<p>kevmo, I think Stanford and its peer colleges are trying to make things a little bit more fair in the more “macro” sense of evaluating all candidates in the context of their respective opportunities. One can always find some rejected candidates, compare them with some accepted candidates, and wonder whether it was “fair” for those accepted students to have the spots vs. those rejected ones, but that doesn’t render the overall process less fair in the scheme of things.</p>
<p>I think it’s also important to remember–and for subsequent applicants to realize–that anyone who applies to these schools basically has only about a 7% chance of admittance. That is a known situation from the outset. Once you really internalize the odds, you are less likely to obsess about a particular place, even if it is a “dream school”, or to feel betrayed by a rejection.</p>
<p>That said, I am confident everyone here on CC will wind up with some very good choices in the near future.</p>