<p>If you could only pick one choice, which do you think would look better to Stanford?</p>
<p>1) Have only 2100 on SAT I and 750s on SAT IIs</p>
<p>OR </p>
<p>2) Have 2200 on SAT I and only 700s on SAT IIs</p>
<p>This is the situation that I’m trying to figure out myself right now.</p>
<p>Scenario 2. By far…</p>
<p>SAT I is often used as an important cutoff. See this article: [Application</a> increase overwhelms review system | The Chronicle](<a href=“http://dukechronicle.com/article/application-increase-overwhelms-review-system]Application”>Application increase overwhelms review system - The Chronicle)</p>
<p>SAT IIs are extraneous. As long as you have one solid SAT score (750+), the other two can be around 650-700, and you’ll look just fine.</p>
<p>But why do you have to restrict yourself to either scenario? You should prepare as best you can for both, and seeing as testing times are at least a month apart, it shouldn’t matter. As a Senior, you can always take one in September.</p>
<p>Yes, I agree. Thanks for the link.</p>
<p>Yeah, I know it’s not an either or question. But I just want to know which once I need to focus more on since I have very little time to prepare and few times that I can take the tests. I didn’t know there was a testing date in Sept, I thought the first fall date was Oct…</p>
<p>Yeah, excuse me. I meant October. </p>
<p>You can always consider taking 3 SAT IIs on a single test date. Math I, Math II, English Literature… You really don’t have to prepare much for any of those. And if you’re planning on taking APUSH or AP Biology in May, take the Biology SAT II or the U.S. History SAT II. Essentially, you’ll have been studying for them anyway.</p>
<p>Oh okay. Just wanted to make sure.</p>
<p>I am planning to take 3 SAT IIs on a single date. I’m doing Bio, Lit, and Math II. The problem is, I’ve already studied A LOT for and already taken Bio and Lit, with only so-so scores (for CC). I’m going to have to study a lot for Math II, since some major programs require it but I haven’t taken Pre-Calc yet. And I’m not a natural at Lit.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice.</p>
<p>ez choice: do well on both.</p>
<p>Math II is really, really easy. (Or at least it was for me.)</p>
<p>I skipped 6 questions and got a 780. The curve is more than generous. As long as you do a few practice tests a couple days before the exam, and memorize some helpful formulas (sequences, selection, etc.) you’ll do fine.</p>
<p>And if you’re given the choice, take Math II first: it’s best if you remain sharp and alert (for obvious reasons).</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>I live on the east coast and am interested in applying to Stanford.</p>
<p>I have a couple of questions.</p>
<p>Is it harder to get into Stanford if you live on the east coast?</p>
<p>I think I have a relatively ok gpa–95-96
my sat is currently lower than i want it to be 1980</p>
<p>Any advice? Which one do i need to improve, if not both?</p>
<p>I’ve looked up info online on admissions at SU, but are there things they prefer applicants to do?</p>
<p>I know they prefer SAT II in Math II.
Unfortunetly, I signed up for the Math I.
Does this lower my chances?</p>
<p>Is applying early action harder? (do less people get in that way?)</p>
<p>People from my school have applied to Stanford.
They were all vals with 2300+ and 98+ gpa’s. From what I know, they got rejected.</p>
<p>I don’t understand why Stanford rejected them. They met the criteria.</p>
<p>Could it possibly have been that the admissions officers thought that these east coast students were just applying to just apply—meaning that they had already applied to ivys on the east coast and just wanted to apply to another school with name recognition?</p>
<p>Stanford’s my first choice dream school, but from my school’s history, no one has been accepted.</p>
<p>Should i try to talk to an alumni or current student enrolled?</p>
<p>If anyone could answer my questions and give me advice on what stanford likes i would appeciate it.</p>
<p>@cooney500</p>
<h2>Is it harder to get into Stanford if you live on the east coast?</h2>
<p>Yes. Around 40% of the class is from California, which leaves less space for East Coastians(sp). But then again, more students from California apply… I’ll leave this up for debate.</p>
<p>I know they prefer SAT II in Math II.
Unfortunetly, I signed up for the Math I.</p>
<h2>Does this lower my chances?</h2>
<p>Even if you’ve signed up for Math I, you can change your mind and take Math II on test day. No problem.</p>
<h2>Is applying early action harder? (do less people get in that way?)</h2>
<p>Applying EA demonstrates that Stanford is your first choice, and that you’d seriously consider going if you were accepted. Stanford adcoms know this, and if Stanford is truly your dream school, it’s best that you apply in this fashion. Plus if you are rejected, you’ll know early, and you can move on.</p>
<h2>Should i try to talk to an alumni or current student enrolled?</h2>
<p>Be sure to show demonstrated interest in the school. Although Stanford does not keep records of its visitors, if you go to visit, attend a campus tour, sit in on a class, stay overnight… These are all things you can include in your “Why Stanford” essay that will emphasize your interest in the school.</p>
<h2>Stanford’s my first choice dream school, but from my school’s history, no one has been accepted.</h2>
<p>Send an email to your regional representative around the beginning of this summer. Try asking about potential events coming to your area. Mention that no one from your school has been accepted to Stanford in the past, but you don’t want that to hinder your application. If this especially worries you, talk to your school’s guidance counselor and ask if he or she can contact Stanford and perhaps build some kind of relationship with the school.</p>
<p>Hope that helps. :)</p>
<p>@Xombie: Thanks for the idea to take Math II first, I probably will. Congrats on your score! Math is my weakest subject though so I will have to study much more than you did.</p>
<p>What I love about math is that there’s (typically) only one right answer. And everything you learn is based on what you’ve learned previously. Just by reviewing areas in which you’re struggling, you’ll improve in other areas as well. You can’t say the same thing about many other subjects! Bio in particular is notorious for asking you questions about that one thing you didn’t study. :P</p>
<p>If you’re looking for a review book, I’d recommend you purchase the one published by Sparknotes – if only because it includes access to online tests that are timed and automatically graded/curved. Saves you a huge amount of time.</p>
<p>Well, I got a 1960 on SAT I but a 780 in Chem and Math II, a 700 in Bio M, and a 730 in Chinese with Listening. I got waitlisted. At least, a poor SAT I didn’t kill my chance, did it?</p>
<p>Yeah, I agree with you, Xombie!</p>
<p>For Math II prep books, do you have experience with which one is the best (not online)? I know Barron’s doesn’t have answers to some of the practice questions. Is PR good?</p>
<p>i used PR for all of my subject tests and ended up getting all 800s
the math 2 book is really good for princeton review.</p>
<p>in terms of applying from the east coast, i wouldnt say it is necessarily a disadvantage. they know the california school districts better, but the admission officers know ALL of their schools VERY well. i was talking to mine-when i mentioned 1 of my classes, she knew my town, my school, and my teacher and im from NJ! </p>
<p>Xombie’s advice is good.</p>
<p>Sparknotes SAT Review books are available in stores. You can find them next to Barron’s or PR. (The online aspect is merely a code included at the back of the book that you can enter on Sparknotes’ website.) I enjoyed their review books, but if I were to have a complaint, it is that they include more information than you actually need.</p>
<p>I haven’t had much experience with PR, but I know that it is well-condensed and well-written. I don’t care for its text formatting, however. Instead of using visible divisions etc., PR literally presents a wall of text with a few bolded terms thrown here and there. And so when I was looking at a few of my friends’ PR review books, I found them frustrating to read. It’s all based on your taste, though.</p>
<p>Just to clarify on some stuff mentioned above:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>WHY do people keep saying that it is harder to get into stanford from the east coast?
because 40% of the class comes from california? well, a proportional % of the applications come from california as well. Just go look at the admissions website. half the admissions officers read applications from just california. So, the % of students from california is a reflection of the application pool, not stanford’s preference for in state students.</p></li>
<li><p>The SAT II is optional, the SAT I is not. That should give you an idea of their relative importance. There are lots of kids that get in that never took the SATII (and no they all didn’t get 2400 on the SAT I either).</p></li>
<li><p>Stanford does not give anyone anything for showing their “interest” in Stanford. You applied, Stanford knows you are interested. The application is a pain, by virtue of finishing it at all shows some dedication :P. Stanford doesn’t give any one any boost for applying early (and if you ask an admissions officer they will tell you that). The (only) benefit is finding out early if you got in or not. as mentioned above, the admissions office also does not track your emails/phone calls, or even your campus visits. Doing all of that stuff might help you at other schools, but it won’t help you at Stanford. </p></li>
<li><p>i really wouldn’t recommend emailing your admissions officer about the fact that no one from your hs got in yet (I generally wouldn’t recommend, just because there’s no positive benefit that can come out of it).</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I disagree with points 3 & 4.</p>
<ol>
<li>Stanford doesn’t track these visits, but you can always mention them in your Why Stanford essay. If a high school student on the East Coast has come across the country to visit Stanford two or three times, sat in on a class, gone on a personal tour with a Stanford student, and (most importantly) convey this in his or her application, he or she has a greater chance of being accepted than another student with similar stats (and a similar income bracket*). If this same student applies EA, the adcom knows that he or she is serious about attending, and this may result in an acceptance (consciously or unconsciously on the adcom’s part).</li>
</ol>
<p>Applying signifies that you are interested in the school; it does not signify that you’ve done all your research, that you’re serious about attending, that you really, really, really want to go to Stanford.</p>
<p>*So that applicants without the means for extensive travel aren’t disadvantaged. </p>
<ol>
<li>There is a positive benefit: You’ve made personal contact with your adcom, expressed interest in Stanford, and the adcom now knows your name. Again consciously or unconsciously, they’ll remember this when reviewing your application. If you’re worried about sending such a message, ask your guidance counselor to give Stanford a call, and build some kind of relationship with the school. I don’t see any negative outcome.</li>
</ol>
<p>Adcoms are human.</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>I would agree that EA does actually have a slight advantage in SOME cases.
personally, i think there are years in which the RD pool is better than they anticipated and some years in which RD is not as good as they anticipated. if the RD pool is amazing one year, having applied EA might have helped some people. (just a personal theory). overall, i do not personally think there is a huge advantage because the REA pool is very self-selective.</p>
<p>I think that communicating with the admissions officer is important for the applicant to get a better feel. i dont know if it would benefit to mention that your school has not had an admit in recent years, but you should make an effort to attend stanford visits in your area to talk to that person (who will more likely than not be the presenter). visiting stanford doesnt itself have value, but if it allows you to write a better Why Stanford essay, then it does certainly help.</p>
<p>xombie:</p>
<ol>
<li> sure you can write about a campus visit in your stanford essays, naturally. My point was that there isn’t some sort of structural advantage to visiting the campus, on stanford’s end. stanford has worked pretty hard to remove basically all forms of “showing interest” in the university (outside of the why stanford essay anyway) affecting admissions. you can always write about some experience on campus that you’ve had, although that probably doesn’t really make for a better why stanford essay than someone who hasn’t visited the campus (but has been thoughtful). </li>
</ol>
<p>Also, you can rest assured that the vast majority of people applying to stanford make their interest in the university very very clear. Ive mentioned it before on this board, but I think its (mildly) arrogant on stanford’s part to just generally assume that you are very interested in the university. </p>
<ol>
<li> sure, the admissions officer might remember your name. My point is that its irrelevant. At best, you don’t affect their perception of you at all. At worst, you say something stupid that they remember (high school kids tend to be bad with the tone of emails, for example).</li>
</ol>
<p>@BigMike3541: Thanks for the post. But I thought 2 SAT IIs were mandatory at Stanford, although they are optional at other schools…?</p>