<p>In this book about college admissions that I saw at border's, they said stanford admissions group the students into scales from 1 to 5 that apply based first on the SAT and SAT 2 scores, then readjust according to their gpa. Since this would suggest a larger emphasis is put on standardized test scores than grades, I was initially skeptical. Can anyone confirm if these claims by the admissions book is true or not? Thanks!</p>
<p>Just maintain high GPA and get high scores on SAT and SAT II.</p>
<p>Well, think about it: everyone who applies to Stanford has a 3.8uw or better. There's little variation because everyone takes as many AP's as they can.</p>
<p>SAT scores, however, there is great variation. A 2390 looks pretty good compared to a 2100.</p>
<p>Yeah but I would like to point out that Stanford puts more weight on GPA than on SAT and they wouldn't disqualify you if your SAT is around 2100 (trust me I should know)</p>
<p>Essays are very important.</p>
<p>so anything under 2000 for SAT won't be able to make it?</p>
<p>what on earth is going on here. i'm sure there are LOADS of people at stanford who have lower-than-2000 SATs. And anyway, look at these scores for the SAT ranges of the middle 50% of accepted students.
SAT Reasoning Verbal: 670 - 770
SAT Reasoning Math: 690 - 780
ACT Composite: 26 - 31</p>
<p>That sure is humbling. And anyway, I don't know where zephyr got his information. Everyone who applies to Stanford has a 3.8uw or higher? That's definitely NOT true.</p>
<p>A person can get it with under a 2000 but the chances are pretty low...
and to comment on zephyr's info I would like to point out that those who are accepted mostly have an uw gpa of 3.8 or higher</p>
<p>that's right...most accepted applicants do have that GPA. not all applicants in general.</p>
<p>"what on earth is going on here."</p>
<p>^ HAHA, that made me crack up.</p>
<p>I'm not too savvy about Stanford and its particular likes and dislikes and areas of concentrated interest (GPA or scores)...but I heard its new dean emphasizes a LOT on the essays. Essays, essays, essays, am I right?</p>
<p>Okay, sorry for not qualifying my statement. Most ACCEPTED students and those with a GOOD CHANCE of getting in have a 3.8uw or higher.</p>
<p>I remember at the Yale info session, an admissions director talked about the applicant pool. Of the 19k or so applicants, maybe 14k were completely qualified to do the work at Yale. It was relatively easy to knock it down into the final 5k or so--where it becomes really difficult to eliminate or pick candidates. </p>
<p>Translating that into Stanford, most applicants in that final pool will have superb grades, excepting athletes.</p>
<p>Dean Shaw is from Yale. Did he emphasize essays there? Not to an extreme degree, so I would expect similar policies at Stanford. </p>
<p>Don't over-focus on essays, but it is better to over-focus than under-focus.</p>
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<p>It certainly is possible to make it with something under 2000. I got in as a junior transfer with 1970, though I did have some other pretty nice factors. For example, I was president of the De Anza Math Club, ranked ninth in the world on the AMATYC math competition, skipped two years of high school to start college when I was 15, and had a 3.95 college GPA.</p>
<p>I guess then, zephyr, is to ask what Dean Shaw emphasized while he was in charge of Yale admissions. Would you happen to know?</p>
<p>
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what on earth is going on here. i'm sure there are LOADS of people at stanford who have lower-than-2000 SATs
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Maybe bizarro-world Stanford does. "The best and the brightest" is not just a proverb. It's reality.</p>
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<p>Yes, it's a good job Stanford selects the best and the brightest, regardless of SAT scores.</p>
<p>Someone who scores below a 2000 on the SAT does not belong to the "best and the brightest". You can rant all you want about "test-taking" skills and other crap but the fact of the matter remains that the SAT tests nothing more than the most fundamental of academic skills - namely reading, writing, and basic math - and someone who scores a 1900, for instance, (i.e a 75% raw score) is far from being among the "best and the brightest".</p>
<p>Tell that to Stanford.</p>
<p>I don't need to :)
Check the EA/RD threads. The only applicants who get in with a <2000 SAT score are either athletes or URMs. If you're neither, anything below a 2100 pulls you out of the competition.</p>
<p>I'm quite sure I'm neither an athlete, an unrepresented minority, nor unreinforced masonry. I believe I am a white male human math student. In that case, you are incorrect. As Stanford's website repeatedly emphasizes, there is no cutoff SAT score or GPA. Fortunately, when I was considering applying, I relied only on information directly from the source and not on ridiculous rumors like "anything below 2100 pulls you out of the competition."</p>
<p>URM = under-represented minority (i.e. black/hispanic).</p>
<p>Pardon me, but you are jaw-droppingly naive and just dumb if you actually believe there is no SAT cutoff for Stanford (or other Stanford caliber schools).</p>
<p>These universities produce more technological innovations, more nobel/pullitzer/etc. prize winners, more extraordinary individuals than other institutions because they DO have an SAT cutoff and maintain a certain standard of intelligence among its student body. That is not to say that SAT scores and GPA are the only factors that play into admission! Extra-curriculars, recommendations, etc. etc. play very heavily. But academic ability is key because no top-tier college wants to admits students that won't get good grades as college students; and the SATs are acutely reflective of academic ability. </p>
<p>Again, just go to the EA/RD stanford thread on CC.</p>