<p>I've been reading the chances threads here and I noticed that most people here have amazing stats. I know there are many people out there, but I doubt that all the Stanford acceptances are like that. I'm sure there are applicants who are normal but do what they are passionate about that have gotten in. There are only so many winners of awards, there can't be that many of them, right? So I was wondering if anyone could enlighten me as to what a normal or average Stanford accepted applicant would look like. I know every applicant is different but what's the general picture?</p>
<p>Amaizing stats are the norm. On top of that you need something that sets you apart.</p>
<p>don't fool yourself, barracks22.</p>
<p>nngmm is right: amazing is normal at stanford.</p>
<p>hope that reassures you ;-)</p>
<p>hmm yea I guess amazing should be the norm at such a prestigious university... sigh
thanks guys
and another question, I think its been in other threads but, what would an average ec list for any top school be like? not everyone can be an olympic gold medalist...
I guess my only hope would be an average applicant...lol</p>
<p>well actually let me clarify: the "amazing" thing just refers to test scores (basically 690+), GPA (3.9-4.0 unweighted is normal, unfortunately for those of us with 3.82s :)), and courseload (APs, honors, etc.).
Extracurriculars don't have to be like Olympic-gold-medal-esque, they should just be interesting and filled with a lot of commitment/in-depth stuff. Show passion for at least one thing--if you don't excel at at least one activity, it makes you look bad compared to the other applicants. So if you have mastered an instrument, or are an amazing performer in another art, or you got a cool job/internship related to your passion, then that works.</p>
<p>In high school my daughter wasn't really an average kid but is very much an average kid at Stanford. Her SAT's were in the 670-690 range. Unweighted GPA was around a 3.9. I think what made her stick out though was her involvement at school. She started program there, was involved in student government all four years, and was a varsity athlete in two sports. She was at a public school, so her accomplishments were well recognized. But I'll tell you, I think the thing that got her in was her essay. When competing against kids who are all stellar, you need to stand out, and the way to do that is to have an amazing essay. Good luck.</p>
<p>um, unweighted GPA = 3.9? I'd kill for that :) but true, that is the typical stanford achiever!</p>
<p>A lot of current Stanford students had really interesting essays. There essays weren't meant to be impressive but instead to try to tell a bit about who they are as people. I think that Stanford really looks for people who have done well in high school who also seem to be interesting people (that's part of the reason for the note to your roommmate essay, to tell a bit about who you are). I think it's really important to have your essay effectively communicate something about who you are and what is really important to you. If the admissions officer reads your essay and thinks "Wow, I'd really like to meet this person!" it'll be harder for him/her to reject you.</p>
<p>couldnt agree more. My essays werent exactly the most formal academic essays i've written, but they were pretty funny, that probably helped.</p>
<p>If perfection is normal at Stanford then can somebody please explain this to me:</p>
<p>Transfers Fall 2005 </p>
<p>Applicants: 1,282 </p>
<p>Admit Rate: 4.5%</p>
<p>Matriculants: 50 (projected) </p>
<p>Percent of Applicants with a previous college GPA of 3.5-4.0: 81% ( 87% of admitted class)</p>
<p>Percent of Applicants with a previous college GPA below 3.5: 19% (13% of admitted class)</p>
<p>This information means roughly 7 or so of the admitted applicants had below a 3.5 GPA. I know that this number isn't alot, but it just shows that Stanford adcoms do not judge soley, in every single case, on your GPA and it's 4.0 status. You can be a young, passionate student looking to further their learning at one of the finest universities available and after all, that is what Stanford is looking for. So there is hope, right? The stats don't lie. :)</p>
<p>thats the transfer acceptance rate, astro. it's not for regular admission.</p>
<p>the thing is though... i think its a lot easier to get a high GPA in high school than in college... your stats are exclusive to college transfers.</p>
<p>and my college essay was pretty bad, in retrospect...</p>
<p>Those 7 applicants could have already done groundbreaking research, been in the olympics... you never know. They don't look ONLY at GPA, but it's important. Those could have been crazy hard classes too...</p>
<p>Don't forget that Stanford, like its peer institutions, doesn't hold everyone to the same standard. Stanford practices affirmative action, and recruits athletes. The admissions department doesn't get much more specific than that, I won't either.</p>
<p>Also bear in mind that 'amazing' is solely relative. The average American may consider a Stanford or Harvard student 'amazing' and incredible intellectual. I wouldn't, but then, like many people here, I don't have average expectations of people.</p>
<p>WAIT HOLD ON HERE FOLKS!!!!!!</p>
<p>I thought STANFORD had a CONSISTENT 8 - 10 % Transfer Admit Rate.
(It even says so on their admissions site)</p>
<p>The 4.5% IS REALLY LOW in comparison</p>
<p>They're not taking in a lot of transfers because their Freshman class takes up a lot of space. So they reduce the number of transfers they accept. It's a growing trend. Pretty soon, Stanford and most of the top schools might practice Princeton's "No Transfers" policy model. Too bad for that!</p>
<p>this year 72 people got in out of ~1400 transfer applicants. A figure very similar to the 4.5% mark of last year....</p>
<p>I've heard rumor that if you've been rejected for freshman admission, your transfer application generally isn't considered very seriously (unless you've cured cancer your first semester as a frosh). Does anybody know what percentage of the 50-70 accepted transfer students were rejected by Stanford the first go-round for freshman admission?</p>