<p>Stanford has accepted only 748 students in the early round…and they usually accept about two times that number in the regular round…the vast majority of the acceptances come in late March…about 1450 or so…</p>
<p>…last year they accepted 2210 to make a freshman class of about 1700…</p>
<p>…having said this…S does not necessarily look for PERFECT students with perfect GPAs or perfect SATs/ACTs…but, what they do look for…are students who have challenged themselves at the highest level academically (consistent with what is available at their school)…challenged themselves to pursue their particular passion (whatever it may be…music, science, math, sports, art, writing, community service, leadership, etc.) to the highest level possible (local, regional, state, national, international)…and those who are GENUINE in their character that is reflected in their ESSAYS and RECOMMENDATIONS…</p>
<p>…now, that the application due date is approaching…focus on the ESSAYS since they can make or break your application…</p>
<p>…and these essays can be of any style…but the most successful essays bring out the true authentic VOICE and CHARACTER of the INDIVIDUAL in an INSPIRING manner that cannot be explained anywhere else in your application…</p>
<p>Totally willing to second this. Make sure you’re placing your focus/stress on things you can change. Stop stressing about that one B you got last year in that one class. Don’t worry about getting that perfect 2400. These are most likely things you can’t change at this point. (Plus getting that golden 4.0/2400 doesn’t guarantee you anything.) Instead, focus on things that are still in your power. Focus on making your essays sound like you. This doesn’t mean trying to impress the adcoms with all of these fancy SAT words that you looked up last week. It means opening up to them about what makes you, you! Whenever I talk to my friends about what we wrote about for our essays, very rarely do I hear people saying they wrote about some business they started or a life-changing event. I’ve found that a lot of students that are here now wrote about random seemingly insignificant things that were important to them that helped show their voice, character, or passion. So don’t get yourself down if you don’t have some type of ground-breaking, gut-wrenching, tear-inducing story to tell. As much as this website may lead you to believe, it’s not a Stanford pre-req. </p>
<p>I totally agree…some of the most meaningful/interesting/compelling essays are those that come from spontaneous moments to the simple things in life… </p>
<p>…you don’t need to rehash what is self-evident in your application…your accomplishments…your academic prowess…your million dollar apps you created…</p>
<p>…they just want to get to know the REAL you…they want to hear your natural voice (without the facade) speak to them…</p>