[nonstop]

ummm well im only a sophmore in highschool but i started to worry about my life somehow. im more of a party boy and did alot of things that screwd me up education wise, like ditch a couple of days, ge tinto fights, things like that but thats all in my freshman year and i pretty much stopped in teh beginning of my sophmoreyear. im getting better grades from 2.6 gpa to 3.4-5 ish now and i started to focus a little more in school but im seriously wanting to get into stanford any advice from anyone in getting into stanford? study tips and what i should start studying form now on? btw im very slow in math compared to other students sometimes i use my fingers if i dont have pencil paper, whcih gives me hard time in chemistry which uses alot of formulas and such. as dumb as i got i regret my playing around days... any advice is welcome :].

[Eddie]

Hm..a 2.6 freshman year will hurt you a lot, especially for a school like Stanford. I don't want to tell you to give up on Stanford, but maybe you can aim for other schools. Stanford is one of the toughest schools to be accepted to, and it's even hard for people with 3.8-4.0s every year.

Try your best from now on, be active in school and do well on your SAT/SAT IIs.

[nonstop]

thx but would you think itll be possible for me to get into stanford by showing great improvement more then gettin 3.8 and 4.0 the whole time? i mean i did improve and im challenging myself slow getting into honors classes, so far getting high b'sin them whitout honors points. im ready to take ap classes next year and try to aim for 3.8-4.0 gpa and 4.0 my senior year. would this type of improvement be looked upon by stanford? or even UCLA? should i take up extracurricular activity? well its bad becaus ei havent gotten any awards in highschool beside honor roll.....but im trinyg my best and im about to join extracurricular activities or clubs maybe that will help.

This post has been edited by nonstop: 07 January 2006 - 09:49 AM

[iceberri]

Improvement certainly helps but more often than not, you would need to point this out in your application by writing an essay on it. If it's powerful, moving, and convincing, maybe you have a chance. But applications are more than grades and SATs. :\ It's... the whole package. Extracurriculars, essays, recommendation letters -- they're more important to fleshing out the applicant than any SAT score could do. I think SATs only get you so far that you're "considered" but beyond that, you really have to strive to excel in a sport or activity. And even then, they're looking for students who have gotten recognition statewide or perhaps, even nationwide.

UCLA is probably a more reasonable school to aim for I think, but I wouldn't give up hope entirely. Just do your best for the next two years and try to fairly reevaluate where you may stand. If you put your mind to it, I'm sure you can achieve a lot in 2 years time. ^o^

This post has been edited by iceberri: 07 January 2006 - 09:51 AM

[nonstop]

Improvement certainly helps but more often than not, you would need to point this out in your application by writing an essay on it. If it's powerful, moving, and convincing, maybe you have a chance. But applications are more than grades and SATs. :\ It's... the whole package. Extracurriculars, essays, recommendation letters -- they're more important to fleshing out the applicant than any SAT score could do. I think SATs only get you so far that you're "considered" but beyond that, you really have to strive to excel in a sport or activity. And even then, they're looking for students who have gotten recognition statewide or perhaps, even nationwide.

UCLA is probably a more reasonable school to aim for I think, but I wouldn't give up hope entirely. Just do your best for the next two years and try to fairly reevaluate where you may stand. If you put your mind to it, I'm sure you can achieve a lot in 2 years time. ^o^

thx~ for the great motivation.

[clairdeluned]

Stanford isn't all about GPA/scores...I have a 4.7 weighted and I got deferred. My friend with 4.8 got rejected. I think they place more emphasis on extracurriculars, teacher recs, etc.

Though you should definitely think about other schools as well. Stanford is incredibly difficult to get into, as are Ivies. Be sure you consider other schools such as UC's or schools in the 10-50 range (in U.S. News World and Report). Just keep up the good work and you will be seen as a more valid candidate in the eyes of a college. (And in 2 years...you should write an essay about why you improved, explaining why you got a 2.6 your freshman year etc.) Good luck