Scary - Very Scary

Colleges and Universities A-Z Stanford University
1

<p>Not to scare you guys & gals, but i thought i would post the stats of a friend who got REJECTED from Stanford. I still do not understand how this happened.... </p>

<p>School: Top 50 in United States
ACT: 35 (took in 9th grade)
SAT: 2390 (took in 10th grade)
SAT2s: Math 2: 800, Physics:800, Chinese:800 (took Math in 8th, Physics,Chinese in 10th)</p>

<p>10th Grade G.P.A S1: 3.95
10th Grade G.P.A S2: 3.97</p>

<p>11th Grade G.P.A S1: 4.0
11th Grade G.P.A S2: 4.0 </p>

<p>12th Grade G.P.A S1: 4.0
12th Grade G.P.A S2: 4.0</p>

<p>Ethnicity: Caucasian
Languages: Fluent Mandarin, Cantonese, French, English, Latin</p>

<p>APS: BC Calc (he took in 10th grade) 5, Physics C (10th grade) 5, Chemistry (9th grade) 5... he took a total of 8 APs got all 5s. </p>

<p>Leadership/ECs:
Varsity Soccer, 10th, 11th, 12
Varsity Tennis, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th,
Concert Pianist
too many ecs to list.
Spent 1 year in China going to top school in china and doing community service.
Status: Rejected Stanford, Harvard, Yale,
Accept: Duke, Wharton, Huntsmith prog,
OMG ...</p>

2

<p>Two words: affirmative action</p>

<p>And it's not that bad, Duke and Wharton are excellent schools.</p>

3

<p>Affirmative action was not what got him rejected, please. He got into some really great schools that I'd consider on par with Stanford, especially Wharton's Huntsman program given his extreme proficiency with languages. Frankly, I know students of all races who had lesser academic and extracurricular credentials who got into Stanford:namely nearly 90% of the student body at Stanford. So yeah, he was definitely highly qualified, my guess is he also wrote a stellar essay and had awesome references. However, for some reason or another he was not a great fit for Stanford and HY. Don't think your chances are any lower because someone who most would consider to be an academic superstar was rejected. Your chances are extremely low though, because of the low acceptance rate.</p>

4

<p>Perhaps her essays/recommendations were terrible? Or perhaps this is a troll writing up fake stats.</p>

5

<p>Schools look for certain things. Maybe his essays didn't show that he really wanted to go to Stanford. Although his stats were impressive tons of applicants present something similar to the admissions committee. I'm not really shocked that he was rejected. I'm not saying that he wasn't worthy or anything but there could be other factors to why he wasn't admitted.</p>

6

<p>I've heard about stanford and other schools actually disliking people with near-perfect stats because they seem almost unhuman. like they'd take a 2200 or 2300 kid with a passion for surfing over your friend just because.</p>

7

<p>Along the lines of what hookem said, my cousin got into Stanford and his only ECs were volunteering at the library and his rock band named "day old sushi." He did go to TJ and have a 2380 SAT, though.</p>

8

<p>What hookem says is not strictly true. Stanford and other schools will not hold it against you for having a 2400, a 4.0, and lots of 5's on the AP exams-in fact it will be a huge plus in your application. These colleges value academic excellence and it is in no way inhuman to do so well. They will hold it against you if you haven't achieved anything extracurricularly and you come off like an ass in your essays. Granted, they'd hold that against you regardless of your stats.</p>

9

<p>It's also worth mentioning that Stanford was his TOP CHOICE and so he was very dissapointed. His recommendations were stellar, and i can assume the same for his essay. </p>

<p>When i asked him why he thought he got rejected he felt that perhaps the stanford officers didn't think he would contribute to the diversity of the school.</p>

10

<p>Not many people get into their top choice school, especially when applying to the likes of Stanford, Penn, and Duke. You'd be surprised to hear that even kids at HYPSM would rather be somewhere else. I'm not saying I don't empathize with him, no one wants to be rejected from their first choice. What I don't empathize with is anyone blaming his rejection on the basis of affirmative action. I'm not accusing either you or he of doing this, I'm just saying that there are myriad reasons as to why he didn't get admitted and affirmative action probably isn't one of them.</p>

11

<p>I agree completely, and to be honest, i'm sure affirmative action played only a miniscule role in the ultimate decision. You'd be surprised to learn that of the six kids who applied to Stanford from my school, the two that got in were the following type of candidate: </p>

<p>First kid that got in was VERY smart, as well. His application almost mirrored the application i posted above. He is asian - so just for those affirmative action people - you're wrong!</p>

<p>Second kid that got in was pretty smart, i would say B+ / A- student with some occasional Bs. He was black/hispanic and tried out for the NY yankees. He happened to be one of the best baseball players in New York U18 - i think he got a 1990 on his SAT, but that might be a rumor...</p>

12

<p>"Along the lines of what hookem said, my cousin got into Stanford and his only ECs were volunteering at the library and his rock band named "day old sushi." He did go to TJ and have a 2380 SAT, though."</p>

<p>I hope this is true because you just got my hopes up again that there is hope.</p>

13

<p>maybe it's possible that stanford doesn't consider the date that the student took the test? but that would be really unwise, colleges are always saying "context context blarblarblar..."
that would dampen his application alot</p>

<p>and idk but the ec's seem mediocre, according the cc standards, u really see no passion in them. doing community service in china or varisty sports, they dont take a lot of initiative.</p>

<p>note that i mean as little offense as possible, its just a possible explanation. ur friend is pretty much UBER.</p>

14

<p>it's clear that he's a study machine; perfect stats don't necessarily mean genius, just hard work and a little bit of talent. I'm guessing the essays came off a bit dry, as it doesn't seem like he is very passionate about his ECs (no particular focus I can see...). Although, the language thing is pretty impressive, which is why Wharton probably took him.</p>

15

<p>Like everyone said, stats are only part of the entire picture. Beyond some point, it really becomes a matter of passion, interest, essays, and the like.</p>

<p>Also, leadership seems absent.</p>

16

<p>If you look at the best of the best schools you will find a acceptable range for SAT scores like Middle 50% or upper 25%. If as an applicant you attain these scores along with an acceptable GPA you will be kept from being thrown in the round file, with some exceptions of course. It is now up to the applicant to provide Stanford or HYPE that there is something special that they can bring that adds to the diversity of the Stanford community compared to the thousands of other reall smart applicants each year. Diversity challenges intellect. Do you think that a school 100% full of 2400 SAT and 4.? GPA students would build on it's intellect. Stanford is a family / community environment that is largely based on diversity. And the diversity sought is much more that URM status. So if you have a perfect score and perfect grades that's super! But there's a long line of you. You will also need to bring something special to catch thier attention.</p>

17

<p>If he truly was that fantastic and he didn't write terrible essays, then he probably made a grave mistake in his applications. Given that information, there was no reason for him to be rejected.</p>

<p>Perhaps you're trying to discourage potential applicants by making it seem like it's impossible to be accepted...</p>

18

<p>Jazzy</p>

<p>I like your post....especially "Diversity challenges intellect.....and the diversity sought is much more than URM status."</p>

<p>You've hit the nail on the head.</p>

19

<p>Thanks FresnoMom. After being admitted EA at Stanford last year, my daughter was rejected rd at Penn. Although hurt, she was also relieved. Wharton, at Penn, was extremely competetive, not only to get into but during the four years attending. It seemed to be a very stressful environment that produced clone-like students who had the same carrot awaiting them, to be get rich I-bankers. I honestly feel that what got her into Stanford, lots of volunteer hours working with and leading on community-minded not for profits, is the same thing that kept her out of Wharton or Penn. Each school looks for something very different. Each kid is different and has different passions and should seek out their best fit regardless of Ranking. Good luck in your kids search!</p>

20

<p>The Admissions Officer was Drunk and stamped the wrong stamp... JK. No but I think he was just unlucky. Part of being accepted to college is that "connection" you make with the admissions officers. He made it at Duke and Penn and probably didn't have it at HYPS.</p>