<p>I hear from family in Stanford that the adcom’s have the unpredictable tendency of admitting “oddballs”. Also some grads feel a bit misplaced in the caliber that is Stanford.</p>
<p>How true is this?</p>
<p>ummm
i have heard some hints of the first half but never the second</p>
<p>i think being quirky in applications is risky, and i don’t think you should portray yourself differently from what you actually are. </p>
<p>if they want you, they want the real you. they are trying to make a match between them and students. if they choose an inaccurate portrayal of yourself, maybe stanford isnt the place for you?</p>
<p>so what i’m saying is just be yourself</p>
<p>Quirkiness is heavily overrepresented in the Stanford population. However, similar statements are ostensibly applicable to any research university. Quirkiness may be reflected in original subject matter in the application, but it’s debatable whether simply being quirky makes your application more compelling. It might be a self-selection thing.</p>
<p>EDIT: My visceral answer is ‘YES.’ The feeling runs parallel to the idea that excess normalcy is a disease, and you can’t be ‘too’ quirky. But my silly opinion doesn’t matter, and ‘weird’ does not imply ‘talented.’</p>
<p>“Quirky” sounds a bit more like Reed. Stanford is pretty mainstream in a California kind of way.</p>