<p>Hi guys! So I've heard that as a general consensus, applying early to Stanford doesn't really improve your chances of being accepted. Is this true? If so, one of my parents a faculty member at Stanford, so I was wondering, does that have any impact on my chances of being accepted? Does it also help if I apply early? Stanford is my number once choice without a doubt, so if accepted I would go in a heartbeat.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot!</p>
<p>Applying early does NOT increase your chances of admission. </p>
<p>Being a faculty child, on the other hand, significantly increases your chances of admission assuming that you’re well-qualified. All of the well-qualified faculty children whom I know were admitted, though some of them were deferred in the REA cycle.</p>
<p>Having said these things, you should definitely apply early if Stanford is your first choice…if admitted, you would thus be done with college apps in December and would be able to enjoy the rest of your senior year.</p>
<p>The paper at <a href=“http://www.stanford.edu/~jdlevin/Papers/EarlyAdmissions.pdf[/url]”>http://www.stanford.edu/~jdlevin/Papers/EarlyAdmissions.pdf</a> (co-authored by Stanford professor) estimates that binding ED increases chance of admission by 31 to 37%, after correcting for differences in strength between the ED and RD admissions pools, as well as differences in the rate of hooks. This rate was estimated by averaging across 20 highly selective ED colleges, including Stanford. 31 to 37% sounds like a lot, but with a 5.7% admit rate, it would change the decision for under 2% of applicants. This is nothing compared to the boost for children of faculty. In the article at [Inside</a> Stanford?s Exclusive Admission Path - Schools - Palo Alto, CA Patch](<a href=“http://paloalto.patch.com/groups/schools/p/inside-stanford-s-exclusive-admission-path-c38ea20a]Inside”>Inside Stanford's Exclusive Admission Path | Palo Alto, CA Patch) , a former Stanford admissions officer stated that children of faculty are given a “golden halo” and processed differently than regular apps. She writes, “We’re not talking just a boost like a 6.6 percent to 15 percent, we’re talking a multiple or ‘x-factor boost,'" I’d expect the specific number depends on who the faculty member is and how they “lobby on their children’s’ behalf.” That said, children of faculty still need to be qualified applicants who can succeed in the coursework.</p>
<p>As suggested by alea and Data…let me get to the point…children of faculty are considered one of the strongest “hooks” (if not the most important) for admission to Stanford…and it would be rather foolish if you did not apply REA to benefit from this “boost”…that is, if you meet the requirements to be a competitive applicant to begin with…</p>
<p>…most well-informed college applicants understand that if they have a faculty parent or legacy status at their “dream school”…the best and strategic time to apply is in the EARLY ROUND…and not to wait for REGULAR ROUND which will show “diminished interest” to the admissions committee making the DECISIONS…because most admissions committees of all TOP schools are sophisticated enough to WONDER which OTHER school did this applicant apply to for the EARLY ROUND if not their parent-faculty/legacy institution…so they may be less-willing to bend for this applicant in the regular round…</p>
<p>…so that you know where I am coming from see the attached relevant Stanford article about having connections to the university:
[Stanford</a> Daily | Connections to University can affect admissions decision](<a href=“http://www.stanforddaily.com/2013/03/12/connections-to-university-can-affect-admissions-decision/]Stanford”>Connections to University can affect admissions decision)</p>
<p>Thanks a lot guys! I really appreciate it.</p>