<p>@stanfordready, I’m not sure about this. This was one of my questions to my regional admissions officer, so I’ll let you guys know about additional standardized testing as soon as I hear. </p>
<p>@cvonmuench, I haven’t yet, as the admissions office is closed. I got an automated response from my lady saying that she’ll read all email on Monday and respond as quickly as possible. In my email I asked about additional standardized testing, how much is too much on an optional update form and then something specific about my business. I’ll let you guys know as soon as I hear back!</p>
<p>@iman. Sigh. Yes. I feel pretty bad, too. I’ve been having really mixed feelings about all of this. On one hand, we beat out around 80% of the REA applicants. Which is fantastic. This means that we’re all very qualified and even if Stanford doesn’t ultimately accept us, we’ll probably be admitted into other similar-calibre schools. On the other hand…****.</p>
<p>I was also deferred to Stanford REA. I’m applying to Duke, harvard, columbia, upenn, USC, Claremont Mckenna, Occidental, along with UCs. At first I was disappointed but three other people who applied early to stanford at my school were rejected. I guess I’ll take what I can get haha.</p>
<p>I got deferred back in December of 2009 (I’m class of 2014 at Stanford now). When I got the deferral I assumed it was a “courtesy” deferral since I’m a legacy (my mom went to undergrad and my dad went to bschool at Stanford). Apparently that wasn’t the case, because I got in RD. </p>
<p>For me, it wasn’t about improving my stats fall of senior year (3.9 unweighted, 4.2 weighted or something along those lines, and 2330 SAT), so I just put some extra information about extracurricular pursuits and about how Stanford was my first choice in that optional info form. At this point, it’s probably best to emotionally detach yourself from Stanford and focus on other schools. That way, if you do get in then it’s great, but if you don’t, then it won’t feel like as much of a blow.</p>
<p>So I’m just wondering, where in the optional form were you able to inform Stanford that they were still your first choice, and how did you word it? Stanford has truly been my dream school ever since I was young, and I would really like to put that in somewhere in the optional form. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>Also, sorry for the double post, but if someone can follow up on retaking the SAT/ACT, that would be GREAT! I really feel that was my weakest point, so if I can retake them… Why not?</p>
<p>I feel like to get deferred you have to already have the scores/stats. I mean there were 2400s that got rejected. Retaking it can’t hurt, but I’m not sure if it would help that much.</p>
<p>Now that I’ve had time to accept it, I feel good knowing that I’ve drastically increased my chances of acceptance, especially when considering recruited athletes applying early. I’m still hopeful.</p>
<p>Btw are legacies treated as “unhooked” in the RD round? My school’s deferral pool of 3 has 2 legacies; 2 admits were also legacies. I’m wondering if I even stand a chance as the only unhooked applicant despite having better credentials than the 5 legacies accepted or deferred. Sigh!</p>
<p>@AeryGold - any word on the test scores deadline for deferred applicants? Will they consider scores from the Jan’13 SAT even though the RD SAT test scores deadline has already passed? Anyone? TIA</p>
<p>I am not an expert or 100% sure, but I am pretty sure legacy is still legacy. We are simply going to be put in the RD pool, not a special pool just for deferral students. The 15% does not mean that they simply choose 15% of the 600 or so deferrals, it just so happens that about 15% make the cut. So when they review our apps again, a legacy student will still have legacy and a non-legacy still won’t have legacy. I’m sure you are qualified and I really wish the best for you and everyone else! It is an honor to know that we are even on Stanford’s radar to begin with !</p>
<p>Yep. And the 15% who make the cut will likely include a fair number of hooked candidates who didn’t make it in the early round that comprised mostly of hooks. Hence a crap shoot from start to finish for the unhooked applicant…</p>
<p>I heard back very promptly from my admissions officer and will post the info she gave me after school today. And my reasoning for taking more standardized tests is because that was definitely a weak point in my application. Even though yes, a change from a 2150 to a 2250 is somewhat trivial, it shows Stanford that I’m serious about doing anything I can to get in. It’s more about the gesture for me at least. </p>
<p>But yeah, I agree, the extracurricular side of the update form looks like it is definitely more important.</p>
<p>Okay, so I asked my Regional Admissions Officer three main questions and these were her responses:</p>
<p>1) Q: How much is too much on the Optional Update Forms? How many can we submit/is this a good opportunity for mini-essays?
A: "For some applicants, these updates are very brief, while for others, they have significant updates to mention which may take more space. If you mentioned something in your application, it is unnecessary to submit that information again because we will review your original application along with your Optional Update Form during the Regular Decision period. Additional essays are unnecessary to send. "</p>
<p>2) Q: Would it be worthwhile to send new scores for standardized tests like the SAT/ACT/SAT II’s? If I took new tests in late January and early February, would Stanford receive them in time to consider them part of my application?
A: “The only way to guarantee that we will receive ACT or SAT subject test scores by the time we review Regular Decision applications is to have taken them in December. Our website outlines these dates for you here: [Application</a> Deadlines & Fees : Stanford University](<a href=“http://www.stanford.edu/dept/uga/application/deadlines/index.html]Application”>http://www.stanford.edu/dept/uga/application/deadlines/index.html). You may take the tests during your proposed dates and have the official scores sent to us, but we will not likely receive the scores by the time we reevaluate your application.”
(I have some of my own thoughts about this! If they can receive our Optional Update Forms on March 1st and still have time to incorporate them into their reevaluation of our applications, why would test scores not be available to them in mid-February? I’ve decided to take the plunge and go ahead and take them anyways. They may not be considered, but they might be. So. Yeah. Like I said before: for me, it’s all about the gesture. )</p>
<p>3) Q: If there’s something that I did not emphasize on my original application, like research or a business, but it’s not something new that I’ve developed between November and March, can I still spend time on the Optional Update Form explaining it?
A: "In the Optional Update Form, you are welcome to inform us of any projects that you did not mention in your original application. If you mentioned information in a resume that was included with your Common Application, it is unnecessary to mention that information again. However, if there are significant updates related to that project that have occurred since submitting your application, we ask that you let us know in your Optional Update. "</p>
<p>^lots of words; no useful information, but plenty of ambiguity. </p>
<p>The defferred are blind men playing blind man’s bluff with advice given in a language no one understands by someone who doesn’t care to elaborate or even provide a Rosetta Stone.</p>
<p>So I was planning on ordering “Stanford Mom” and “Stanford Dad” car decals for my parents for Christmas, but then December 14 happened and they got ugly scarves instead :/</p>
!</p>