<p>That is true. The key part of the post is “get in over”. Top schools, and Stanford especially, are looking for diversity. If you come from an upper middle class suburb of San Francisco and attend a wealthy private school your competition is far much stiffer. Therefore there will be more people with cool ECs and amazing essays to compete with. To be honest there’s an element of luck that must go along with any succesful application to top schools.</p>