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Hi, I am a white male (17) who will be a senior at a public school in Minnesota. I am a legacy as my dad got is MA and PhD in ElectricalE from Stanford. I want to be a physics major. If anyone could help me out, I would really appreciate it.
SAT math- 800
SAT verbal- 740
Math IIC- 800
Physics -800
Writing- 750
AP Physics B- 5 (not normally offered to juniors)
Grades - about 4.1
Will take AP ENGLISH, CHEM, and CALC (all that my school offers)

Rank is about 5/180 cuz of phy ed. (might try to convince counselor not to include, cuz it is really unfair in my case. I was good at dodgeball!)

Will also take classes at local university
"Best in years" recommendation from physics teach

EC
4 years Jazz Band (3 as lead percussionist)
4 years of Drumline (1 as tenor section leader)(VERY high ranking drumline, nationwide)
4 years Symphonic band
Helped raise 3000 for Diabetes
Job at Grocery Store for 3 years (20 hours a week)
2 years as choir drummer
volunteer a lot at my church
Am taking private lessons with World Tenor Drum Champ of 1997
Jim Widner Jazz Camp 2003
Leadership Camp 2004

Awards
National Merit Commended Student
4 years of Superior Percussion Solo at State
Outstanding Perussionist Award from School

By Jerew (Jerew) on Tuesday, July 20, 2004 - 11:55 pm: Edit

Being from the Midwest, it is only fair of me to ask what kind of marching program do they have at Stanford? Reason being is that I was wondering if my quad toms forte would be a small "hook." Does legacy status cancel out if I don't apply EA?

By Collegeparent (Collegeparent) on Wednesday, July 21, 2004 - 12:28 pm: Edit

Look up the LSJUMB information on the Stanford website about the marching band -- you'll have a chance to join the band during Admit Days. Your legacy will help but your scores will help you more. You should apply Single Choice Early Action. Your phys ed grade will not be calculated as part of your GPA, just your core classes, so don't sweat being only good at dodgeball. Think your chances are good although your lack of leadership positions within your clubs and organizations won't help.

By Hegemonhenenen (Hegemonhenenen) on Wednesday, July 21, 2004 - 02:28 pm: Edit

What school do you go to?
E-mail me through the profile.

By Jerew (Jerew) on Wednesday, July 21, 2004 - 04:21 pm: Edit

I go to Waseca High School. Its a town of about 9000. Because of that factor, and my mediocre ECs, i am afraid that i will be turned down to stanford, even with good test scores and being a legacy. They are too choosy!

By Jerew (Jerew) on Wednesday, July 21, 2004 - 07:37 pm: Edit

Well, too be honest, I have a question and a correction. See, my SAT I scores are actually 780 Math and 690 Verbal, but the numbers above for the SAT I are what I predict (conservative) for a retake. (I have been doing better than that on practice tests) My question then is should I apply EA using my current scores, or wait for Regular Admission to use my predicted and most very likely my improved scores. I also like MIT, and I know that they will take November SAT scores for EA while Stanford will not. I am just concerned that my legacy status will cancel out if I do not apply EA. Can anyone help me with this?

By Just_Forget_Me (Just_Forget_Me) on Thursday, July 22, 2004 - 02:38 am: Edit

I've heard people on CC saying that the early admit rate for MIT is WORSE than the regular admit rate. Not 100% sure this is true, but you should look into it.

By Jerew (Jerew) on Thursday, July 22, 2004 - 10:48 am: Edit

Thanx. Anyone else?

By Jerew (Jerew) on Thursday, July 22, 2004 - 06:57 pm: Edit

bump

By Jerew (Jerew) on Friday, July 23, 2004 - 01:48 pm: Edit

Any other opinions on my chances as reg or early?

By Hegemonhenenen (Hegemonhenenen) on Friday, July 23, 2004 - 02:13 pm: Edit

Don't make any assumptions about your SAT score. What you end up getting is what you will send ;-)
Your chances are good, but in your case it will likely come down to what your write in response to the essay questions (and some other parts of your application).

Once again e-mail me. hleman_2000@yahoo.com
I graduated from a public hs in MN this year.

By Jerew (Jerew) on Friday, July 23, 2004 - 03:32 pm: Edit

You have a good point about the SAT scores. But I still want a recommendation on EA or Reg

By Hegemonhenenen (Hegemonhenenen) on Friday, July 23, 2004 - 04:43 pm: Edit

Apply EA, BUT
Stanford should be your #1 choice/tied for 1st
AND your application needs to be the BEST thing you've put together since that 4th grade science project.

I am not the adcom, but I'm quite sure your essays will ultimately determine whether you get in or are deferred early (besides any outstanding factor/experience that hasn't been posted)
This is because there needs to be some tie-in amongst your ECs and academic merits (ie. what you want to do with what you've achieved in the future), which is vague at the moment.

By Jerew (Jerew) on Saturday, July 24, 2004 - 12:31 am: Edit

Yeah, I understand. So with a strong essay about what I want to accomplish in this world with my God-given talents I should be looking pretty good?

By Hegemonhenenen (Hegemonhenenen) on Sunday, July 25, 2004 - 02:35 pm: Edit

In addition to those 3 short answer essays

By Leely888 (Leely888) on Wednesday, July 28, 2004 - 02:02 pm: Edit

well, what's your senior schedule like? What AP classes have you taken?
what other schools are you applying to?

By Jerew (Jerew) on Friday, July 30, 2004 - 07:58 pm: Edit

My senior schedule will probably consist of AP English, AP Calc, and AP Chem. (With those, I will have taken all my school offers) Then I have an Independent Study class where I do a research project on something of my choice. Then, i am hoping to take some science courses at MSU for post secondary. Like stated, I was an iconoclast and took AP Physics my Junior year. (Only one to score a 5) I will probably be applying to Princeton, MIT, Stanford, University of Chicago, Rose-Hulman, U of Ill Urbana, and U of Minnesota Twin Cities. (Maybe not all of those) Any idea on my chances for these Leely? (or others!)

By Leely888 (Leely888) on Friday, July 30, 2004 - 08:34 pm: Edit

I think you're a good enough for the pool. If you are doing all those research stuff I guess you should maybe apply regular action so they get to see it. I don't know what your first choice is and what your plan is for that.

By Jerew (Jerew) on Tuesday, August 17, 2004 - 09:45 pm: Edit

bump

By Jerew (Jerew) on Wednesday, August 18, 2004 - 06:50 pm: Edit

Is it absolutely neccesary to apply EA in order to recieve extra consideration for being a legacy? How much will it help my already low odds?

By Foreignboy (Foreignboy) on Wednesday, August 18, 2004 - 09:48 pm: Edit

Hi Jerew. I'll try my best to give you some insight into this confusing college business.

First of all, your class rank, and scores are all good, provided that you can make your predictions. It doesn't matter so much that you are not valedictorian. 5/180 is still very high. ECs, while not being wowee-wow spectacular, are good enough if you have shown siginificant dedication towards them, which in your case you have, through band/music.

Keep in mind though, applicants from different schools are viewed differently by colleges. Being ranked 5/180 in a competitive high school is not the same as being ranked 5/180 in a mediocre high school. How hard your school is, I don't know, but you should have a rough idea.

You don't have to apply EA to benefit from legacy status, but you should anyway. IMO, you are too strong to be rejected outright, and the more times the adcoms review your file, the better. Legacy status, in truth, only helps a tiny bit, but for on-the-line applicants like yourself, it often makes the difference between admission and rejection.

Good luck, and hope to see you next year!

"the early admit rate for MIT is WORSE than the regular admit rate."

Oh.. about this one. This is because many MIT EA applicants are defferred to the RD round, and lots of them end up getting in after all.

By Jerew (Jerew) on Wednesday, August 18, 2004 - 11:21 pm: Edit

Thanks, yeah, my school is mediocre. It is just a small public school in southern Minnesota. I hope they look past that and into what I've done with that. Because of this, I give myself a 20% chance of admission.

By Jerew (Jerew) on Saturday, August 21, 2004 - 08:40 pm: Edit

How often to people who get deffered ED get accepted? If I got deffered, can I send in a better SAT score? Also, and other words O' wisdom on chances, etc?

By Jerew (Jerew) on Saturday, September 11, 2004 - 08:47 pm: Edit

bump