am assuming straight As, maybe one B, 2300+sat, difficult course load, continued ECs, great LORs and strong character - all of which I presume from the original post.</p>
<p>T26E4 I appreciate the courtesy and politeness engendered in post 5. (I will guess that the student has a special reason for ‘loving’ Stanford)</p>
<p>I do agree with T26E4. It’s perfectly fine to have a dream of attending Stanford (actually, that’s mine as well; it would be amazing to be accepted into the school), but also keep in mind that college is only a bridge to the rest of your life. Know that Stanford is not the only route you can take to success. In fact, one of the bridges in the language department at Stanford has a massive hole in it. Hahah. 
</p>
<p>But as of advice, I would recommend just wholeheartedly being yourself and achieving what you desire. Passion can bring you anywhere. Grades do matter, and it’s great that you’re a straight-A student, but what you convey in your essays are also really important. Make sure to pursue anything and everything that interests you, and don’t run away from anything that haunts you. Conquer it.</p>
<p>Overall, just be the best person you can be. I know my response was a little cheesy, but it was the best way I could say everything I wanted to say. </p>
<p>Also - you’ve probably seen this already, but it’s really inspirational and meaningful in terms of being an individual. Check it out if you haven’t! ([Steve</a> Jobs’ 2005 Stanford Commencement Address - YouTube](<a href=“Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford Commencement Address - YouTube”>Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford Commencement Address - YouTube))</p>
<p>Best of luck!</p>
<p>Thanks for all of replies. I’ve seen that Commencement Address countless amounts of times and absolutely love it!
bbccpp: Thank you for the support. It means a lot! I am going to start taking classes and studying for the SATs this summer because I know it plays a critical role in admission. I will be visiting Stanford this summer if not the next.
T26E4: Thank you for the constructive criticism. That’s the reason I posted this. I want to know what I should do and shouldn’t do and what colleges look for when reading applications.</p>