Not sure if I can get into Stanford with the classes my school offers?

Colleges & Universities Stanford University
1

<p>I’ve done a lot of research on colleges, and I really want to attend a school in California. After inspecting all of the l UC’s like some kind of paranoid Sherlock Holmes, I stumbled across Stanford and it just felt right to me. Everything about it was perfect and the people there seem amazing. Not that I’ve actually met them, but from what I saw from stalking their videos on Youtube, I came to that conclusion. </p>

<p>I’ll just jump right in here. I am from a town of 4,500 and a highschool of less than 300 in rural Illinois. If you haven’t noticed, our state’s school funds are absolutely STELLAR (Hint: Sarcasm). That being said, my school doesn’t offer any AP courses. There are 2 dual-credit classes (For English and History), but no honors or AP. Yes, I have been up all night wondering what I can do. I found out that you can take online classes during study hall. I thought my problems were solved. Then I was presented with the price of taking the course AND the price for books. Whoa. My family lives on an income of less than 30,000 a year, so it is a little painful for me to look at those numbers. I am only 15, so I can’t even get a job yet to help out. I am however, planning to enroll in the most challenging classes my school offers (All of the dual-credits, Physics, Calculus, etc). When Stanford recieves my transcript and notices that my school doesn’t offer any AP classes, BUT I took the most vigorous courses available to me; would the admissions officers let the AP thing slide? That is, if my other credentials could make up for it (SAT, ACT, GPA, etc). Because I honestly can’t afford those online classes. </p>

<p>Here are my current stats, I’m only a sophomore:</p>

<p>Freshman Year:
GPA: 4.0
Class Rank: Top 10%
Extra Curriculars: Same as sophomore year
Classes:
Semester 1-

  1. English I
  2. Biology I
  3. Algebra I
  4. Art I
  5. World History I
  6. Phys. Ed.
  7. Choir
  8. Study Hall</p>

<p>Semester 2-

  1. English I
  2. Biology I
  3. Algebra I
  4. Art I
  5. Computer Concepts
  6. Choir
  7. Phys. Ed.
  8. Study Hall</p>

<p>Sophomore Year:
GPA: 4.0
Class Rank: Not sure of the exact number, but I know I’m in the top ten percent.
Extra Curriculars: Cheerleading* (Fall and Winter), Scholastic Bowl, Science Olympiad, Key Club, and Clickers (Which is a safe driving club.)
*We don’t have a captain but we do have a leadership award, would it look good if I won that my Senior Year (as it is only applicable to Seniors)?
Classes:
Semester 1-

  1. Study Hall
  2. Drawing I
  3. Child Development
  4. Chemistry I
  5. Geometry
  6. Spanish I
  7. American Government
  8. English II</p>

<p>Semester 2-
(Zero Hour PE)

  1. Drawing I
  2. English II
  3. Health
  4. Spanish I
  5. Chemistry I
  6. Geometry
  7. PE
  8. World History II</p>

<p>(I had to take 2 PE’s in 2nd semester due to my lack of a PE first semester. My schedule got messed up.)</p>

<p>I plan on doing the same EC’s every year but I might do Track and Student Council and maybe not do Clickers in my future. </p>

<p>And although I am not a junior yet, this is what I am wanting to do for my Junior and Senior classes:</p>

<p>Junior-- First Semester:
(Zero Hour PE)

  1. American Literature
  2. Advanced Chemistry
  3. Algebra II
  4. Trigonometry
  5. Painting/Drawing II (Held in the same class period)
  6. Spanish II
  7. Psychology</p>

<p>Junior-- Second Semester:
(Zero Hour PE)

  1. American Literature
  2. Advanced Biology
  3. Algebra II
  4. Statistics
  5. Painting/Drawing II
  6. Spanish II
  7. US History II</p>

<p>SENIOR-- First Semester:
(Zero Hour PE)

  1. English 101 (Dual Credit)
  2. Physics
  3. Calculus
  4. History 101 (Dual Credit)
  5. Spanish III
  6. Speech Communication
  7. Painting II/Drawing III</p>

<p>SENIOR-- Second Semester:
(Zero Hour PE)

  1. English 102 (Dual Credit)
  2. Physics
  3. Calculus
  4. History 102 (Dual Credit)
  5. Spanish III
  6. US History III
  7. Painting II/Drawing III</p>

<p>Alright now that my hands are in agony from typing all that, do those look like decent classes? I would just really love to go to Stanford and I don’t think I would be able to afford AP classes (hundreds of dollars). Also, I am REALLY hoping that the essay is important. I love writing and if the essay is a big part of the decision that would be GREAT. And, like I said, I haven’t taken any standardized tests yet but I’ve taken practice tests and I do pretty good. </p>

<p>So after that essay I’ve presented to you, I’m basically asking about the AP classes. Do I still have a chance even if I don’t really have an opportunity to take the classes? Or do I need to eat beans the rest of my high school career to be able to pay for online AP courses? All of your help is greatly appreciated!</p>

2

<p>Stanford is only looking for you to take the most rigorous classes offered, and admissions will completely understand if your school does not offer AP classes. They also don’t expect you to pay to take online classes when it is beyond your means. Truly, if you’re taking the hardest schedule available to you, that’s all that really counts in terns of rigor. Also, the essays for Stanford are SUPER important so there’s your chance to impress admissions. Good luck!</p>

3

<p>Don’t worry about whether or not your school offers an extremely rigorous course load, only about whether you took the most rigorous course load possible at your school. For example, my school only offers four AP classes and unless you’re a Native Spanish Speaker you can only take one (AP Psychology) prior to senior year. So I was kinda freaking out at first when I finally came on CC and saw that every other person had already taken like 10 APs and had a bunch of AP Scores to submit. As long as you take as many APs or Honors classes as possible (and for you that’s 0) you’re good! (Prior to senior year I only took one AP class and still got in to Princeton SCEA if that helps you relax a little.)</p>

<p>Nevertheless, Stanford may be a little worried about how you’ll handle the extremely challenging classes that you will be taking when you’re there. Best way to show the admissions officers that you still have the potential to succeed at a place like Stanford? SAT and SAT II Subject Test scores. Those scores will help them compare you to kids who have taken a bunch of APs and if you do really well on them they’ll still recognize your intellectual aptitude. Also, I might even suggest self-studying a few APs? My school didn’t offer the APs that one of my friends really wanted to take so she took a couple university classes and self-studied 4 of them during our junior year. That’s a little extreme, but just an idea! Anyway, good luck!</p>

4

<p>They look at rigor in the context of your high school. Still, I’d recommend self studying APs or putting a lot of time in towards SAT and ACT so that Stanford has national standardized scores that prove your that awesome fantabulous person they want to accept! Good luck :)</p>

5

<p>

</p>

<p>That’s like saying: I took a geography class and learned there is this country called the United States…</p>

6

<p>Haha, I do see what you’re saying. I had just never considered Stanford, is what I meant. I had always been under the impression that it was a sort of boring, genius school. I found out that it was actually a pretty good place with cool people.</p>

7

<p>Thank you for all of your replies. You’ve calmed my nerves a bit. How do I go about self-studying APs? I’m totally up for it, just wondering what I’m supposed to do, where to get books, etc.</p>

8

<p>First step-talk to your GC ASAP and
Step 2-register for AP exams (pick which ones you’d like to self study, match your intended major or just seem awesome to you)
Step 3-try and acquire Some AP prep books. Also, stalk the collegeboard website because each AP has it’s own mini page with a course outline and practice questions etc. these are getting more comprehensive and for some courses (ex AP Bio) are more up to date then the textbooks.
Seriously though, I’d talk to your GC as soon as possible.
Good luck! Hope this helps!</p>

9

<p>Oh, if you do buy AP review books, I strongly recommend Amazon because they often sell the books for less than half the price ($9 instead of $25 sometimes!) and have the new models, old ones, and lots of name brands. If you have any other questions, you can also PM me :)</p>

10

<p>Show that you care to learn beyond what your school (or even SATs and APs) can provide. Check out these websites:</p>

<p><a href=“https://www.khanacademy.org/[/url]”>https://www.khanacademy.org/&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“https://www.coursera.org/[/url]”>https://www.coursera.org/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>These websites provide free material for anyone who wants to learn. Coursera in particular provides entire university courses, where you get weekly assignments, midterms and finals. At the very end, you will even get a certificate of accomplishment for some of the courses if you do well (note that these are university courses, so doing well will not be easy) If you show that you are willing to learn and make use of every opportunity available to you, I’m sure that you will do well. </p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

11

<p>I agree with simp1eton. You won’t get penalized for not taking any advanced courses as your school doesn’t offer them, but make sure to definitely show that you have passion and interest in learning, and that you’re capable of handling the work load that Stanford would require. In the essays, emphasize who you are as an individual and what you’ve accomplished. Although course load and grades do matter heavily, in the end, passion is what will get you into the school.</p>

12

<p>My son has applied to Stanford and has a similar situation. His school offers no AP courses at all. In his case, he tried the get the most out of what was available. They were flexible with him and allowed him to double up on Math so he will have completed every math class they offer (through Calc 2). They offer some honors and concurrent credits and he has taken all available. He has taken computer science and chemistry classes during the summer at a local university to make sure he has the requirements for the top engineering programs. His school also has no extra curricular teams / activities, so he has had to go to other high schools to participate in debate and First robotics. In both cases, he was elected team captain his second year after proving himself with these folks outside his social group. He is the #1 ranked student in his school with a 4.0UW GPA - they don’t weight any classes - not even the college courses. He has far more credits than any of his peers. SATS are 2300 with 800s in Math 2 and Physics -all single seating as a junior. He is a NMF and PSP candidate. </p>

<p>We’ll be interested to see how the “context” thing really plays out. So far, he has not been selected by any of the cal schools for their early admission programs (regents)- but I realize it is a highly competitive field. At least I now realize it after this process - it is not that competitive within the state - the state school gives an auto full-ride for NMF. I suppose it’s that time of year where the waiting weighs on you, but it feels like that 4.0 UW GPA just won’t hold up against these 4.5+ weighted GPAs. I’m wondering if Stanford might ask why he didn’t try to get into a high school that offers a more rigorous program. </p>

<p>Guess we’ll find out soon enough and can let you know.</p>

13

<p>brilo:</p>

<p>It can be done. Our S’13 is in at Stanford SCEA, EA at Virginia, early notification at Vanderbilt and has a full ride to UNC-Chapel Hill plus some safeties so far. We have a similar situation-only 2APs here and he took one in grade 9 and one in grade 10. He ended up talking about this in interviews, essays and I know it was addressed in recommendations. He was worried too but I told him he had to look for the advantages in his situation and go from there. There are so many things you can do, both academically and otherwise, to show that you can handle the rigor of a place like Stanford and that you have something to contribute. Do your research and apply for scholarships! Having to work harder for things is a character building experience (and incidentally a plus in college admissions).</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>