Would I get into Stanford University?

Can I possible get into Stanford, Duke, Yale, or any other top University?

• My grades are not the best at the start, but recognizing that, I made a huge change after noticing that. 9th 1 A/B 2 B/A 3 A/A 4 A/A 5 B/A 6 B/A 7 B/A 10th 1 A/A 2 C/A 3 B/A 4 A/A 5 B/A 6 B/A 11th 1 A/A 2 A/A 3 A/A 4 A/A 5 A/A 6 A/A 12th 1 A/A 2 A/A 3 A/A 4 A/A 5 A/A 6 A/A UW GPA is around a 3.72 SAT 1: 2400 SAT 2 (Math 2): 800 SAT 2 (Chemistry): 800 SAT 2 (Biology): 800 Extra Curricular: I did not do many, but the ones I did, I devoted a lot of time and attention to. Water Polo (4 years High School. 2 JV, 2 Varsity) Hospital Volunteer University’s Lab: Research in Biology. <- My biggest section. Also did other medical programs, as I do hope to become a surgeon. Some of them were at Stanford University, Brown University, and UC Berkeley. Guidance Recs: She does not know my name. Original 2 Teacher Recs : AMAZING Extra Rec: Research Professor: AMAZING.

• Answer:

  Your stats are certainly good, but to be honest, you're going against an applicant pool that's going to have "above average" people with "above average" stats, and you don't have anything particular that makes you stand out from other applicants. Of course, you could be admitted as one of those "all-rounders" but it always helps if there's something "unique" about you or something big that you've done, such as having started an organization, publishing a paper, etc (LOTS of people who apply to those schools have done research with different top universities). You have a decent chance of getting in, but no more so than many of the other people who will be applying to top schools with extremely selective medical programs. To elaborate: I'd say that having a 3.72 GPA when applying for an Ivy League or similarly ranked school would definitely be a low point; to be fair, it's not a BAD grade point average, but it'd still be considered weak. On the flip side, colleges do like seeing students who know how to motivate themselves to improve, so good job on getting your grades up after sophomore year! Your SAT scores are great too; perfect scores on math & science SAT IIs always reflect well, and the 2400 is going to do you lots of favors. The dedication thing is another biggie. Committing many years to doing one activity rather than constantly switching between random clubs just to fill up an application shows that you have perseverance. There are other very important factors, such as: Have you won any major awards on a state, national, or international level? How many AP classes did you take and what did you get on the AP exams, or does your school have the IB program? How many hours of volunteering do you have? Did you attend any prestigious programs or summer camps? (not the kind that you pay to get into, but truly selective ones, such as TASP) Do you have an hooks, i.e. being a URM (under-represented minority), coming from a low-income family, being a legacy kid, etc.,? Anyways, sorry if I come across as a big harsh! :) All that being said, I wish you the best of luck! :D