<p>Stanford probably admits 250 or so athletes each year to ensure a director’s cup win. They have won 16 or something years in a row.</p>
<p>They are not admitting athletes but stars in individual sports where they have a need. So if you are really good at something then you contact the coach in your sport.</p>
<p>They also usually have upto 40% of class from California. </p>
<p>Leadership is a nebulous term but what schools like Stanford and others at that level are looking for are people with passion. So someone might have raised a lot of money for their favorite cause, given all their free time to do something they care about and so on while being a high achiever academically.</p>