<p>I wrote a while back about wanting to attend Stanford as a transfer. Unfortunately, I realize that its high retention rates make it quite difficult to transfer. However, I don't want to give up on my dreams of attending Stanford, it was, is and will always be my dream school. This coming year I'll be attending a top LAC (Bates College) and although I am happy with my second choice, I feel that Stanford may fit me more in terms of course offerings, networking, atmosphere, etc. For arguments sake if I were to achieve the following criteria would I stand a chance in consideration for Stanford Admissions (given a fairly sub-par HS Record):</p>
<p>Freshman College GPA: >3.75 Unweighted (HS was only a 3.0 Unweighted)</p>
<p>Standardized Testing: ~ hopefully around 2000 (My SAT in HS was 1760)--Yes, I know incredibly low for an Ivy League-caliber institution but I only took the test once and unfortunately with little prep.</p>
<p>Ecs: Probably Surrounding Environmental and Social Awareness initiatives (as they did in HS)</p>
<p>Recs/Essays: Hopefully heartfelt and personal</p>
<p>URM Status: Yes (3/4 Black, 1/4 Indian--though I just listed African American)</p>
<p>Anyways, referring back to the topic at hand, in HS I did both Basketball (in the Winter) and Rowing (Fall/Spring) and I was wondering if it might be possible to gain an admissions boost by playing one of these sports (I love basketball, but I'm a top athlete in rowing).</p>
<p>So can anyone comment personally about my case and whether or not Sports can aid in admissions to Stanford?</p>
<p>You should ask on the Recruited Athletes forum (under College Admissions, Specialty Topics).</p>
<p>Sports can help but does not guarantee admission. Here is a link to a recent Stanford release mentioning a transfer from Harvard - one of the most highly recruited track athletes in the nation out of high school. That level of accomplishment would help.</p>
<p>[Track</a> & Field Adds Four NLIs to Incoming Class - Stanford University’s Official Athletic Site](<a href=“http://www.gostanford.com/sports/c-track/spec-rel/062112aab.html]Track”>http://www.gostanford.com/sports/c-track/spec-rel/062112aab.html)</p>
<p>If your rowing abilities are sufficient to make you a highly recruited, scholarship level athlete, you should contact the Stanford coach directly via their recruiting website. Participation in club level sports would be considered, of course, along with other extracurricular activities, but would certainly not make you a standout in a college that is full of national caliber athletes. As you already know, transfer into any of these schools, Stanford or the Ivys, is very difficult, and even with support of the athletics department, admission is still quite problematic.</p>
<p>You probably already know this, but I forgot to mention it - NCAA has very very strict rules regarding contact between athletes and coaches and these rules apply to transfer students as well. If you are participating in varsity athletics at your current college, be absolutely sure you are complying with regulations or you will jeopardize your eligibility - this means contacting the compliance officer at your current college and obtaining an official release from the college allowing you to contact other schools. The compliance office will also fax release forms to the colleges you desire to contact, permitting them to contact you. If you are not participating in athletics in college, these rules would not apply, of course. This is very important.</p>