<p>I looked at my school's scattergram (comparison between me and applicants from years past) today. Compared to last year's admits from my school, my GPA is .1 too low and SATs are 100 points too low (2400 scale, 50 points too low on 1600). Every applicant from last year with in my stats range was rejected. My SAT is 1470/1600 and 2240/2400. Should I be very concerned about my chances? </p>
<p>My ECs, recs, and essays are probably average for Stanford. Maybe above average. Either way, I know GPA and SAT means the most in admissions because if you dont have it, you wont get in.</p>
<p>Actually, I don't think your SAT scores eliminate you at all. I have a friend at Stanford who got 1360 on the old scale. He had great ECs and passion for working in student/city government.</p>
<p>I think scores are more of a range-type thing... like if you're anywhere between 3.7-5.0, you're not out of the question (I'm just throwing numbers out there, I don't actually know), and if you're not less than 1350 or so on the old SAT, you're not out of the question. In my experience, people at Stanford are very excited about learning and eager to explore fields that interest them. They are also passionate about some sort of extracurricular, whether it be music or working in a health clinic. I believe this is more important than scores. If you still apply (and I don't think you should be discouraged), be sure in your applications to show who you are and what your interests are.</p>
<p>When i said my GPA was .1 too low, i mean that only one person who got in didnt have a near perfect GPA, but his was still higher than mine. Also, 100 points on the SAT is pretty big for a nonhook/nonathlete applicant because admissions has become so competitive. I know kids who have no intention to go to certain schools (top universites that are reaches for all, not safety schools) applying just to see if they can get in.</p>
<p>I'm guessing that the sample size of applicants from your school is fairly small. Thus no statistically significant conclusion can be made about your stats from theirs.</p>
<p>My scattergram shows about 20 applicants last year. Of the 5 that got into Stanford, all had 2350+ SAT (4 of the GPAs were very very high) The rest of the 15 or so applicants were rejected. Noone with a 2350+ GPA was rejected. Even thogh it is only 20 applicants last year out of a senior class of about 550, IMO looking at how those before you faired is the best way to assess your chances. It shows if a college likes your school (admits lots of students, some with stats that are lower than the norm), hates your school (reject everyone), and what stats they except applicants to have from your school. </p>
<p>Though I know that GPA and SAT are not the end all be all of admissions, it is still scary to see that your SAT is 100 points less than those who got in the year before. When applying to a school as competitive as Stanford, you need every advantage you can get. You also cannot be behind in any category to stay in the most comeptitve group, especialy if you are like me, a non athlete with no real hook or URM status.</p>
<p>Go check out some of the decision threads in this forum. There are plenty of people who got in with around a 2250 SAT. It could just be that Stanford didn't want to accept any more people from your school since they already accepted 25% of the applicants.</p>