Chances- keep your hopes up

Colleges and Universities A-Z Stanford University
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<p>I figured I would pass this along to those who are thinking about Stanford, or any of the top schools. You will read much on here about what you should and shouldn't do, what grades/scores you need, and what your chances will be. </p>

<p>Well my son just graduated in 4 years, with a co-terminal masters. He graduated with distinction (top 15%), and was Phi Beta Kappa (top 10%). He was involved in numerous activities and absolutely thrived at Stanford. He got to know professors personally, and did research. he won fellowships and traveled on grants. </p>

<p>He was his HS valedictorian (one fo 7) in a large public HS, got 1570 SATs, 800s on SAT2s, lots of ECs, athletics captain, and wonderful recommendations. His essays were pretty good. He is a white kid from a middle class suburb. </p>

<p>Guess what- He was waitlisted at Princeton, denied at Yale and Harvard, (I gues they didn;t fit teir class profile) and accepted at Berkeley, UCLA, Amherst, Wiliams, and Cornell. But most interestingly, he was waitlisted at Stanford and was lucky to get in when they went 50 deep in the waitlist. </p>

<p>Many of his friends at Stanford are brilliant. Some, you kind of wonder what got them in. The message is- it's all a crapshoot. Clearly there are many who are qualified. Many would do quite well there, but they will be denied. Just give it your berst shot, put yourself in the best position to get in. Cross your fingers and pray. Wherever you do go- take advantage of every minute of this wonderful opportunity you will have earned. Do not pine about what would have or could have or should have been. You have no control over that final decision, and things have a way of workig out for the best- no matter what.</p>

<p>Good luck to you all.</p>

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<p>im curious, where's he going to grad school? (is he going to grad school?)</p>

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<p>Crapshoot? He seemed extremely qualified for Stanford and the schools he did get accepted to.</p>

<p>I don't deny that it can sometimes seem like a crapshoot, but I'm sure every applicant is admitted on merits of his/her own.</p>

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<p>he's taking a year off, likely applying to law school, or a joint PhD/JD program. </p>

<p>As for the comment that he was qualified- yes, overly so- yet HYP all said no and Stanford waitlisted before he got in. My point was that there are MANY people that are qualified and still don't make it, and as my son proves, given the chance they all would/could be very successful. So accept that the admissions process says very little about you personally, and accept that whereever you end up, you ultimate happiness and success is in your hands. I was really trying to address those students and parents who spend the better part of 3-4 years obsessing about getting into HYPS and think their lives are over if they don't get in. Give it your best shot, but realize that for the vast majority of qualified candidates, even that may not get you in. For some that is very hard to accept.</p>

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<p>thanks, calguy!</p>