Hi!
I was wondering if you guys could give me some advice. Stanford is my dream school, and with me being a junior in high school it’s time for me to start thinking about the application process. If you don’t mind, could you please share your standardized test scores/GPA/extracurriculars with me? I’m trying to get a feel for the average student that they accept. Also do you have any advice or tips for applying? One of my main concerns is that I don’t have a huge “passion.” I know colleges want to know how a student will add to their college but I don’t feel like I have any unique characteristics.
I won’t be able to visit the school because I live across the country, but is the atmosphere nice? How are classes?
I’m sorry that I’m bombarding you with questions - any help is appreciated. Thank you!!
It’s too bad you don’t have a huge passion because that is often what makes the kind of standout students that go to places like Stanford. Is it possible you have one and don’t know it?
There are a lot of other great schools you can go to where you might eventually find that passion though.
The atmosphere and classes at Stanford are really great…just like a number of other colleges.
hmmm i don’t think you really need to have a well-developed “passion”
I’ll be heading off to Stanford next year and I definitely didn’t have one huge passion. My Stanford app was by far my strongest though, because I really had fun with it. I wrote the intellectual vitality essay about how I marathoned America’s Next Top Model this past summer (yes, really), my roommate letter was written in my own voice, and the what matters to me and why essay was a lot more serious but still lighthearted. I’m not sure why I got in over the other highly qualified applicants from my school (I was the only one admitted), but I’m willing to bet it was the essays. I never joined a club in high school, never had a leadership position—granted, my school’s really small and only has like two active clubs. I didn’t do anything to get into Stanford, really—I was really honest, my application had a lot of personality, I had good numbers, and I’m sure my recs were amazing because those two teachers are like mothers to me. Maybe I’m not entirely representative of the average Stanford admit, but just know that it’s possible…
Also, I’m not sure how much interviews count, but my interviewer said I was the best applicant he had ever interviewed. He called me a breath of fresh air and said that Stanford needed someone like me. Huh. LOL all my of interviews prior to that one had gone horribly so I just decided to be myself for the Stanford interview, I didn’t prepare any responses or anything.
PS the only ECs that I listed were learning russian, playing guitar, and fashion sketching—just random stuff I like to do in my free time. Guess it was good enough for Stanford, though, huh?
Good luck! The admissions process really sucks, but you never know what’s gonna happen. 
Nevertheless, the whole notion of having a passion and developing it is widely discussed with respect to Stanford admissions.
What will you study at Stanford?
It’s not really “passion.” As one of the former S deans noted, no one seriously expects a hs kid to have real passions. This is more about “vision” and follow through, how one identifies the right sorts of challenges, goes after them and develops resilience and perspective.
OP, you get a feel for what Stanford wants by reading what Stanford says it likes and needs. Otherwise, it’s a shot in the dark. Get researching, be proactive.