Is this the "spark"?

Colleges & Universities Stanford University
1

<p>I apologize to contribute to the individual stories that clog up these feeds but I’m really curious to see what another human other than my family and friends think. My application has a lot of elements that a calculator can’t really account for. I’m planning to apply REA to Stanford, and to apply regular decision to Reed, Princeton, and some other schools. </p>

<p>Class of 2019
GPA (unweighted): 4.0
GPA (weighted): 4.33 (my school is lacking in its selection of weighted/AP courses)
Class Rank: Top 1% of 337, I’ll be valedictorian if I keep straight A’s this year
ACT (2 tries): 34
SAT I (1 try): 2230
SAT II: I have Literature and Math II scheduled for October
AP: Statistics 5, Biology 4, Lit, Calc AB, and APUSH scheduled for spring (not much, but all that’s offered except Chem)
4 years honors/AP classes in math and english
3 years of Spanish
1.5 years of honors/AP social studies (all that’s offered)
3 years of weighted/AP sciences (all that’s offered)
3 years of advanced jazz band</p>

<p>The common denominator here is that the school I go to is very rural and lacks the course rigor of other schools. I’ve taken the hardest course load possible for what has been made available (except for an AP Chemistry course that I didn’t have room for).</p>

<p>ECs: numbers in parentheses indicate grades participated
Basketball: (1-11)
Baseball: (3-10)
Tenor Saxophone: (6-12)

  • Member of Advanced Group (10-12)
  • Honor Jazz member (9, 11)
  • Member of small combo-for-hire, “ContraBand,” (10,11)
    Youth Council Member
    Student Council Member
    National Honor Society (10-12, president in 12)
    100s of hours as a youth basketball coach
    Participant in a number of local political movements including a Rec Center Initiative and a Mill Levy Override that would increase school funding
    Founder of the Western Slope Youth Voting Initiative, a community service project that registers and pre-registers high school students and provides opportunities for student political involvement
    Variety of work experience: detailing cars, worked at a tree farm, working at a sno ball trolley, cleaning an office building, assisting in a family company that assesses and trains expats</p>

<p>Other Relevant Information:
Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony Humanitarian Award
Rotary Youth Leadership Award
Attended the Stanford Summer Institute summer before senior year and have a recommendation from my teacher there</p>

<p>What I’m trying to establish in my application is whatever “spark” Stanford looks for, which I’m elaborating more on in my essays. I went from a free-floating jock to a major community political activist in a matter of weeks. I come from a very rural, conservative area, and founded my own organization to spark interest in youth that otherwise wouldn’t have a care in the world. My registration drives made the 100-200 vote differences in important local elections. I’ve made major organizational changes in our National Honor Society chapter and am transforming it from a small group of apathetic geniuses into a 70 person community of leaders that are making actual differences in our community. I was already collaborating on projects with Youth Council months before I even got the chance to turn in an application.</p>

<p>I’m also putting a lot of emphasis on my experience at the Stanford Summer Institute because of how huge an impact it had on me intellectually, especially coming from the most cliche, rural America, apple pie type town you can think of. </p>

<p>I’m expecting solid recommendations from teachers and my counselor (having a teacher in the system makes making friends with teachers a whole lot easier) to compliment my letter from Stanford, and I’ve been revising and revising essays that place an emphasis on both the environment I’m making these changes in, along with my own personal growth, specifically in the past year. </p>

<p>I’m planning on majoring in Political Science (as I’m guessing you could have figured).</p>

<p>I apologize for the wall of text and can’t thank you enough if you’ve reached this point, but is this the kind of application that Stanford looks for? I knew from the moment I stepped on campus to the moment I left that Stanford was my dream school, and I can’t really gauge where I’m at. </p>

2

<p>I don’t normally respond to these threads, but seeing as you have a similar profile to mine last year (and I’m attending Stanford this year), I’ll give it a shot. Definitely don’t worry about the lack of AP courses offered at your school. I went to a school that only offered a couple as well, and as long as you demonstrate that you took advantage of everything that was available to you, you’ll be fine. That being said, 80% of applicants are probably going to look similar to you. That’s not meant to be discouraging–it’s just the truth. The key is to shine in your essays and show your true ‘spark’ there. If you can present yourself in such a way that you exhibit the qualities about yourself that Stanford needs, then you separate yourself from the pack. Reveal your unique perspective that would be missed on campus. The Stanford application allows students to provide a fairly thorough illustration of themselves, so just make sure that that illustration truly represents who you are. Mostly–and I can’t stress this enough–have some fun with it, and be happy with who you are, regardless of the outcome. Best of luck</p>

3

<p>I think it was something like 65% of perfect score applicants got rejected last year. There will be thousands of valedictorians applying with you. It’s a tough crowd. Emphasize these:</p>

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<p>Also, your work history is great. That is something to highlight as well. So many kids are spoon fed and have never worked a day in their life. You have a great list of accomplishments and awards. However, so does everyone else applying. I think you are on the right track to highlight your strengths, but realize that the competition is fierce and don’t expect any more than the 5% chance everyone else has. Good Luck!</p>

4

<p>I think you will help youself to the extent you can take all the things you have accomplished (and they are many) and organize them into a coherent story which connects you with what Stanford is looking for. If you can do that pursuasively, then you’ve done the best you can. Best of luck to you.</p>

5

<p>I’ve posted this in other threads, but here it is again: I highly recommend that you read this article, which was recently published in our alumni magazine. In it, both the Dean and Assistant Dean of Stanford Undergraduate admissions talk about what goes on behind the scenes. I’ll let you draw your own conclusions.</p>

<p><a href=“Stanford Magazine - Article”>Stanford Magazine - Article;