<p>I was deferred also, and I share the same ambivalent sentiments as everyone else. I’ve spent the past two days listlessly lounging around, wavering between hope and disappointment, frustration and apathy. Glancing over the 2014 Decisions thread, I cannot help but feel somewhat bitter - the acceptances this year seemed to reflect an ongoing Stanford trend of increasing diversity, which takes a toll on the more conventional applicants. With two very qualified friends from USNCO who were rejected and my deferral, I don’t know how to think of Stanford anymore. </p>
<p>Don’t get me wrong; I think everyone who was admitted rightfully deserves his or her acceptance. It’s just crushing to have to re-live the months of nervous anticipation and (false?) hope.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, I think we all have one common question: How can we best improve our applications prior to the RD application reviews? Could any past deferred applicants shed some light on this?</p>
<p>I know you must be feeling frustrated by the limbo of deferral, but I don’t think one can rationalize any particular outcome by assuming that admissions decisions are so heavily impacted by Stanford’s goal of maintaining diversity. We have a white, male, non-disadvantaged REA admittee here, and know of many other non-URM admittees this year as well. Stanford already has enormous diversity in its student body and, while it certainly strives to maintain it, it attracts plenty of highly qualified applicants across the entire ethnic and socioeconomic spectrum. So, I wouldn’t say that their admissions policies are disadvantaging traditional applicants; it’s just that there are huge numbers of all kinds of competitive applicants vying for a few spots.</p>
<p>The words ‘dazed’ and ‘confused’ really seem to fit.</p>
<p>I just can’t justify things to myself… Thinking, was I really better than any of the rejected applicants? If so, why do only 10% of people like me get accepted RD? Shouldn’t it be much, much more?</p>
<p>What did I do wrong? What else should I send Stanford? Should I call them and ask why it was that I was deferred? Will they even answer?</p>
<p>Was this deferral a ‘polite rejection’? What do they see in me? </p>
<p>And all the while I really need to concentrate on other applications… But I can’t. That shiny, glimmering hope just won’t fade away like I want it to, like I need it to. But I just can’t quite tell myself that it’s all over…</p>
<p>:(</p>
<p>And the worst of all is when I think of it this way: “Stanford wants to compare me to their larger applicant pool. They’ll accept me if and only if no one better comes to take my place.”</p>
<p>I really wish my decision had been absolute; I feel as if I wasted an early application, which could have been ‘better used’ elsewhere. It feels as if just now I’m applying RD, with no chance to give my application another look… no chance to explain my feelings.</p>
<p>So, I was out at lunch on Friday and got the email on my phone. Probably the worst way to get it. I have spent the weekend moping around and trying to do homework. I feel like crap and I have no motivation to study for finals or finish apps or anything. I sent in the update form on Saturday morning thinking maybe it could help me. I’ve been reading these types of threads the rest of the weekend. I just basically have this huge feeling of despair that i just can’t get rid of. It’s really frustrating. The only two people I know who applied early got in, and I thought I was about on the same level as them but whatever. I’m really happy for them, but I feel like **** every time I log onto Facebook and see all of the congrats for everyone that got in. </p>
<p>So, speaking of trying to better my application. I was curious about January SATs as well. I think I could raise mine pretty significantly, but I don’t know if they accept them. Also, does anyone think we are allowed to call them? Because I’d seriously like to know what was bad about my application.</p>
<p>i feel so…confused
i thought i was obsessed with Stanford before but now its even worst
i CANT stop thinking about why i wasnt accepted or why i wasnt rejected</p>
<p>no lie i feel (or felt) a little special being rejected from THE stanford
but then…why on gods earth wasnt i accepted???</p>
<p>What did i do wrong, what didnt i do just right
they like me, but not enough for them to accept me???</p>
<p>i just feel so… :(</p>
<p>basically guys…we are rejected (or will be in April) only a few will survive.
Why, because if they wanted us that much then they would have accepted us.</p>
<p>753 accepted, 500+ deferred 5566 applied SCEA (4200 rejected-- we beat out alot of plp)</p>
<p>25000 will apply for RD</p>
<p>15000 have no chance in hell of getting in</p>
<p>that leaves 10000 + 500 qualified students (remainder + deferred)</p>
<p>they will accept roughly 2100+ students overall minus the sum already accepted then they will select 1350 </p>
<p>10500 qualified students with only 1350 selected = 13% chance</p>
<p>today… first day back in school… was horrrrrrible
i had to be happy (and i genuinely am) for my friends who got into cornell, columbia, and upenn… but i cried… twice… its terrible
and i HATE when people say, it’s okay! it’s not a no! and it doesn’t matter where you go!</p>
<p>it does to someone who obsessed over stanford since they were 11, since they stepped on campus, took a picture and chased the black squirrels, or stood under the orange trees…</p>
<p>only you guys can understand… and i feel your pain, and i’d NEVER wish this on anyone… it sucks… a lot</p>
<p>and jacktharippa… for some reason… that whole part with all your little calculations made me laugh and feel a little better, thanks :]</p>
<p>You guys are acting like deferral means automatic rejection. Yes, it’s a far cry from being accepted, but in a process where 75% of students are rejected outright, you should be happy that you’re still in the running. Early action candidates are routinely a more select group, hence the higher acceptance rate for EA candidates as opposed to the RD candidates. To be among the top 25% of this elite group says something about you. If anything, view it as an indication that you are truly top-tier college material.</p>
<p>Yes, a ten percent chance at being admitted isn’t very encouraging. But then again, were the odds much better from the start? And compared to last year’s daunting 6.8% acceptance rate for RD, 10% is a significant statistical advantage to us deferred candidates. Granted, yes, the majority of us will be denied, but as I said before, wasn’t that how it was from the very beginning?</p>
<p>I’ve basically come to terms with my deferral over the last few days. It’s been tough. One other girl and I were the only ones to apply EA at my school; she got accepted, I got deferred. It’s been rough seeing all the congratulations she’s gotten, while most people don’t really know what to say to me. But I figure that I’ve made it much farther in the process than most, and I still do have a chance, albeit a small one.</p>
<p>If you or I don’t get into Stanford, it’s not the end of the world. It doesn’t mean you’re inferior. Getting this far puts you at the top of a very small percentage of the population, and probably means you can get into some other top schools. Yes, I know Stanford is your number one school; it’s been mine since freshman year. That doesn’t mean you can’t be just as happy somewhere else. And just remember, there’s always grad school to give you another shot.</p>
<p>Be strong everyone! Being deferred means you still have a fighting chance at all the other top colleges, and you can still get accepted into Stanford!</p>