I plan to email an update to Stanford about some awards I won recently (I applied RD). My college counselor thinks that I should add a sentence saying that I will commit to Stanford if I am accepted because schools are obsessed with yield rates. Do you think this will help, or would it sound desperate and cause more harm than good?
I think it is a good idea to add the sentence that you will commit to Stanford - if it is true. If it is a maybe because you are also considering other top schools, then I wouldn’t add the sentence.
Basically, tell the truth.
I don’t think it even matters. Stanford publicly states that they don’t take interest into account when making decisions. The benefit will be negligible or nonexistent. Don’t stress yourself out. I wouldn’t include it.
Ok thank you! Anyone else have an opinion?
Stanford’s yield is one of the highest at ~80%. It’s not a school that cares about yield, at least to the extent that other schools do. In my opinion, adding a sentence would have negligible effect - they wouldn’t be able to hold you accountable anyway.
So my personal opinion is if you are an academic superstar who is likely to get into other elite schools, adding the line might make a small difference. Otherwise, it will likely be ignored.