<p>@joylove
you mean students one doesn’t expect to get in getting in?
I think there is always a reason, sometimes ones you can’t see from people posting their stats and ec lists
for example, someone with sats and gpa on the low end? they could get in by showing passion in ECs (athletics for example)
someone who’s ECs are on the low end but have stellar academics? they could get in by showing substantial accomplishment in some area of the sciences perhaps
someone who seems all around average? they could get in showing (in their essays) a huge obstacle overcome in life and strength of character/intellectual vitality
if you personally read the complete applications (including essays and teacher recs) of each person who was accepted, I’m sure there would be no surprises or miracles.
“profile postings” on cc aren’t very comprehensive
and yes, there are people who get in with a 1800 SAT or a mere 4.0 GPA, of course these are not common, but they are not accepted for the heck of it, and they obviously have something that stanford wanted
my personal estimate (don’t take my word for it)
SATs+ GPA only weight about 40% of the decision
ECs, volunteering, leadership, etc another 20
essays and teacher recs the final 30
of course I just pulled these numbers out of my head, but the point is there is no “average person” getting into stanford, since well… I think all accepted people have something special that got them in
but if you are simply asking about overall profile and stats, then I think you can check the admissions thread (REA) and skim over accepted lists; there are plenty of people who outwardly look pretty average for stanford but were accepted</p>