<p>My conclusion after reading all of this thread, Stanford admissions value these more than any other colleges:
URM’s :they have some sort of quotas to fill, based on limited statistics I estimate about 20% of student body. Approximately 300 students/year.
Condi Rice was certainly a product of this URMs.
Athletes: everyone knows this.
Legacies: I heard from different counselors,students with GPA below 3.8, mediocre SAT around 2000 got accepted because dad or mom is an alumni
Potential donors/fame: Michelle Wie made almost $20million before she got accepted at Stanford. Do you think she need a college degree? Tiger Wood is another one. Students who are beneficiary of foundations will certainly benefit from this policy.
I doubt it that these type of students can survive at Caltech or MIT!
Don’t get me wrong, I am sure they would do well in life. But the bottom line , if you are not in one of the above categories, your admission chance to Stanford undergraduate is less than 5%.</p>