Stanford-Chance Unique Applicant

Colleges & Universities Stanford University
1

<p>S is rising Junior. Attends school that requires 7-8 academic classes per year, ranked in top 5 in Newsweek/Washington Post. Grades are unweighted and beyond rigorous. This year, 9 of the 25 seniors were NMS, accepted to HYPS and equivalent. Highest unweighted GPA is about 3.75. Virtually no on campus ECs because no sports or other typical HS facilities. Students attend academic classes 7:40 am to 4pm.
Here is relevant info on S:
8th grade: AP Comp Sci AB - 3
9th grade: AP US Gov’t - 4
10th grade: AP English Literature - 5
AP Biology - 4
AP Macroeconomics - 4
AP Microeconomins - 3
AP Calculus AB - 3
AP European History- 3
One of about 420 sophomores in the US to earn AP Scholar with Distinction
Johns Hopkins CTY - Java Programming, Anatomy & Physiology
Attended Stanford EPGY Summer Institute this year - took Artificial Intelligence
2010 and 2010 volunteering in competitive HS volunteer program at The Mayo Clinic.
Athletics: Martial Arts</p>

<p>The best GPA that he will be able to achieve by the end of Junior year at this extremely rigorous school will be 3.6. UC 10th/11th weighted GPA would be 4.4.
PSAT(sophomore year) CR=71, M=71,W=63 (205)
Assume he will be NMS based on his sophomore PSAT score
Presently scoring in mid-700s on practice exams for all SAT Reasoning sections, so
assume he will have 750-800 on CR, M, W</p>

<p>His Junior year courses will be:
AP Calculus BC
AP English Composition
AP US History
AP Chemistry
AP Computer Science or Environmental Science
Honors Physics
Spanish IV
Fine Art</p>

<p>No Stanford legacy.</p>

<p>Desired Major: Computer Science</p>

<p>The big question is: how badly will he be hurt by the rigorous grading and compulsory double academic load at such a young age and very limited school ECs?
What does he need to do in Jr year, and if he does it, please give a percentage likelihood of Stanford admission assuming he applies EA?
Thanks</p>

2

<p>Rigorous grading will not hurt, so long as Stanford is familiar with the school - they account for and adjust their assumptions given grading standards at different schools. Low AP scores however will hurt.</p>

<p>Extracurriculars are probably an application killer on the other hand - without something truly impressive, you can be a perfect 4.0/2400/36 student and still get rejected everywhere.</p>

3

<p>Your son’s not going to make NMS with a 205…</p>

4

<p>pebatty: I had a similiar concern with my s. He, too, went to a very rigorous HS and I was concerned that the colleges wouldn’t appreciate all his hard work. However, they do. The admission counselors are divided up regionally. Consequently, they make it their business to understand how each of their schools function. Hence, if your school is so rigorous they will probably understand that. However, just because your school doesn’t offer any EC’s will not exempt your S. HE MUST SEEK SOME OUT!!! EC’s are extremely important in the college selections process. His grades are certainly very good but not so stellar that any school will over look his lack of EC’s. Even kids with perferct SAT scores and GPA’s will most certainly be turned down, if they don’t have enough EC’s. As for programs like CTY, most schools will not find them to be a plus. Any program that you have to pay for, will not impress a college. The simple reason is that “you paid for it”. So anyone with enough money to pay for the course can, basically take it. In the case of CTY, I understand that it is based on a score but once again only the privileged can take it because you have the money to pay for pricey programs. The basic rule of thumb is never pay for a program if you want to use it on your college resume. You must be selected and receive a scholarship, that schools are interested in because it evens the playing field for everyone else out there.</p>

<p>Your S needs a lot of community service, school service (a completely different service then community) and he needs to do some sports, music, or clubs. Since your school doesn’t offer them, then you need to seek these things from your community. In addition, since he is still young remember to chose your EC’s and stick with them for the next few years. Your S needs to show a passion for something, show consistancy.</p>

<p>Good luck</p>

5

<p>Your school’s not having many extracurriculars is not an excuse for not doing things. I’m sure there are plenty of things for your son to do outside of school.</p>

6

<p>Oh one other thing… If EC’s are super tough to secure then think about a job. Perhaps your S could work after school. Colleges love that!! </p>

<p>Remember this: All the kids applying to HYPS are great students. They all have fantastic GPA’s, rank in the top 1-2% of their graduating class, have superb SAT’s/ACT’s, are National merit scholars, intel winners, and have taken the maximum amount of AP’s at their schools. So how does a college chose? They chose because out of all these fantastic applicants some will look “different”. Some will have everything mentioned above plus something else that will separate them from the pack and those are the kids who get accepted. How do you separate yourself from the pack? EC’s!!! or Job experience!!!</p>

7

<p>Rigorous school, low GPA, sunstandard/mediocre APs, low PSAT, no ECs, average SAT, Martial Arts, The Mayo Clinic, classes in paid, not-that-competitive systems (CTY & EPYG), no legacy.</p>

<p>1st thing: The school may be competitive beyond belief. The amount of work that needs to be put in may be beyond belief. But that does NOT excuse your son from having a low GPA. Admissions officers may have (probably will have) a good understanding of how rigorous that school is. The problem is this: if the school is THAT rigorous, and your son has to put in THAT much work, then why does he have substandard AP scores? You can get a 3 by reading through a review book once the night before the test. Your son doesn’t have an excuse (like being a bad test taker, with a 200+ PSAT/mid 700 practice SATs) for doing poorly on these AP tests. The reason colleges look at AP tests is so that they can judge the relative difficulty of the school, judge whether or not the student will be able to perform admirably in whatever college is looking, and judge how well the student is at time management - if a student who attends such a competitive school that the highest UW GPA is a 3.75, then colleges will judge the UW GPA relatively…but if the student performs poorly on standardized AP exams, then the advantage gained from attending such a competitive school is slim to none, especially if the student doesn’t have but two things outside of school (martial arts & the mayo clinic) to do! If your child is not able to study efficiently, cannot learn subject material easily, and cannot manage his time efficiently enough to perform well on easy, standardized exams, then you have to question whether or not your child will do well in schools as rigorous as Stanford.</p>

<p>2nd thing: As said before, 205 is NOT NMS. You can assume NMS based on practice test scores, but you definitely cannot assume NMS based on that (relatively low) score.</p>

<p>3rd thing: The lack of ECs will kill your child’s chances. As I’ve stated before, no ECs + substandard test scores/grades shows poor time management/studying skills. Many, MANY other sophomores were able to balance multiple ECs, self-studying APs and getting 4s/5s, work, and getting high grades (myself included). You should not expect special treatment from admissions officers because he has to follow such a rigorous schedule from “such a young age”. For applicants at Standord-level schools, a rigorous course load is the norm.</p>

<p>4th thing: This should have been the first thing. Your child is, despite what you may believe, not unique in terms of college admissions. Substandard AP scores also indicate a low writing level - something that will hurt your college essays, which is where Stanford applicants truly need to shine. </p>

<p>I’m sorry for the bashing. We kids on CC like to play the Devil’s Advocate! Make sure to take everything I’m saying with a grain of salt. After all, I am in the same grade as your son. Please, however, don’t completely disregard what I’m saying just because of my age - advice is advice, no matter the source. </p>

<p>And I’m not saying that your son shouldn’t apply to Stanford. Admissions is a crapshoot for everyone, and he has an entire year ahead of him before he applies to colleges. Anyone and everyone has the potential to get in, but since so many people apply, anyone and everyone has the potential to be rejected, too. All you can do is hope. Good luck to you and your son!</p>

8

<p>

</p>

<p>Um, what? That’s not true at all. What about programs like the Middlebury-Monterey Language Academies? The Carleton College Summer Writing Program? Basically, academic “camps.” You pay for those, but they’re plenty good enough for colleges…</p>

9

<p>Sorry Francaisalamatt I disagree. Ask any college admission officer. The problem is that only the rich can attend those programs (so to speak) thus it’s not fair to the rest of the population. I’m not saying that the programs aren’t good and can’t benefit an individual, I’m just saying that the colleges don’t look upon it favorably for the simple reason that only those who can afford, can attend. </p>

<p>Aj39VN23Cf2: I think your comments were extremely harsh. Your youth and inexperience are more than apparent. For someone your age to be so harsh is honestly sad. You are correct on some levels but your approach and delivery leaves much to be desired. At your young tender age I wouldn’t worry about giving advice to others, on topics you truly have no experience in yet and instead focus on getting through the college process yourself. Good Luck.</p>

10

<p>Dungareedoll: I agree - my comments are harsh. I agree - my youth and inexperience are easily discernible because of my austere, callow writing style. Please don’t feel sad that I’m harsh because it’s a personal choice on my part, which is not something you should feel pity for. Thank you for acknowledging that I was correct on some levels, but is it truly so wrong to be brutally honest? I’ve looked at thousands of replies to chance threads, results threads, and advice threads. I’ve looked at data sets for admitted applicants to almost every single top school. My post is the consolidation of all of the knowledge I have gleaned from lurking on the Internet for many years. Something else I’ve learned: oftentimes the best pill is the harshest pill. Sure, oftentimes the pill can be sugercoated, but that’s something I obviously can’t do because of my youth and inexperience. I hope that someone who has had many, many more years of life experience than I have can look past the lack of sugarcoating and accept the advice I give. I don’t ‘truly’ have experience in this subject, yet, but even if I did, would it matter? My college admissions process is going to be fundamentally different from pebatty’s son’s; while we are all not unique in terms of college admissions, we ARE all unique in terms of college admissions results. What works for one applicant may not work for another. What I see as the best possible way to increase the chance of success in college admissions is websites like this one that allow users to collect hundreds upon hundreds of college admission stories. Even if I had my own singular story, why would that change the advice I had given? I would have my own personal anecdotes to add in, yes, but that’s not the type of thing that makes first-class advice, because only the generalities can be applied to other people - but the generalities are something that can be garnered from collecting stories from websites like these.</p>

11

<p>All I can say is that you have a lot to learn. If you think being harsh and rude will get your message across quicker, clearer or better- you’re “sadly” mistaken. Remember “you can draw more bees with honey than with vinegar.”</p>

<p>Good luck in life!</p>

12

<p>^^I don’t think Aj39vn23cf2 has a reason to apologize. The OP asked for his chances and what to do to improve his chances, which Aj both addressed. Everything he/she said was true, viable and helpful.</p>

<p>I think if the OP’s son can further build his EC’s, he would have a pretty good shot.</p>

13

<p>^^I never once stated that he should apologize. But there is no reason to be so harsh. People ask for opinions on these threads. And I agreed that his/her points were valid. However, there’s different ways to present ones opinion.</p>

14

<p>Eh, the amount you might have paid or not paid for the program doesn’t make it good or not, since you don’t do summer activities for the college admissions officer. It’s what you take away from them that makes them worthwhile, and I think adcoms know that.</p>