What more should i do to increase my chances of going to a school like stanford?

Question

I am a freshman and am taking all the honors classes in my school (english, math, and global studies). So far i have As in all of them but it has only been one quarter. I am just really concerned for my extracurriculars. I have joined clubs like speech and debate, CSF, NHS, and deca(although i am not sure if i am gonna stick with deca......should I?) In addition i have been doing an indian classical dance for 8 years now and will coninue to do it until senior year (although it is not competition or anything....so will that effect the "look goodnesss" of it?) I am not a real sporty person but all my friends are in varsity and JV and are taking all honors classes so i do not know what i should do so that i can stand out as well. I was thinking to doing JV tennis sophmore year....but am not sure if i will make it. I am working on my gold award for girl scouts and my goal is to get 500 hours of community service. What else should i do to increase my chances?????

Answer 1

Find something you're really passionate about and focus on that. Nearly everybody at Stanford has the perfect high school grades and high SATs. Stanford wants more than that, though. They want young scholars.

In high school I focused on two things. First, I was highly involved in music. Second, I got involved in medical research at Oregon Health and Science University. I didn't pad my resume with as many extracurricular activities as possible, but did a couple things I really loved well.

Don't make Stanford your goal. Make your goal something you can really achieve, like becoming a medical researcher, or an expert on the Truman administration. The rest will follow.

Finally, my experience as an undergraduate at Stanford was mixed. There were parts I really loved, but there were also things I absolutely hated! If you're interested in studying science and engineering, I'd recommend Rice University. If you want to study history or political science, definitely think about Stanford.

Answer 2

My son, also a freshman, has a goal of getting into an Ivy League school.

We've talked directly to admissions officers at Duke and Vanderbilt and we've researched Stanford, Harvard and MIT.

Here is what we have discovered in regards to extracurricular activity.

The schools don't like to see bunches and bunches of club memberships and stuff.

What they like to see is evidence that:
- you got involved with something that really meant something to you
- you stuck with it long-term
- you made a difference
- that you are somehow special and different
*** Sometimes something extraordinary that you've done in extracurriculars can overcome GPA and test score weakness - this is straight from an admissions officer's mouth.

Plus, I taught for a while at the 2ndary level and sponsored a couple of clubs... Many of the members were dead-weight and never did anything because they were in so many activities that they did not have time to really do anything meaningful with any of them. If this is what you are doing, I guarantee you that a name-brand school admissions person has seen it before and they will pick up on it and all your activities will mean very little to them.

Pick a few things (especially if it relates to your educational goals and life goals) that you really enjoy and commit yourself to them 110%. Do a few things exceptionally well rather than a bunch of things half-???ed.

It will be much more impressive to say that you were in DECA all four years of high school and that you served in officer roles and you successfully competed in competitions than just listing a bunch of activities. Plus, if you get involved in a quality way in a few things and really make a difference and help the sponsor out, I know from experience that you are going to get excellent recommendations from those sponsors.

So, the clubs and activities where you are just a member to be a member and are doing it just to be able to put it on your resume - drop them... it doesn't work.

Plus, you are going to be a happier person with this approach.

Quality over quantity.

Answer 3

Those are all good things to have. Your best chances are still based on academics, SAT scores and your personal essay. Yes, they want well rounded students, so your extracurriculars and community service are nice, but you don't need to be in so many clubs. In fact, it makes you look undecided and unsure, you may want to pick one club. Debate & NHS are good (IDK what CSF is...if its academic or you really like it, keep it). Why isn't indian dance a type of "sporty" thing? If you like tennis, do that, but don't do it because you think that's what they want you to do.

Oh, BTW, if you want to get a masters or Ph.D (you're probably too young to be thinking about this, but still), it's important to realize that you don't need to get into a world class undergraduate program. You need to get into an undergrad program that's good, have good GRE scores and have a great GPA. That will let you get into any world class Ph.D program, and that's what people will ultimately care about. A Ph.D from UPenn and a Bachelor's from a Tennesse state college, is better than a Bachelor's from Stanford, for example.

Answer 4

It's great that you are thinking of college in 9th grade! But, don't overload yourself in an effort to "make yourself look good." I agree, the Indian dance is somewhat sport-like but don't try to make it a competition--you don't need to show competition in everything. Schools do look for team activities, but debate qualify. If you do one sport, I would go for a team sport rather than tennis.

You don't want to burn out on school! The Girl Scouts is great--you can do a lot with that to make yourself stand out, especially in mentoring younger children (leadership is a big issue for colleges).

You should try for writing or debate awards, or the like--again, don't overdo it! And of AP is critical, but it sounds like you will have that under control. Applying for scholarships based on community service and academics starting in the senior year would also be good. And if there are any special summer programs that help you stand out, consider them.

Best wishes for a successful high school experience--remember to have fun as well!!

Answer 5

You are doing very well. Continue doing what you are.

You may also try to obtain leadership positions in some of your activities.

If your school has AP classes it would benefit you if you can obtain high grades in them and did well enough on the test to obtain college credit at most colleges.