Stanford Specific

[BBanks]

<p>Hello, I’m a freshman in high school and I’d really really love to go to Stanford for Computer Science in the future. I was wondering if there’s anything Stanford-specific that they like to see in applicants so that I could work towards those things. I know I’m young, but I like to plain ahead and I know that there’s nothing that guarantees admission but I was just wondering.</p>

[Sophus]

<p>This is cliche but you need passion. Find something you love and pursue it to a depth that will surpass almost all other applicants. Each regional officer gave notes to REA admits about what were the most compelling parts of their application, and for just about everyone it was their passion. No one talked about grades or activities or test scores, but instead it was about one or two things they loved and that their love was evident in their activities and essays. It doesn’t matter what it is so long as you have it, focus on that and forget about Stanford until you’re a senior, just work hard and try your best doing things you enjoy</p>

[RedSn0w]

<p>Hey BBanks! I’m a recent REA admit and I was in your place three years ago. If there’s one piece of advice I can give you it would be, first and foremost, do not do anything merely for the sake of believing that colleges will like it. I made this mistake a couple times my Sophomore year and it did not go well. As Sophus said, find a passion or two and pursue it like no other student you know. If you like Computer Science create an app or website or something along those lines (I have no idea how Computer Science works so you fill in the blanks). If you can’t find a passion then that’s fine too, but explore, use high school as an opportunity to do something. Good luck and work hard!</p>

[GMTplus7]

<p>This seems to guarantee admission to Stanford:</p>

<p><a href=“WSJ.com - For Groton Grads, Academics Aren't Only Keys to Ivy Schools”>http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/Polk_Groton_Grads.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>

One striking anomaly: Of nine Groton students listed as applicants to Stanford that year, Margaret Bass was the only one admitted. Ms. Bass’s grades placed her 40th in her Groton class, according to the Groton document. She had an SAT score of 1220, lower than those of seven of the eight other Stanford applicants. By contrast, almost 90% of Stanford freshmen rank in the top 10% of their high school class, while 75% have SAT scores of 1360 or better.But Ms. Bass had an edge: Her father, Texas tycoon Robert Bass, was chairman of Stanford’s board and had given $25 million to the university in 1992.

</p>

<p>Alternate sure thing for getting into Stanford is having a parent who is the POTUS. Chelsea Clinton got in.</p>

<p>Another high probability strategy for admission: swing a golf club like Tiger Woods.</p>

[Data10]

<p>Note that there is a difference between a hook and a guaranteed admission. For example, Tiger was a near straight A student in high school, and had a GPA above 3.7 at Stanford. He was no doubt academically qualified to attend Stanford, and if he was not academically qualified, he likely would have been rejected. When Stanford’s golf coach initially contacted Tiger, the majority of his letter emphasized the academic criteria required to be admitted such as a good GPA, taking advanced classes, and decent standardized test scores. If he was a near guaranteed admit, there would be little point in the coach making such a strong emphasis about the academic criteria required to be admitted. Similarly I’ve read that Chelsea Clinton was an academic overachiever and a NMS semi-finalist. She graduated from Stanford with a high enough GPA to receive highest honors. She was also academically qualified for Stanford. Obviously being the president’s daughter had a big impact on admissions, but I don’t think we can assume that if she had a weak enough academic background to suggest that she was unqualified and would likely fail/drop out, she still would have been admitted. </p>

[GMTplus7]

<p>There are lots of NMF rejected by Stanford. Chelsea Clinton was a guaranteed admit. No doubt Malia & Sasha will be, too.</p>

[GMTplus7]

<p>OP will be the entering class in 2017, so the timing is feasible for parent to win the Nov 2016 presidential election and still make Stanford’s Regular Decision application deadline.</p>

<p>The fact that Stanford rejected 19 out of 20 applicants last year would seem to indicate tbat nothing short of your mom/dad donating $20 million & sitting on Stanfords board will assure u a spot.</p>

[Data10]

<p>

There are lots of NMF rejected by Stanford. Chelsea Clinton was a guaranteed admit.

A “guaranteed admit” implies that the applicant will be accepted, regardless of GPA, other academic qualifications, or anything else. To show this, you need to give examples of accepted students who had abysmal grades and were obviously academically unqualified, rather than accepted students who had stellar grades, top test scores, and graduated from Stanford with highest honors.</p>

<p>

The fact that Stanford rejected 19 out of 20 applicants last year would seem to indicate tbat nothing short of your mom/dad donating $20 million & sitting on Stanfords board will assure u a spot.

Check out the decision threads on this forum, such as the sticky RD thread. Quite a few from the forum were accepted. How many of them do you think had parents that donated millions? How many of them sound like extreme hooks, or even any kind of hook? Do any of them look like they are academically unqualified to the point where they couldn’t handle Stanford coursework or an otherwise “guaranteed admit”?</p>