Please chance my daughter, Does she have a "hook"?

Seriwe
Fri, 04 May 2012 00:19:30 +0000

Don’t be completely discouraged. Yes, her ACT is on the low end, but Stanford notes on their website that people with ACTs in the 24 to 29 range still comprise 13% of the incoming class (though their admit rates drop to 3%). It may be worth either taking the SAT or retaking the ACT to see if she can improve on either–you still have time before application time If she can get above a 28 or 29 (or a 1900 to 2000 SAT), her chances will improve substantially.

Is she really passionate about helping out in politics? If so, try to find ways to make this come across in the application–let this passion show through. That will help your daughter stand about from the other amazing applicants. She doesn’t need to have cured cancer; sure it helps (haha), but in the absence of such a feat, she should work on presenting herself as someone who is incredibly hardworking and passionate about her involvement. Your daughter seems to enjoy politics, so she should delve into detail on this, explaining how she has taken initiative here in order to let her passion and dedication shine through.

Your personal challenge as a family is totally legitimate and you should make note of it when applying. How? A) Have a guidance counselor writing a recommendation for her write specifically about the challenge your family has gone through and how she has persevered through all of this. This will give credibility to your situation, and resultingly, admissions counselors will ease up in recognition of all she’s gone through.

B) She could write an essay about how she has persevered through the difficulties. In her essay though, she must speak very much from the heart and in her own voice. She should show and not tell. Let the emotions, the feelings, the time and energy she has put in lift directly off the paper for the admissions counselors.

Your daughter will need a stellar essay/essays to get admissions to Stanford, but I think it’s doable. Of the things she should write about, I would think writing about rising above the poverty your family has faced would make for a good essay. Seriously–poverty? I frankly think that if she makes it clear that your family has been through all this trouble and that she has remained passionate for school and activities despite the tough situation, the admissions counselors will really respect that.

One other thing she should possibly write about is her political involvement, as it shows passion–one of the primary things the Stanford admissions counselors will be looking for.



Good luck in the college admissions process. I hope this post helps. Don’t be discouraged by all you’ve read above: if your daughter can make her passions and perseverance shine through, I think that in the context of all y’all have gone through, she has a shot.