<p>I think this whole AA thing is becoming misconstrued. No AA is never a sole reason an applicant gets in any top university, however, it is mind-blowing to hear that it doesn’t play a SIGNIFICANT role. A white kid with a 34 ACT would always be taken over a Hispanic student with a 20 on his ACT. This is the case regardless of a harsh background and/or being underprivileged. Logically, Stanford and other universities have to fill their classes with diverse students who convey a wide range of views and abilities. Somewhat stereotypically, Stanford automatically correlates this diversity to race (isn’t it really socio-economic status?) but that is how it is going to be. I’m totally for AA if there is a white kid and a Hispanic kid w/ very similar applications but I can completely understand why the white kid would feel spited if rejected while seeing others less qualified get in (who are often times minorities). As I have stated in previous posts, why did you apply to Stanford if you didn’t agree w/ there admissions process? Anyone who knows anything about the school would know they put diversity at the top of their admissions criteria and this includes targeting underprivileged minorities for admittance. Stanford takes part in AA and thats that. Don’t whine and say all colleges do it to this level, b/c they don’t.</p>
<p>ahh spelling error…their***</p>
<p>" A white kid with a 34 ACT would always be taken over a Hispanic student with a 20 on his ACT."</p>
<p>uhh remember the 1700 kid?</p>
<p>why did somebody turn this into an AA thread?</p>
<p>That was selfish, you’re turning this thread into a hostile environment and encouraging people to diminish the accomplishments of many people who may post here. No matter how bitter you are you would think you would have the respect and character to just congratulate those who made it and move on. </p>
<p>The immaturity shown here is kinda ridiculous</p>
<p>I want to reinforce what Zannerina said - in April, IF you use the next 10 days well, you will have forgotten all about Stanford’s decision because you will have some wonderful other choices. If you don’t you won’t.</p>
<p>There’s been lots of ungraciousness on all sides - admitted students implying they are better than those who weren’t, and as Tyler says, the converse as well. Deosn’t reflect well on anyone, though.</p>
<p>The question for those not admitted is - what’s your next move? Will this temporary setback hold you back from focusing on the next 10 days, or will you use it to move to greater heights?</p>
<p>yea seriously why is this turning into an AA debate? I would reply to some of the things said, but that would only keep this absurd argument going…</p>
<p>Keep posting your decisions ppl and revive this thread that was killed by spiteful AA haters!</p>
<p>congrats to all those accepted!</p>
<p>from the yale forum.</p>
<p>um I’ll say this again
geez, why is the stanford forum the hottest place for AA debates…
What does it say about the school???</p>
<p>I guess out of hyps its the most diverse/most AA using.
Or maybe they rejected too many middle-class white kids on cc this year, lol.</p>
<p>regardless of my rejection, I still think Stanford is the best school in the country… only my opinion though.</p>
<p>you guys should just do what I am doing and start rd apps…</p>
<p>Yale or Dartmouth here I come.</p>
<p>though i don’t think it is particularly demeaning to have a lively discussion about AA??? i agree the topic discussion has gone far enough? Where are people who got rejected/deferred looking at for other schools?</p>
<p>Ive seen this argument many many times and i have to say that i think AA is wrong. I am hispanic but come from a pretty rich area so really I do have the same opportunity as an asian from my area. I mean yes asian parents do push harder on students versus hispanic parents who don’t care that (at least from my experience) because a lot of them never went to college. SO I do think AA is good concept, but has backfired completely and is causing reverse discrimination around whites and especially asians. Your right its gotta suck working hard all your life under parents pressure and then being rejected for your race, but I think its just something that we really have no control over and kinda just have to live with, as terrible as it may seem.</p>
<p>Quick Fact: (Stats are from what I remember might be a little off.) </p>
<p>Only 1 stanford URM(Hispanic or black) out of the about 7 or 8 that applied were rejected. All the others were accepted some with scores as low as 1900’s. The one who was rejected had 1 ec activity, 1800 sat, and i think 3.5 gpa. Whereas strong asian candidates with 2350 sat got rejected???</p>
<p>Decision: Accepted</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>] Fee Waiver Used?: No
[</em>] SAT I (by section): 700 V, 780 M, 720 W
[<em>] SAT IIs: 800 Math IIC, 780 Chemistry, 690 History
[</em>] GPA, Weighted and Unweighted: 3.97 UW, 4.44 UW
[<em>] Rank: 2/427
[</em>] APs (including this year’s): 5 Chemistry, 5 Calculus AB, 5 Calculus BC, 5 Microeconomics, 4 Macroeconomics, 4 U.S. History, 3 Music Theory (Self Study)<br>
[<em>] Senior Yr Courseload: Jazz Ensemble, AP U.S. Government & Politics, AP Physics B, AP English, Differential Equations, AP Comparative Government
[</em>] Number of Apps from Your School: 10-12
[<em>] Other stats (Awards, etc.): National Merit Semifinalist (2007); AP Scholar with Distinction (2007); California Scholarship Federation (2005, 2006, 2007); AMC School Winner (2005); AIME Qualifier (2006); Northern California American Regions Math League Competing Team (2006, 2007, 2008); AP Chemistry Award (2006); Jazz Ensemble Most Valuable Player (2006, 2007); 2nd Place Science Bowl Sacramento Regional Competition (2006, 2007); 2nd Place Science Olympiad Northern California State Competition (2006, 2007); Selected for the Olympic Arts Festival Jazz Orchestra (toured China) (2006); Reno International Jazz Festival Outstanding Musicianship Award (2005, 2006, 2007); Folsom Jazz Festival Award of Excellence (2006, 2007); Sacramento State Winter Jazz Festival Outstanding musicianship Award (2006, 2007)
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[</em>] ECs listed on app: Music - Volunteer Jazz Performances at Retirement Homes and Elementary Schools, Toured China with Jazz Band for the 2008 Olympic Arts Festival, Jazz Ensemble (Piano), Honors Concert Band (Trumpet), Instrumental Ensemble (Piano), Concert Choir (Piano), Pep Band (Keyboards and Auxiliary Percussion), Jazz Combo (Piano); Science Bowl; Science Olympiad; American Regions Math League; Junior State of America - Vice President (11), President (12)
[<em>] Job/Work Experience: Various Jazz Combo and Solo Performances (Private Residences, Restaurants, etc.)
[</em>] Essays (subject and responses): Common App - About the trip to China with my jazz band; Intellectual Vitality - Leprechauns, the Higgs Boson, and how the quest for knowledge starts with belief, but does not end there; Roommate - Musicaholic, wrote it as if I were attending an AA meeting; Why Stanford; About my passion, definitely some funny lines (Everyone had really good things to say about them. I think my personality came out well, i.e. a decent amount of humor)
[<em>] Teacher Recs: Chemistry Teacher (Didn’t see it, but the teacher loved me), Economics Teacher (Didn’t see it, but he said he wrote about my ability to synthesize English and Math and my sense of humor, Music Teacher (This is the only one I saw. It said I was the “backbone” of our jazz band, which wins national/international awards every year)
[</em>] Counselor Rec: Didn’t see it
[<em>] Hook (TASP, RSI, Research, etc.):
[/ul]Location/Person:[ul]
[</em>] State or Country: CA
[<em>] School Type, Average Stats of School (if available): Public, sends a couple kids to Stanford most years.
[</em>] Ethnicity: White
[<em>] Gender: Male
[</em>] Income Bracket: Upper Middle
[<em>] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Legacy
[</em>] Strengths: Stats, Music, Math?
[<em>] Weaknesses:
[</em>] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/denied: Good Stats, Music, Legacy, Luck
[/ul]Other Factors:
General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations,etc: Congrats to everyone who got in! And to those who didn’t, I’m sure you will get into plenty of other good schools.</p>
<p>Decision: Rejected</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>] Fee Waiver Used?: Nope.
[</em>] SAT I (by section): 730/800/800 superscore (CR/Math/Writing)
[<em>] SAT IIs: Math II 800/BioM 790/Chem 780
[</em>] GPA, Weighted and Unweighted: 4.55(?)/3.97
[<em>] Rank: none provided, but at least top 10%
[</em>] ACT: Nope.
[<em>] APs (including this year’s): Spanish Language 4/Calculus BC 5/Comp Sci AB 4/Statistics 5/Biology 5/Physics C Mech 5
[</em>] IBs (including this year’s:
[<em>] Senior Yr Courseload: All community college courses
[</em>] Number of Apps from Your School: Probably like 13598236732
[<em>] Other stats (Awards, etc.): member of Mensa, Study of Exceptional Talent, Education Program for Gifted Youth, National Merit, Biology Olympiad Semifinalist, AP Scholar with Distinction, JV Basketball Scholar Athlete ahahaha
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[</em>] ECs listed on app: Stanford Radiation Oncology traineeship, Penn Radiation Oncology internship, Southern California Academy of Science (there’s no Northern division) Varsity/JV Basketball, Science Bowl, Job Shadow Program Webmaster, basketball club team captain
[<em>] Job/Work Experience: assistant/tutor at some math/reading center for kids
[</em>] Essays (subject and responses): Common App–wrote about my bout with autism, Stanford intellectually stimulating prompt–wrote about my Penn internship, Stanford roommate note–I actually wrote it like a technical manual as if I was a Roomate product, Why Stanford–wrote about my visit there, and how I noticed two bus drivers talking; superimposed that to reflect on the Stanford community as a whole
[<em>] Teacher Recs: probably not that great, my school’s teachers were very lackluster
[</em>] Counselor Rec: I actually don’t know
[<em>] Interview (feel, interviewer and general location): None.
[</em>] Hook (TASP, RSI, Research, etc.): I guess my research/internships…but I’m a pretty typical Asian male so there’s your anti-hook
[/ul]Location/Person:[ul]
[<em>] State or Country: San Jose, California
[</em>] School Type, Average Stats of School (if available): extremely competitive, #70 something in nation, 71% Asian
[<em>] Ethnicity: Asian
[</em>] Gender: male
[<em>] Income Bracket: >100k
[</em>] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): I guess I have a lot of anti-hooks
[<em>] Strengths: Academics, creative prose, well-rounded…humor?
[</em>] Weaknesses: ECs? lack of work ethic? and I didn’t get along with many teachers so poor recs.
[li] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/denied: Just another one of the flock[/li][/ul]Other Factors:
General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations,etc:
I burned all my Stanford related paraphrenalia, raided my Dad’s beer, and locked myself in my room for three days without eating and subsisting on my tears. So yeah, I was pretty gosh darn swell.</p>
<p>@#$@ Stanford.</p>
<p>hey just wondering…on the applications arent you not required to put race…i understand that this wouldnt take away the advantage that URPs get and that race is often an important part of one’s identity… but wouldnt that eliminate the possibility of getting rejected simply because as you claim, you are “asian”</p>
<p>^If you’re a URM and don’t state your race they may not know you are a URM, in which case you won’t get any tip factor.
If you’re Asian and they can make out your race anyway from your name, it makes little difference whether you fill in the box or not.
In general, unless you want the URM tip, it’s really up to you whether you fill out the box or not. My daughters had strong philosophical objections to being classified by race, so both declined to check the box at all.</p>
<p>Decision: Rejected</p>
<p>User Name: poloplayer111
Gender: M
Location: Bay Area, CA
College Class Year: 2012
High School: Public
High School Type: extremely competitive; ranked in top 50 in nation by US News; top 10 in CA.
Will apply for financial aid: Yes
Major: Chemical Engineering</p>
<p>Academics:
GPA - Unweighted: 3.64
GPA - Weighted: 4.14
Class Rank: top one-third (ranking is unweighted this is very significant.)
Class Size: ~500</p>
<p>Senior Schedule:
Govt/Econ
Calc BC
Journalism
Physics
Digital Imaging
English</p>
<p>Scores:
Cumulative SAT 2290
SAT I Math: 770
SAT I Critical Reading: 750
SAT I Writing: 770
SAT II Literature: 770
SAT II Math Level 2 (IIC): 800
SAT II Chemistry: 800
AP Chemistry: 5
AP Statistics: 5</p>
<p>Significant Extracurriculars:
Water Polo (high school in the fall; club in the winter & summer).
Swimming (spring).
School Newspaper - Junior/Senior Year. One week out of every three is the editorial boards pre-press cycle, and requires about 15 hours outside of school. (these weeks are killer.)</p>
<p>Leadership positions:
Editor-in-Chief of school newspaper (12).
Captain of the water polo team (12).
Copy Editor for the school newspaper (11).</p>
<p>Athletic Status - list sport and your level:
Water Polo - 4 years, Varsity for 3.
Swimming - 4 years, Varsity for 3.</p>
<p>Volunteer/Service Work: About 50 hours total at the local hospital one summer - nothing too significant here.</p>
<p>Honors and Awards:
Copy Editor for the school newspaper (11).
Homecoming King.</p>
<p>Water Polo:
Scholar-Athlete since 10th grade.
Honorable mention All-section.
1st team All-League.
Selected to play on the sectional Senior All-Star Team.
Athlete of the Season at my high school.
Recipient of Coachs Pick Award.
My junior year, we were the first team in our schools history to win a league championship.
My senior year, we outdid ourselves and became the first from our league to win a postseason sectional playoff game, which put us in the top 30 or so teams in Northern California.</p>
<p>Swimming:
Scholar-athlete since 10th grade.
First team all-league(500 Free).</p>
<p>Colleges of Interest:
Cal Poly Pomona, Status: Applied
Cal Poly San Luis, Status: Applied
Pomona College, Status: Applied
Stanford University, Status: Rejected
University of California - Davis, Status: Applied
University of California - Irvine, Status: Applied
University of California - Los Angeles, Status: Applied
University of California - San Diego, Status: Applied
University of California - Santa Barbara, Status: Applied
University of Southern California, Status: Applied</p>
<p>Desired College Characteristics: California!</p>
<p>Other stuff:
It didn’t bother me too much…it was pretty much expected. Good luck to everyone who applied RD!</p>