<p>Ok. Nevermind, I found out that only the AP Score reports show my designation and Stanford would have no way of getting my designation from the college board unless I had sent it to them. Am I correct in thinking I don’t have to tell Stanford anything?</p>
<p>This guy in my class is publishing a book from a major book company (Random House, I think??) but I heard his SAT score was 2050. He has decent EC’s and leadership. He is my biggest competition right now in my school since top schools would probably really love the fact that he’s getting published… What are his chances???</p>
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<p>I think so, yeah.</p>
<p>@Greenbum</p>
<p>Really no way to know, especially without knowing his grades and classes. Then again, being published is always helpful to say the least…</p>
<p>^oh god, do you really naively think Stanford values “grades and classes” the same as publishing a book from a major book company?</p>
<p>to greenbum: I’d say it depends on the book itself. If he is able to accomplish something that only few professional adults can accomplish, I’d say he is in for sure, doesn’t matter his “grades or classes”. BTW, isn’t this kid really YOU?</p>
<p>Classes and grades are the largest factors of an application. Stanford needs to know whether a student will succeed in college and that can best be determined by performance in difficult classes. While writing a book is obviously extraordinary, it definitely does not guarantee admission. Do you think the admissions officer is going to read it to see if it’s something that “only few professional adults can accomplish”?</p>
<p>If your friend is indeed getting published by an official major company, then atleast his accomplishment has some merit (as opposed to being self-published). Nonetheless, it is important to keep in mind that the number of new titles and editions published by major companies per year number in the hundreds of thousands (~330,000 in U.S. in 2010).</p>
<p>So while it is fairly unique for a highschool student to have this on his application, it should not be overblown as being that spectacular, unless we’re talking about a truly amazing book here. If it’s just some short piece of fiction where his parents managed to pay loads for some great editing/publishing, then it certainly won’t have as much impact. If it’s something more professional, or possible some sort of research, then that’s a different story. And if he collaborated or co-authored with someone, that would also change things.</p>
<p>Yes, this accomplishment will help your friend, but I wouldn’t worry too much. And henryvli, I would say Stanford values grades/classes atleast as much as publishing a book (depending on the situation), if not more so. We’re talking about 4 years of a challenging courseload with its share of how dedicated you are to working hard, GPA, class rank, etc. If this guy doesn’t have the grades, respective GPA/rank, or work ethic to back up his application, Stanford will probably not accept him regardless of being published. I doubt he would be “in for sure” unless he was some sort of novelist prodigy</p>
<p>Did anyone else’s optional recommender receive a letter from Stanford confirming receipt of their recommendation?</p>
<p>@stanfordready Did you get one too or are you just asking?</p>
<p>@Adodie: I’d say I’m pretty well rounded; great GPA and tests I suppose, although I definitely have a math/science bias in my app (USAMO and HSHSP). I’m mainly banking on my essays though haha, I definitely don’t have a novel or business or anything.</p>
<p>@greenbum: I wouldn’t worry overly much about your friend being intense intense competition. If you were going to get in anyways and he’s that good, I don’t think they’ll exclude you just because they say “op got our quota from that school”. If I’m not mistaken, I believe Stanford tends to be more regional in its selection.</p>
<p>Just asking. I’ll ask my mentor as well.</p>
<p>Thanks for the help, everybody! And we don’t get a portal from Stanford after we apply, right? Cause I haven’t…</p>
<p>@greenbum
I didn’t lol</p>
<p>^SAT128: I would argue that you are wrong. Schools like Stanford gets amazing talents every year. There ARE indeed accomplished authors (some even managed to make their books into movies), accomplished actors applying to top schools like Stanford every year. I would argue that they won’t have the best grade (why? because they won’t bother taking SAT 3 times just to get a 2300 because they are way too occupied), but Stanford will value them over students with 2400 SAT and 4.0 GPA.</p>
<p>W’re not talking about an “accomplished author”. As I said, unless he is a “novelist prodigy” or someone with an established reputation for being talented in such an area, Stanford won’t be overwhelmed solely by this achievement. We’re not talking about a guy who has “managed to make their book into a movie”. </p>
<p>You could also argue that there are people in high school that create a business or start unique websites that have the potential to generate millions or do something remarkable. But until something truly unique actually occurs, just having a published book, having a business, owning a website, etc. can be quite commonplace and not enough to distinguish you from so many other talented people. And yes these talented people may not have the best grades, and will probably be valued over the people with only 2400s and 4.0s, but Stanford won’t be receiving ONLY 2400s and 4.0s. In fact ,the majority of the applicants that this person would be competing with might no doubt have their own special talents/ECs, just as you said when “Stanford gets amazing talents every year”.</p>
<p>I’m not saying Stanford doesn’t appreciate or look for these types of unique accomplishments or talents. But obviously this book doesn’t excuse 4 years of high school classes, grades, GPA, rank, etc. It totally depends on the circumstances. It really doesn’t sound like this book was something “only a few professional adults can accomplish”. I never said that Stanford doesn’t prefer amazing talents over grades or testing though. I don’t understand where you are trying to “argue that I’m wrong”</p>
<p>Well said, SAT128</p>
<p>I agree that a book is nothing without the grades to back it up. If a student has slacked off in his or her classes all through high school, but writes a novel, no mater how good it is (to a certain extent at least), I don’t think colleges would admit them. It’s kind of a “why do you want to study here if you don’t actually care about your classes.” If all of us had taken the most basic classes ever and not really cared much about grades, I’m sure we all could have accomplished much more in our extracurriculars than we did, just because we would have had more time.</p>
<p>That said, I know we aren’t dealing with such an extreme case, but I agree that publishing a novel is not enough alone to get you into a top school like Stanford. You have to at least show that you care about school and challenging yourself. They want someone who will take advantage of all the wonderful academic things they have to offer.</p>
<p>Do you think publishing a research paper would be a unique achievement for applying to Stanford?</p>
<p>@Adodie
Thanks br0. Maybe see you at Stanford? I’m sure banking on it</p>
<p>@coffeeandtea
Yeah I think you phrased it the best way</p>
<p>@ccuser
It probably depends on the magnitude of the research paper. Such as if it was published regionally vs nationally. Did you write it on your own or did you collaborate/co-author? I’m not sure how unique it would really be though, unless it was something that received recognition and verification on large scale, such as statewide or nationally. </p>
<p>I have found that research papers have become surprisingly common, so while it would might be a strong accomplishment to list in your application, I wouldn’t count on it really jumping out as a remarkable achievement for Stanford.</p>
<p>I actually had the opportunity to work on and eventually publish several research papers to release to the scientific community (regionally). But I instead focused on two of my patents which are now pending (I have one approved patent at this point - the other two are pending), which I thought might appear more unique. I don’t know yet if this was the right choice, but I thought it might atleast help with that ‘popping out’ effect that admission officers look for</p>
<p>To be clear, the guy being published is in all of the same classes as me. AKA honors and APs all four years. He no doubt has a good GPA. And again, 2050 SAT which is okay but not amazing for Stanford. There was a kid years ago who got into Harvard in part of being published (even though it was eventually found plagarized)…</p>
<p>“While attending Bergen County Academies, Viswanathan showed her writing – including a several-hundred page novel on Irish history she had already completed – to Katherine Cohen of IvyWise, a private college admissions consultancy which Viswanathan’s parents had hired to help with their daughter’s application process.[3][5] Through Cohen, Viswanathan was signed by the William Morris Agency under senior agent and William Morris partner Jennifer Rudolph Walsh[3][5] and referred to book packaging company 17th Street Productions (now called Alloy Entertainment),[3][8][9] a media firm responsible for packaging the Gossip Girl and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants book series, among others.[10] On the basis of an outline and four chapters of the novel that would become Opal Mehta, Viswanathan eventually signed a two-book deal with Little, Brown and Company[5] for an advance originally reported to be $500,000.[1][3] She began writing the book the summer before college, and finished it during her freshman year at Harvard College, while taking a full course load.[5] Opal Mehta was published on April 4, 2006,[11] and Viswanathan was profiled by The New York Times on April 6, 2006.” (Wikipedia)</p>