Chances/Jocks rule the school?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Stanford University
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<p>Hey, I was wondering what anyone thinks my chances are and a few other things.</p>

<p>Vital stats:
SAT Math: 800
SAT Verbal: 710
SAT Writing: 670</p>

<p>SAT2 Math 2: 780
SAT2 Biology: 760
SAT2 US History: 730</p>

<p>Hardest classload at decent public school
Unweighted 4.0, they don't tell us them weighted, but straight A's with AP's anyways
5's on 3 AP's, 4 in one. (I think they ask for them unofficially, whatevs)
National Merit Semi-finalist
ASB President
3 Year letterer in XC, Track, Chess (but no chance for athletic consideration)
Some other decent extracurriculars, including building comp. lab in other country with Rotary international.</p>

<p>I applied EA, but of course I was too out of it to take the SAT 2's before November 5. THEN, they didn't get my counselors recomendation, OR my other SAT's (college board screwed them up) but that might have meant that they got the SAT 2's because they hadn't marked my app. complete. Any ideas on my chances with and without the SAT 2's, which I figure are gonna help?</p>

<p>But the second question was that despite all I've heard about Stanford's laid back attitude, a friend of mine came back from attending Stanford over Thanksgiving and talked about how she felt the athletes ruled the school's social life, as they would in a stereotypical high school, but way worse than that even. She talked about the football team being fawned over, and all that fun stuff. I don't know what to think about this, but it makes me worry that the atmosphere isn't as laid back and unjudgmental as people say. Did I just get the wrong person's opinion? (she isn't the most positive person in the world) Thanks for any answers, I'm new to this site, and I don't really know what I'm doing...</p>

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<p>I've heard that too, can't remember where though.</p>

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<p>Did your friend visit during the break? Or did she visit before thanksgiving break?</p>

<p>The reason I ask is because this year our break was a whole week so most people went home. Therefore, the people who did not leave can be classified as one of two main groups, people who did not go home because it is too far (internationals, some east coasters) or people who could not go home because of prior commitments (i.e. practices and games for athletes).</p>

<p>Also, if your friend did decide to come last weekend, she came during big game weekend. Stanford vs. Cal rivalry games, and therefore had a skewed view of what athletics and social life is really like at Stanford.</p>

<p>To answer your questions, I am a sophomore at Stanford and I do not find the social scene to be dominated by the athletes at all. On the contrary, since most of them have practices in the mornings, they rarely go out when the rest of the student body does (friday, saturday).</p>

<p>Personally, I find the presence of a strong athletic department to be a positive - it fosters a sense of school pride and spirit that is harder to attain at schools where athletics are not as prominant. </p>

<p>If you are worried about it being too one-dimensional, you have nothing to worry about... there are plenty of things to do here; you can attend music productions, stanford drama productions, high-profile guest lecturers and many more.</p>

<p>To answer your question about the laid back atmosphere, the answer would be yes. This place is absolutely more laid back than its academic peers. That being said, it is one of the top schools in the country and your peers are hard-working and extremely bright. Therefore, it is definitely not a place you can coast through without doing a great deal of work. There is a definitely a relaxed vibe and most people will take time away from their work to hang out for a little while... but people know when it's crunch time and they get their work done (and do it well too).</p>

<p>If you can't tell, I'm absolutely in love with the place and I would not choose any other school in the world for my undergraduate education.</p>

<p>Cheers,</p>

<p>-Eddie-</p>

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<p>She actually attends Stanford, she wasn't just visiting. I should've made that clear, sorry. Thanks though.</p>