Applying to Stanford: Worth a Shot, or Waste of Time and Money?

<p>agree with the majority here. Unless you added a caveat before, I don’t think it’s in good faith to add it now. And in lieu of twinmom’s D’s experience, I’ll echo the “hey, you never know.”</p>

<p>Stanford is know for quirky admissions AND mass rejections. Last year’s admit rate was 7%. My S was part of this year’s version of the Stanford Slaughter. We’ll see if his friend down the block (double legacy, and on the Mom’s side, back two more generations!) gets in next year.</p>

<p>I’d say it’s not worth the $$ but it may be worth the trust factor with your S. And lessons learned in making such bribes, uh, promises. :)</p>

<p>Keep your word. In the grand scheme of things $90 isn’t much. Not worth an argument. Not worth losing, even temporarily, your son’s trust in your word.</p>

<p>We are in the same boat, except no acceptances in hand, and 1 deferral! Need to decide in an hour whether he applies to Stanford (for Comp Eng) or to a safety.</p>

<p>OP our sons sound very similar!</p>

<p>I think you need to keep your promise, but I’d probably be lobbying for him to try a school that’s less of a long shot as well. But then I come from a school that has a terrible record with Stanford. Has he looked at their application? My older son hated their essays, the only reason he applied was because of their top comp sci program.</p>

<p>Stanford requires the most essays of most other schools’ applications, 4 or 5. $90 is nothing compared to the time he has to spend on those essays. If he likes to write and has a knack of expressing himself in writing, then by all means apply.</p>

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<p>Interesting comments! </p>

<p>While I have absolutely no idea how Stanford might have become known for quirky admissions, the second part of the statement is right on the money. </p>

<p>As the statistics indicate, Stanford will reach out to students who do not have perfect SAT/ACT, do not have dozens of AP, and did not have a stellar high school career --although there are PLENTY of them who have compiled the perfect academic pedigree. </p>

<p>However, the issue of “great” essays cannot be overlooked and is one that will require a lot of work and thought. </p>

<p>Spend the money without hesitation but INSIST on seeing plenty of dedicated effort on the application.</p>

<p>My S spent summers at Stanford at EPGY and wanted to apply despite a 3.1 GPA (1450 in CR,M SAT’s), The odds were very against him because of his GPA, but we applied anyway. He was denied of course, but he would have felt bad if he had not applied. Sure it may well be a waste of money, but if it is one your S has a passion for, like my son did, go for it. If not, to be honest, I would save the bucks, except it looks like you said you would pay for one <em>why not</em>… so… why not?</p>

<p>*Spend the money without hesitation but INSIST on seeing plenty of dedicated effort on the application. *</p>

<p>This is probably the best advice given. It may all be for naught. Your son may be exhausted over the holidays and not want to put forth the effort for the essays, and he may decide not to apply.</p>

<p>Pay, but make him finish his other apps first.</p>

<p>I Agree with CS and #theorymom.</p>

<p>I like the idea of going 50/50 with him and you will pay the other 50 if his grades improve. It won’t hurt our kids to have a dog in the fight, as Dr. Phil would say.</p>

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<p>You should keep your word, period. Setting a good fatherly example of keeping-your-promise and keeping your son’s trust in you are infinitely more important than $90. </p>

<p>I agree at this point Stanford is probably worse than a long shot. You may want to think about encouraging, not forcing, him to consider another reach school instead. If he still wants Stanford, go for it with full support.</p>

<p>Wrt asking for a recommendation and then not applying, it is no big deal. Students do it all the time because of the long lead time of getting the LOR’s. Just let the teacher know if he changes his mind.</p>

<p>I’m pretty sure a lot of folks are very envious of those full-tuition scholarships he has in his pocket. Congrats!</p>

<p>Do you want your S to blame you for not getting into Stanford? Let him apply. A kid can dream. Maybe getting declined will motivate him to pull his organizational skills together and seriously consider staying on the medication, which may reap more benefits in the long run than an acceptance. (BTDT!)</p>

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<p>I’m with vicariousparent on this one. You told him you would pay for it, so you could try to gently discourage him from it, but you shouldn’t go back on what you said. I don’t think his odds are very good at getting in to Stanford however, so you should insist that all of the more realistic applications are finished first, so that the time spent on the Stanford app doesn’t negatively impact them.</p>

<p>Thanks, everyone, for bringing this into focus. Clearly the right thing to do is simply to stick to the original agreement. He gets one super-reach, and Stanford is the one he has chosen, and I’m paying for it. Done!</p>

<p>I did tell him that he has to finish the remaining scholarship and honors apps for the schools he has already been admitted to first. He had no problem with that, so I think we’re all set.</p>

<p>By the way, his final grades ended up as 3 A’s, 1 B, and 3 C’s. At least he pulled out a 3.0!</p>

<p>You should keep your promise and pay. I wouldn’t add any contingencies re: his grades/other apps - he’s already got two full tuition scholarships, if the other RD schools don’t work out he’s going somewhere with money that makes it doable (unless you think his grades could tank to the point of recission in which case some serious discussions need to be had).</p>

<p>One slightly different option: tell him that you’ll pay for the application, OR, if he chooses now not to apply, you’ll give him half the app fee ($45). That gives him the choice to see if he thinks putting in the application and time is worth $45 to him.</p>

<p>SlitheyTove, you win the Most Creative Response award! That is very clever. I’ll float the idea and see if he bites. I’m pretty sure he’ll still opt to apply to Stanford, but it will be interesting to find out.</p>

<p>Slithey Tove was paying attention during economics class.</p>