<p>…if their average SAT scores range from 28-33? I just don’t understand what Stanford looks for in an applicant that makes their acceptance rate just 11%.</p>
<p>because it’s more than the SAT score that makes an applicant extraordinary?</p>
<p>Agreed. SAT score is a very small piece of the pie. Stanford seeks to admit students that are diverse, in their interests, in their ethnicity, in the languages they speak, and more. They want you to be distinguished, but at the same time, they realize that the SAT isn’t a good measure of how distinguished you could be.</p>
<p>god…i hope i get in as a transfer…Best school in the country IMO and should definitely be ranked above harvard.</p>
<p>So do other high-ranking schools just weigh test scores more than Stanford does? Is that right?</p>
<p>Not necessarily. It’s only an opinion, and it can never be proven. However, most people see Stanford admissions as extracurricular based because there are people who do not score so well on the SAT or ACT and still get accepted on the basis of other factors. Those applicants have or probably would have been rejected at a school like Harvard or Princeton.</p>
<p>Stanford also gives significant weight to the legacy status of their applicants. I have seen legacies in the top 15% get in over valedictorians with all the ECs etc.</p>
<p>If no one applied to Stanford, they would have to admit more people to achieve their target class size. Basically what I mean to say is, since so many people apply to Stanford, they have to turn away an incredible majority to appropriately scale the size of the school. Really what you should be asking is: Why do so many people want to attend Stanford?</p>
<p><em>coughprestigecough</em></p>
<p><em>coughcaliforniacough</em></p>
<p>Perhaps Stanford’s ACT score is NOT that low at all. Princeton’s middle 50% ACT composite score is 30 to 34. Brown University is 27 to 33. They are not very easy to get into either. :D</p>
<p>I don’t know, but it’s become absurd. I recently lost my edge - found out that I would not be a recruited athlete - so I am resigned to rejection. :(</p>
<p>For my money, Stanford is AS selective if not more selective than Harvard. But, as discussed, it is a different type of selective. Stanford often rejects kids that work REALLY hard in school and get 2370s. Hard work alone is often not enough for Stanford, you have to be really talented, and have the amazing ECs to go along with your extraordinary talent.</p>
<p><em>coughweathercough</em></p>
<p><em>coughrankednumberoneforhappieststudentscough</em></p>
<p><em>coughcoughcough</em></p>
<p>I would not want to go to Stanford to cough, thank you very much</p>
<p>Stanford makes weird decisions sometimes with their admits…</p>
<p>As does every college.</p>
<p><em>coughcoughprofessordementletsyousleepinclasscoughcough</em></p>
<p>to the OP: stanford isn’t us news and world report’s b*tch like some other schools (coughentireivyleaguecough) so it places more emphasis on outstanding applicants rather than statistics</p>
<p>with that said, stanford admits tons of people that also get into harvard, yale, etc.</p>