How old is too old?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Stanford University
1

Hi everyone,international student here,

I’m considering applying to Stanford ED soon, but there’s the issue with my age that’s making me a bit hesitant. I’m currently 20 and I turn 21 in October. It’s been 2 years since I’ve finished high school, however I have been anything but idle for the duration of that time. I have several ecs including an exchange year in the US fully funded by the US Dept of State(They chose 45 students from my country),European Youth Parliament sessions, a delegate of my country’s young diplomats club, established and still running an educational agency, worked on and organized a project for University of Missouri (got payed for it as well), and I’m also working on a science fiction novel. The aforementioned along with many other ecs I’d be able to list in the common app still aren’t enough to make me not worry about my age and how Stanford might reject me purely based on it.
I’ve written the SAT 3 times before, my score was in the 1900’s and my TOEFL ibt was 118 out of 120. I never had the chance to fully concentrate on the SAT, however this year I’ve already gained a significant amount of knowledge so my score for the ED is going to be solid, along with the subject tests. My GPA is 9.1 out of 10 (Which is about 3.7 on the American scale) but to be fair I received most of my accomplishments and knowledge outside of school because the school system was something I could never really conform to as I always had idealistic issues with it.

So, do you think I have a chance despite my age?

Also which of the ivies have age restrictions, if any of them do?

Sorry for the long post, thanks for reading.
Thank you kindly

2

Stanford does not have any age restrictions. As long as you have not received an undergraduate degree, you are eligible to apply. There are two paths through which you can apply to Stanford as an undergraduate: freshman and transfer. The transfer pool is considerably more competitive. As long as you have not “enrolled either full-time or as a degree-seeking student after graduating from high school,” then you are eligible to apply as a freshman no matter your age. Otherwise, you must apply as a transfer student. See this link for more info:

http://admission.stanford.edu/application/transfer/credit.html

By the way, Stanford does not have an ED program. It has REA:

http://admission.stanford.edu/application/decision_process/restrictive.html

REA is a bit like ED in that Stanford is the only place to which you may apply early (with some exceptions), but you are not obligated to enroll at Stanford if admitted.

If you want to see how your scores and grades compare to those of recent admits, you should look at the profile for the Class of 2018:

http://admission.stanford.edu/basics/selection/profile.html

3

Your experience sounds quite interesting and will make for an interesting read. However your SAT scores are too low to be competitive. Work on raising them, and you should have a decent shot. Good luck