Could someone whose child or they themselves went to stanford explain the process to get in? I’ve heard about the standard send an application, wait for a response, etc. But what should you aspire to in either SATS or grades to get in?
Stanford’s acceptance rate is under 5%. To have a chance of acceptance, any unhooked applicant needs stellar academics (grades and rigor), ECs, essays, LORs, etc. And even that is no guarantee of acceptance.
I would research stats online or in college guide books and see if the school’s common data set has information.
All anyone can say is put in the strongest application possible and see what happens. As I tell every applicant, it is important to craft an application list that includes reach, match, and safety schools that appear affordable and that you would be excited to attend.
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Tackle running backs. Throw an alley pop or be on the receiving end for a slam dunk.
A 4.0, high rigor, perfect SAT should be aspired to plus serving your community outside the classroom or impacting others in a positive way through your activities.
If the parent attended or you donate millions for a building or endowing a scholarship, it may also help.
Otherwise, be the best you that you can be, apply and hope like the bulk of the rest - but know your odds are very very slim.
Stanford:
Legacy helps (from parents),
Recruited athlete,
Musically and artistically gifted,
National merit winner,
Environmentally and socially conscious,
Long-term “purposeful” extracurriculars,
Superb written and verbal language skills,
Top 1% of class,
Part time work experience,
Ability to fund full tuition for four years. They are not need aware but it helps.
Child of presidents, celebrities, or large donors who can donate buildings,
Respectful, kind, and diligent in the eyes of ALL of their teachers.
(Husband is a Stanford grad, daughters couldn’t see themselves at Stanford; son was ambivalent about Stanford.
He had just finished and submitted his Eagle Scout project [engineered and built a tennis storage shed for the HS tennis teams-won awards for it-door and roofing].
Stanford Admissions requested a supplement. Son was too tired and lazy, at the time, to fill it out.)
There are no guarantees with Stanford, so make sure you have other options. Son went to Caltech, a difficult admission target.
There are always options. The second choice was UCLA-fully funded!!!, and third choice was Long Beach. Go figure!
At my kid’s high school, it seems to be almost exclusively hooked students who get in (athletes and legacy) and even those have stellar academics (lowest GPA to get accepted was 3.94, average is 3.98). Test scores seem to be around 34/mid 1500s. But there were also a lot of kids with similar or better stats that were denied, including 4.0/1600 kids. All you can do is your best and make sure you have targets and safeties as well.
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You aspire to be the best person and the best student you can be.
In terms of SAT scores, you get whatever you get. In terms of grades, pretty much the same thing. Really all that you can do is to do your best and see what happens. Stanford is going to be a reach regardless of your test scores and GPA and ECs.
In terms of ECs, again be you. Participate in whatever ECs make sense for you. Whatever you do, do it well. Treat people well. The people who write your reference letters are likely to notice.
Also, Stanford has a lot of very good graduate programs, including some one-year master’s degree programs. The students in these graduate programs come from a HUGE range of undergraduate universities. If someone wants to attend Stanford, and does not get in for undergrad, then there is still hope (assuming that they are a very strong student).
And depending upon what sort of financial aid you qualify for, a four year bachelor’s degree at your in-state public university plus a master’s degree at Stanford might (or might not) cost less than just a four year bachelor’s degree at Stanford.
Finally, do not spend your four years of high school doing anything specifically for the purpose of getting into Stanford. Just be the best person you can be. Then apply, also apply to safeties, and just see what happens.
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There are admission statistics you can browse in Stanford’s Common Data Set, in section C Stanford Common Data Set | Institutional Research & Decision Support
The kids at DS’ high school who got in were all unhooked but authentic and genuinely pretty wow with the kind of unique achievements that it’d be hard for someone else to set out to achieve. Also, they all were accepted at Harvard, suggesting that they stood out to AOs in general.
My takeaway is that you really need to follow your own path and be your best. If it is meant to be, it will.
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