<p>I’m so excited to be a Cardinal =) Everyone else seems to have hit the mark in terms of what it takes to get in! As for me, I had the strong academics, but my SAT wasn’t uber stellar (above 2250, but not 800s in CR/Writing) while I know many people with those stats who were rejected. Have your voice really come through-- and make sure it’s you. Some of my friends have really flowery, scholarly voices while someone actually told me to “flower”-up my essay. On the contrary, my writing voice is blunt, straightforward and sarcastic. I was insecure about my essays, but after getting the email yesterday, I feel like I stuck to the right path by staying true to my voice. Academically, I excel in multiple subjects, but outside of the classroom, I devote myself to journalism and using my writing to help other people. I spend 90% of my time outside of school writing, blogging, or doing something with a publication. Hence, my common app and two supplemental essays related to this passion. I think that helped. I’m curious about what that letter is going to say as well haha. </p>
<p>I have taken over 100 community college units, and am employed as a paid researcher at a UC. I think that it is possible to get in without any ethnic hooks and on purely academics, as long as you really follow your interests. I also wrote fairly personal essays, and spent several months perfecting them. Good luck!</p>
<p>We’ve been mulling over the ‘what got me in’ question since my son’s acceptance email came yesterday. Going into the process, of course we knew he was ‘qualified’ like most other applicants I’m sure…outstanding grades (GPA), test scores were high (though not perfect), but admissions talks about the quality of your curriculum as being more important than grades or test scores. But again, I’m sure most applicants to Stanford have had the many AP (or IB) courses that he’s had. So what distinguishes you from the rest? EC’s?? Yes, they can but even these are not as important in and of themselves as much as how they tell a story about who you are as a person. Expanding on one or two of these in short answers or essays can help. Like many have said, I think it comes down to the essays. They want to see who you are. Make your essays ‘grab their attention’ and be sure to write them in your own voice. Think of when you read the abstract (book cover) of a novel and what it is when you read it that makes you want to buy the book and read it cover to cover. That’s what you want each and every essay to do. Tell a story that is exciting and interesting and says something about who you are so admissions officers can conjure up an image of you standing there in front of them telling them your story. At highly selective universities, I believe it is the essays that truly set you apart from the other statistical data. Good luck to all RD applicants!</p>
<p>Thank you for all of your comments everyone. It really helps out a stressed RD’er. I’m going to have some other people read my essays before the final submit and I tried to find unique examples that fit my personality. A lot of my essays are kind of out there, but I hope that its what stanford is looking for. The only other thing I’m worried about is test scores 29act 1990 sat-not that great. Hopefully they will look over that I have a lot of “unique” extracurriculars, URM status, and pretty decent grades.</p>
<p>This is really helpful information. Thanks all. One question on the GPA front - Does it really matter if someone has a lot of A minuses (90-94) as opposed to As ( 95-100) ? My UW GPA is 4.0 cumulative from freshman to Jr yr but I have 2/3rds A minuses and a third As.</p>
<p>@kristinicolle9 They do! I checked threads from previous years.
I was sorta just curious…what were everybody’s 5 words that best described them?</p>
<p>wow … what did other people get in their letters? did they all say:
“You have set yourself apart, and we are impressed and inspired by your passion, determination and accomplishments” ?</p>
<p>my 5 words were passionate, flexible, determined, athletic and loyal</p>
<p>Usually your package will include a hard copy of the acceptance letter that you received by email, and the admissions officer who admitted you will add a handwritten note on it, describing the things that made you a standout applicant. You’ll enjoy it. : )</p>
<p>And welcome to the Farm, everyone!! Stanford has it all going on. It just doesn’t get any better than this. (And I’m saying this even though it’s finals week. Just taking a quick study break to clear my mind and congratulate everybody!)</p>
<p>I agree that the essays have to be crucial. D’s coach was unpleasantly surprised that one of the team’s top 3 recruits, who had a strong GPA, strong ACT scores, and was a first generation college student, got rejected. So even having a hook isn’t enough if you don’t write a good application.</p>
<p>The personalized letters come a few weeks after the BIG ENVELOPE</p>
<p>But yeah, congratulations everyone! </p>
<p>one more piece of advice: be careful with your words and self-esteem in front of others. Getting into Stanford takes you onto a whole new level and it certainly feels that way–but Stanford is just a name, a title we sometimes can overvalue. What I am saying is, think before you speak–because sometimes it may appear to be conceited. College means a lot in life, but the relationships you have made in HS are things you will want to preserve.
P.S. Should you matriculate, Stanford will humble you very, very much.</p>
<p>Thank you topramen for the reminder! I honestly did not expect to get in at all, so this has definitely been a weird adjustment for me. My family is really, really happy about it, and I’m pretty elated myself, but I’ve been trying to keep my excitement to a minimum when with others. </p>
<p>Ah, I can’t wait for those personalized letters!</p>
<p>In the Dec. 2009 REA cycle we got handwritten notes in our admission packages (written on the official admission letter), and also lots of follow-ups, like handwritten holiday cards, birthday cards, etc. I guess maybe this year they prioritized getting the early action decisions out over taking the extra time to do the handwritten additions, but I’m sure you’ll get some before long.</p>
<p>God. Race. Strong essays and teacher recs despite kinda lackluster grades/test scores. And I think they could see that my ecs were things I was passionate about. Por ejemplo, I wrote like two or three essays about my love of art, am president of the art club, and have over 700 volunteer hours from my local art museum. </p>
<p>And my 5 words were “Off, in a good way” haha.</p>
<p>My son is in Class 2013. I’d say indeed essays pay a big role. Three things need to be shown in your essays: first, you’re unique and you have something to contribute to the student body, not just grades; second, you are passionate about something, no matter what it is, whether it be stamp collecting; and third, you are real so be yourself when writing your essays (and yes, my son’s reader did mention checking up on his YouTube videos even before YouTube was fashionable). My son was not an officer is any of his HS clubs or student orgs, was not a valedictorian or salutotorian, or a member of a Science Olympiad team. He did play violin for a community orchestra (music was his passion) and aced the ACT (that probably showed his potential even if his GPA was not stratospheric). ECs were just average.</p>
It really helps out a stressed RD’er. I’m going to have some other people read my essays before the final submit and I tried to find unique examples that fit my personality. A lot of my essays are kind of out there, but I hope that its what stanford is looking for. The only other thing I’m worried about is test scores 29act 1990 sat-not that great. Hopefully they will look over that I have a lot of “unique” extracurriculars, URM status, and pretty decent grades.</p>