my friend got straight A’s and she almost got a perfect sat and she still didn’t get in. Join student government and some sports and clubs. Do volunteer work.

You’ve asked a lot of different questions here. First of all, no, applying as a music major would not really contribute to Stanford’s diversity – they have applicants from many different majors, including music. Apply for what you are interested in, not something you think will make you look good, because that would be disingenuous, which is NOT what they are looking for! As far as letters of recommendation, the key is having someone who knows you really well write the letter. It also helps if they are well educated, so that they can appropriately assess how well your skills might prepare you for a school like that, but it really doesn’t matter if they went to the school you are applying to. If this person at your church can write a detailed letter which tells Stanford something deep about you, then they would be an appropriate recommender, but if you barely know the person, find someone else. As to your qualifications, your GPA and the rigor of your academics look good. Your SAT is at the low end of what might be considered at the schools you mention. Your extracurriculars sound quite good – I think that how this is all presented will make a difference, since you really need to make yourself stand out among students who are ALL very active in school. You will probably be considered for admission; whether you would actually end up being chosen really will depend on their sense of your fit with the class and who else applies. The same would be true for all the other schools you mention. It is really impossible to predict where you might be admitted. These are schools which regularly turn down hundreds or even thousands of students with perfect GPAs and SAT scores. It can hinge on a single sentence in an essay or something minor that one of your recommenders said about you.

To be bluntly honest, by asking that question, you’re going to get the same advice people have been giving to prospective students to these “Top-End” schools for decades (IE: Volunteer work, Straight As/Amazing GPA, Extracurriculars, near perfect standardized test scores, etc).

There really isn’t any one specific formula to get into Harvard, or Yale, or Stanford (Unless your parents were alumni/donors, then well, it’s a highly contested myth, but I doubt it doesn’t have an effect).

The competition pool of students to go to these schools are enormous, you’re going against people who have cured diseases, helped a major disaster, made their own language, etc. People who are geniuses, or are just amazingly talented people in a specific field.

The better question would be to ask Which School is Right for you? Tour schools, get involved in the process, don’t just get sucked into the media hype and aim for the “Almighty Ivy Leagues”. Because in the end, when academics are said and done, it is about your own talents and abilities that will make yourself a success, the diploma will merely get your foot in the door (either through demonstration that you can work, or through alumni services). Plus, if you’re going to spend 4+ years at a specific campus, and spending countless amounts of dollars in your education, you might as well enjoy where you attend.

Salutations, Christine.

I am was recently admitted to Stanford University (Class of 2011) and I rejected MIT, Harvard, Princeton, Brown, Yale, and Cornell (in addition to a couple others with much lesser repute) for this highly regarded institution. My application included (but was DEFINITELY not limited to):

– Establishing and providing over $5,000 in funds for an inner-city orphanage in India

– Traveling to Iraq, Lebanon, Gaza, Jerusalem as well as Kenya, Uganda, and Somalia on peace missions

– Working with the Peace Corps, Doctors without Borders, and the Red Cross internationally and domestically to raise money and awareness

– Volunteering in homeless shelters, hospitals, burn wards since the age of 10 (also includes raising $7500 for Tsunami Relief in Indonesia as well as $2000 for Hurricane Katrina relief)

– Teaching sign language and braille to the deaf and blind, respectively

– Serving as a tutor since the age of 9

– Working at a suicide hot-line and built houses for the impoverished

– Maintaining a 5.0 GPA throughout my entire high school career (this was accomplished by having “Straight A’s” as well as taking college classes.)

– Scoring a 2370 out of 2400 on my SATs

– Scoring straight 5s on all 20 Advanced Placement Tests that my (public) high school offered

– Attending Youth Leadership conferences in Washington D.C.

– Winning the school’s MVP in Girls’ Crew and Tennis

– Founding and/or Serving as president for such clubs at my school like the Advanced Physics club, I <3 Pi, National Readers, Science Club, Mock Trial, Key Club Intl., Amnesty International, the Environmentalist Club, and the Asian Club Additionally, I was Valedictorian, class president, statewide artshow winner, officially recognized by the Senate for my accomplishments, and I am fluent in six different languages excluding English (Vietnamese, French, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Punjabi and Latin). I am also an accomplished pianist, cellist, bassist, and guitarist. To date, I've written four published thesises and I am currently writting and illustrating a children's storybook. .... All I can tell you now is that if you haven't been on the high road towards success already, good luck, you'll need it.

drop out i dont believe sorry