| I agree for the most part with the "random" idea.
I am currently a sophomore and a double legacy to Stanford, and I have done a lot of research on it in hopes of being accepted.
I think that while high scores on SATs and such are deffinetly a plus and highly recommended, they are in no way required. However I would suggest retaking it once if you did not score above 2300 the first time.
Take this example: I know these two students at my school who both applied to Stanford early. One of them has a 4.06, pretty high scores (but not perfect) on a few SATII's and APs, plays two instruments well, has been on the varsity basketball team for a couple years (but my school is not very good at basketball), helps lead a club, and has legacy. Pretty impressive but not perfect. He's also white.
Another student got a 2400 on his SAT's, perfects on twice as many SATII's and APs, plays two instruments as well, and is high on just about every prestigious club you could imagine (math team (my school's has one of the best in the nation), computer team (same), physics team (same), science bowl, biology olympiad, national honor society...).
Now which one would you expect to get accepted? The second one, right? Wrong! the first got accepted (many say because of legacy) and not the second.
This is why its pretty random, but I think that they place a big emphasis on accepting a person and not a bunch of test scores, which is why you need to really make yourself stand out, through essays and such. They want people who will change the world.
I currently lead a club and have started my own small internet business/company, so I hope this will help me. If anyone has any more suggestions on important things that help get you accepted please share. |