Stanford SCEA 2018

Colleges & Universities Stanford University
1

<p>My son decided 2 weeks ago he wants to apply Stanford 2018 SCEA. I am not sure if this is the right choice. I am a little nervous about it. I do know that he loves the school and he is so eager to play in the Orchestra or set up his own wind ensemble if admitted. Please help assess his Stat and chance. Thank you.</p>

<p>College Interests: Humanities or Econ, and premed path</p>

<p>Chinese American student
Rank: 2/430 CA inland public school
Each year there is only one student getting in stanford
SAT (all are single sittings): 2330 (R760/M770/W800, essay 11); Subject Bio 770, Lit 750, USH 770, Math II 800
APs he has taken: WH 4, APUSH 5, Bio 5, Stat 5, BC 5 (AB sub 5)
Senior year AP: French, Eng Lit, Chem, Microecon, Gov/Psychology, Honors Physics</p>

<p>Honors/awards:
1.National Merit Semifinalist (psat 229)
2.AP Scholar w/distinction
3.Junior year Dept awards: Math, French, Computer, History
4.Sophomore year School English Dept Award
5.Winner of 2013 Stanford Youth Orchestra Concerto competition Award (Almost every selected student is top player in his or her region; my son plays his award solo piece from memory at the final concert. Stanford this year selected 75 students from 50 states, several international as well. The three competition winners were produced via two rounds of live auditions against the 70 musicians; my son auditioned from memory.)
6.2013 American National Honor performance at The Carnegie Hall of New York 2nd chair in his section
7.Trained in 2013 at Boston University Tanglewood Music Institute
8.County, CA All-northern, and All-State honor bands in 8th, 9th, and 10th grade (can’t find time to audition in junior year because of the national honor bands)
9.Tri-Valley music Festival winner of command performance in 9th and 10th grade</p>

<p>Research experiences:

  1. He researched the role of youth during the civil, and summarized the studies into a 6000 words paper which has submitted to The Concord Review, but he has not heard anything yet, the rule said the paper is valid for 12 months for publication.
  2. He spent the rest 3 weeks this summer as an intern at UOP Dept of Pharmacy to study under a professor on drug delivery using nanoparticles for cancer therapy. He was told he will be one of the author (nobody knows when it’s going to be published however)</p>

<p>Work experience (paid):
he works 3 hours per week at a local music store since 10th grade to clean the rental instruments; he learned repair skills for wind instruments also.</p>

<p>ECs:
1.Founder, president and chairman of the regional Youth Orchestra (60 musicians group; as a 501 C3 non-profit) in 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th
2.Founder, president of regional society of visiting musicians in 10th, 11th, and 12th (this orgnization is specifically for hospice patients)
3.Founder, director, and conductor of regional wind ensemble in 11th, and 12th (this one is for competion purpose; he selected the best players from the region with the help of his music teacher)
4.Founder and president of high school Badminton club, 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th
5.Northern CA VA systems volunteer to entertain veterans with music in 10th, 11th, and 12th (He got certificates from US Veterans Affairs Dept)
6. He organized a music program using 2 weeks of summer time in 11th grade at a Orphanage Home in Jiangxu China.</p>

<p>Letters:
Will be from His and Bio teacher, who have great relationship with him
Will have a letter from school VP who knows his academics and EC well
Will have a music teacher’s letter sent in; the tutor is very supportive; himself is a graduate of Peabody and The Juilliard)
School counselor knows the demanding level of his classes and his leadership very well</p>

<p>Supplemental:
He will request live audition at the Stanford music dept; plus his music teacher’s letter and his music resume–he has a long repertoire list</p>

<p>Essays:
He has not touched them yet, since he spent the 2/3 summer doing audition and performances, 1/3 on Bio intern. He promises to start in 1-2 weeks. </p>

<p>What do you think about his chance for Stanford SCEA admission? Thank you.</p>

2

<p>Though Stanford is a reach for almost everyone, your son has a solid profile. What really stands out is his genuine passion for (and success in) music…Stanford explicitly says that it likes to admit people who are passionate about what they do. </p>

<p>Also, publication in The Concord Review would make his admission VERY likely.</p>

<p>If Stanford is indeed his first choice, then he should apply early. Be advised that the application deadline will be earlier (Oct. 15) if he submits a music supplement.</p>

3

<p>Agree with alea. Your son has a very competitive academic profile with a focused passion in MUSIC…</p>

<p>…now, it will be up to your son to create an application that is centered around music/wind instrument and all the activities associated with it and supported by his badminton and research…</p>

<p>…if he can start working on the 3 main essays (1 being a letter to future roommate) to bring out his genuine voice and character to MOVE the admissions officer(s) to want to “admit” him…all the better. Do not procrastinate…the essay must be in his genuine voice…not the teacher’s, not the parent’s, and definitely not the generic one used by all the counselors… </p>

<p>…at this stage of the game, it is all up to the INTANGIBLES…the strength of his ESSAYS, the RECOMMENDATIONS, his live audition, and sometimes plain old luck…</p>

<p>…applying REA may definitely give him an edge…since one never knows how many many more TOP musicians in his “instrument” and all the other instruments will be applying in the regular round…</p>

<p>Hope this helps. Best wishes!</p>

4

<p>Hi aleaiactaest,
Thank you for the input. I didn’t pay enough attention to The Concord Review thing. My son got the idea from his APUSH instructor because he likes reading and history . It took pretty much time of him however: he read 9-10 bio or history books before wrapping up his paper while dealing with his APUSH homework. The publication circle seems very long (up to 12 months); and the student is not let known the status now of the acceptance. Anyway, he likes history and literature; he said it’s a good writing experience.</p>

<p>Thank you for the deadline. Since he has been on the campus with the Stanford Youth Orchestra since mid July, he probably has not checked the Stanford website yet (The SYO students are not allowed to carry computer with them either in dorm or on the campus.) I may need to get online to check on the application information.</p>

5

<p>Hi gravitas 2,</p>

<p>The suggestions are very instructive. He decided to apply early the moment he met with the Orchestra director and conductor early this month. He kind of fell in love with the music environment there. Stanford’s way of managing the summer music school also touched him: the students are taught by professors and world known faculty–Stanford music dept faculty, SFSO faculty, and SF conservatory faculty. He emailed me that the school really spends efforts on the music development. He also said the EDGY staff put in lots of time taking care of their training as well. He mentioned loving Stanford before, I have not seen him this happy before.
I will follow your kind and expert suggestion to let him start working on the essays as soon as possible. Apply REA!</p>

6

<p>The October 15th deadline for REA applicants with Arts Supplements comes around a lot quicker than people realize…because many applicants ASSUME it’s Nov. 1 like the other schools…</p>

<p>…also, the Arts Supplement PDF for the upcoming application season will be available Aug.15…usually has all the instructions, guidelines, and live audition dates.</p>

<p>…the reason why ESSAYS are so important to Stanford is because they usually don’t offer interviews to most of the applicants (including all Californians)…and the ESSAYS are a window and an opportunity to get to know you MORE PERSONALLY…</p>

7

<p>gravitas,
I feel I want to pull him out from the Bing Concert Hall now. The dates you provided and the info given by alar are both helpful, It seems you were prospective students or Stanford students yourself. I have to say you are giving very good guidance. Thank you.</p>

8

<p>You are welcome. No…I am just a parent with 2 kids who have successfully navigated through this ominous gauntlet we call “admissions”… just trying to help.</p>

9

<p>I believe not everyone can do this helping the poor kids move in right path. I am very sorry that my son is so busy everyday; that’s why I try not to check on him too much. But the reality is that I need to communicate with him little more than I expected. It’s very kind of you again to share your experiences as a successful parent.</p>

10

<p>Also, you mention getting two extra letters of recommendation (school VP and music tutor) in addition to the two teacher evaluations and counselor report. </p>

<p>First off, Stanford only allows you to submit one additional letter of rec:</p>

<p>“You may submit a maximum of one optional letter of recommendation if there is another person—not a teacher or counselor—who knows you well and will provide new insights about you.”</p>

<p>[Teacher</a> Evaluations : Stanford University](<a href=“http://www.stanford.edu/dept/uga/application/freshman/evals.html]Teacher”>http://www.stanford.edu/dept/uga/application/freshman/evals.html)</p>

<p>Second, I wouldn’t recommend submitting an additional letter unless it’ll REALLY ADD to the application (i.e., provide critical pieces of information that wouldn’t be apparent otherwise). Adding a recommendation could dilute the power of what the teachers and counselor say, and it could also make the admission officer more grouchy because he/she would have to do more reading. </p>

<p>If you’re going to include an additional letter, get one from the music teacher. You mention that the VP knows your son’s academics and ECs well…this info will already be included in the guidance counselor’s report, so a letter from the VP would be redundant. </p>

<p>Unrelated note: tell your son not to take his essays “too seriously.” Yes, he should write them well and ensure that they discuss things that matter deeply to him in a writing style that reflects his own voice…but beyond that, he shouldn’t stress too much. I feel like many people who apply SCEA or REA or ED to their first choice college try so hard to “impress” the school with “articulate” and “scholarly” writing…this kills their authentic “voice” and may make them come across as arrogant or as someone who is trying too hard to get into college (one of the common ways elite college disqualify kids is by determining that they’re writing simply what they think admission officers want to read). There’s no telling what the admission officer for his region is looking for, so his best bet is to just be himself.</p>

<p>And for the record: I’m a current Stanford student who has spoken with admission officers on countless occasions. In addition, I’ve clearly been through the process myself (admitted REA). All of the information I am relaying to CC is stuff that I’ve been told by admission officers as well as info that I’ve gleaned from simply partaking in and observing others go through the admission process.</p>

11

<p>aleaiactaest:
Re-music teacher’s letter: the music dept asks the letter for live audition be sent directly to the music dept office instead of undergradute admissions office. In that case the music teacher’s letter is still be counted as the optional letter for the application? I do agree with you that the counselor probably will cover almost everything in her letter already, the VP letter could be too much. The only difference is that my son learned that The VP was an English major and she has a strong interest in orchestral music and history. The information you give about the workload of the college admissions officers is very inside info–they probably don’t want to read too much extra stuff. The advice on essays is very useful as well, it helps avoid overdoing. Talked to my kid little bit, he feels the winner status of the Stanford Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition makes it easier for him to communicate with the music director and conductor in Stanford. He gets 10 minutes to play his award solo piece in front of the orchestra in Bing Hall this week. Thank you to help the prospective students. I feel your information is positive and well guiding. Stanford is benefitting from you already.</p>