Quick question- would love to gather some opinions. Stanford is my absolute DREAM school, and I am planning to apply REA next year. I have a 4.4 GPA and one-of-a-kind extracurriculars/experiences that will set me apart from the rest, but I’ve never been a strong test taker. I’m taking my SAT in Nov and I am a little concerned that I won’t have the best score (1400+ though). In your opinion/experience, what is Stanford’s “bar”? What score are they looking for and what are they willing to accept in an extracurricular strong student? I know they weigh GPA more for sure, but SAT/ACT still plays a part.
I’d strongly recommend that you give up the idea of a dream school and work to create a solid college list that includes reach, match, and safety schools that appear affordable (find out your parents’ budget and run the net price calculator for each school) and that you would be happy to attend. The people I see who get hurt by the college admission process are the ones who focus on one or two hyper-competitive schools and then don’t get in. Sure, apply to Stanford and give it your all – but you need to recognize that (assuming no major hook) Stanford is a reach for pretty much everyone.
I agree with @happy1 above. To be direct, 1400 for Stanford is a non-starter, except for a recruited athlete. Not even an URM. Until and unless the unique EC is a win at a national level, it is not going to make up for the deficiency in one of the other two elements…GPA, score. Here is the problem…Stanford’s EA acceptance rate is at or below 10%.
@happy1 Thanks for the advice! I understand that Stanford is a reach for everyone, just because it’s my top choice doesn’t mean it’s my only choice. I’d be happy to go to any of the schools on my list, safety or reach I posted this thread to specifically see SAT scores in regards to Stanford, since I will be focusing on that application first.
@fivesages What do you mean by “non-starter”? Without being too specific, My EC(s) are national level and beyond. A lot of them involve “youngest in the world” achievements I am partially URM, being a tribally enrolled alaska native.
Regardless, I’d love your opinion on Stanford’s first cutoff score.
@EquestrianCEO Even with a strong GPA, I meant it is very hard for a low score applicant who is not an athlete or won a national level competition. Given your “youngest in the world” achievements, you fall into someone with a national level win. And, your Alaska native status may also help you. If it is your dream school, I would go ahead and apply. I don’t think there is a literal cutoff score at Stanford, but score is a factor in who they accept. With <=10% acceptance rate, anything, especially a deficiency in one of the three key elements of an applicant’s profile (GPA, Score, EC), becomes a major factor. When it comes to scores (or GPA), it is a blessing and curse, because such schools don’t have a cutoff. I am sure Stanford accepted someone with <1200 score in the past (https://admission.stanford.edu/apply/selection/profile16.html), while it is an outlier rather than an norm.
If you really like any college, you need to do your best to know it. Haunt the info available from them, process it, see if you match what they want, (which is a lot more than stats and more than what you want.) Most colleges will give the mid 50th percentile test scores for enrolled freshmen, some will give details for admitted (which is the larger group. Not all will enroll.) You want to be near or above the 75th percentile, for a better shot.
You’d learn, in researching, that top colleges don’t say they expect “national awards” or that level of involvement. (In fact, many S admits won’t have that. In many cases local work tops occasional or remote activities.) You might be surprised to find that “strong” ECs, in your own hs context, are not necessarily unique or the sorts of engagements they like to see. The impact of “youngest,” eg, really depends on what the activity is.
Lots of schools say no cutoff. But the reality is that with that flood of top applicants, the college can cherry pick. Don’t assume “they weigh GPA more.” In holistic, for the most competitive colleges, it all matters. And then some.
Stanford admits plenty of students with SATs in the 1400s, if they have other attention grabbing features in their applications. It sounds like you have that. Sure, it’s still a reach, but not impossible by any means with your unusual accomplishments and URM status. My advice is take as many practice tests as you can before exam day.
Stanford provides last year’s middle 50% range for test scores here https://admission.stanford.edu/apply/selection/profile.html On the low end of that range is a 700 math and a 690 reading/wrting score, meaning a 1400 would likely put you at the low end of the middle 50% range but it does not mean any automatic rejection. High grades and good everything else gives you a chance. Just understand that essentially anyone who applies to Stanford starts with only about a 8% chance of being admitted and thus do not approach applying to Stanford with any assumption you (or anyone else) has a great chance of admisison and that includes even if you score 1600 on the SAT.
I’ve done some volunteer work with Stanford admissions. In one of the training sessions, another volunteer asked a similar question about scores. The answer was the same one listed on the website – Stanford evaluates the full application holistically without a minimum cutoff; the most important part of the applicant is the transcript, rather than the scores; test scores were intentionally removed from the admissions literature as an effort to de-emphasize; etc.
When evaluating acceptance rates by SAT score, as done in the earlier links, it is important to distinguish between cause and correlation. For example, the admit rate is significantly higher for applicants with SATs in the 700s than SATs in the 600s. Is that difference in admit rate primarily because Stanford wants to see the 700s SAT? Or does that difference in admit rate more relate to applicants with higher SAT scores also tending to have better grades, more challenging classes, better LORs, more impressive “intellectual vitality” and corresponding amazing out of classroom academic pursuits, etc.?
If it were me, I wouldn’t focus on whether your 1400+ SAT meets an arbitrary cutoff. That’s a great score and is not going to knock you out of the running, especially if you also have a great transcript and “one-of-a-kind extracurriculars/experiences that will set me apart from the rest”.
And sometimes what sets a kid apart is how he or she conforms to the college’s expectations…since, lol, so many CC-ers think it’s all about stats and then being so different, just to stand out, and they miss the point.
Before you can distinguish yourself in the vast pool, you need to know what does impress. I’d focus on getting my own idea of that first, from the source. Mind you, it’s not easy. It’s not, "Well, I read that page, now I get it.
I posted this thread to specifically see SAT scores in regards to Stanford, since I will be focusing on that application first.