<p>The title of this discussion sounds kind of dumb, but seriously, how holistic is the Stanford admissions process? Some top-tier schools such as Columbia are known for conducting more of a holistic review than others. That is, some schools place more emphasis on extracurricular accomplishments and hooks than others do. Would Stanford be considered one of those schools?</p>
<p>Since Stanford has so many highly qualified applicants to choose from, the academic record is going to be pretty much a given and then it goes to who the student is and their extracurricular achievements.</p>
<p>I do think that Stanford looks at a student’s “big picture.” A bunch of students here (like myself) got a couple Bs or B+s in high school, but Stanford saw that they had great extracurriculars and were overall exceptional people, so Stanford accepted them. In fact, I haven’t met anyone here whose only accomplishment was getting straight-As. I think Stanford values you being able to passionately pursue one or more extracurriculars even more.</p>
<p>I think that admission to all selective colleges is holistic, although you are at a disadvantage if your stats are much less impressive than other applicants</p>
<p>It’s very holistic if you can donate a lot of money. It’s a little holistic if you tell a great story. Everyone else??? </p>