@DLithium this is my exact answer to that question (I was accepted REA):
Videos: Vox, because they’re both aesthetic and informative. Buzzfeed, because they’re just fun!
Music: Recently, mostly Hip-Hop/R&B (Logic, Chance the Rapper, Khalid…)
Also Alternative (Imagine Dragons, Lorde, The Killers…)
And Musical Theater (Spring Awakening, The Color Purple…)
News: NYTimes, mainly. Articles/essays that come up on my Facebook. And, truthfully, Snapchat.
@epenguin How did you submit an answer with 52 words?
@epenguin Perhaps they used a different word counter. Congratulations!!
Accepted! My GPA is pretty good (4.0 Unweighed 4.19 weighted), my testing scores are way below average though.
@redwingz123 Congrats on getting deferred! That in itself is a huge accomplishment.
That resume is fairly impressive at first glance, but after taking a closer look it seems like you actually got pretty lucky to get deferred. While the GPA is still above average for several universities, Stanford holds its students to a much higher standard, and yours is honestly extremely underwhelming. For your ACT score, standardized testing isn’t too significant now that people can practically pay for a good score. Your score actually isn’t too bad, assuming you didn’t pay thousands of dollars for a class, in which case that would also be very disappointing, but not too surprising.
It’s pretty good that you’ve founded so many clubs and organizations because it really sets itself apart from your poor introduction. The community service hours accumulated also is super helpful if you’re not going for the academics/intelligence approach. Hell, if I were reading that transcript, I would think that most of it was made up or heavily exaggerated! Personally I’m surprised that they deferred you in the first place, but they must’ve seen a very, very small spark in you.
I think that if you spoke more about an authentic experience as part of the LGBTQ community, you might have a much better chance to set yourself apart from the passive, or even fake members that align themselves with the group.
Don’t feel discouraged though, miracles can always happen!
I was looking at some acceptances, denials and deferrals in the REA decisions string. I have no idea how someone like the memelord (the last poster in REA decision) applicant cannot even get a deferral. Great test scores, great GPA, female in STEM, legacy, strong ECs, she seemed to have had a very good interview and written good personal essays. She strikes me as someone who is not only good in STEM but in music and other areas. smh double smh.
Is this a real post?
@websensation I heard RSI 9/9 accepted by Stanford EA, 8/13 accepted by Harvard EA, so wondering who told the truth.
there was a guy from my school who went to RSI and got deferred so I don’t think thats true @newHSmom
Male , Applying to Computer Science
Out of State
applying RD
SAT: 1560 (M: 800, R: 760)
Math II: 800, Physics: 800 Chem: 750
GPA: 4.37 weighted ; expecting GPA to be around 4.5 at the end of 1st Semester senior year
Significant course rigor; all courses honors/ap/post ap
AP Courses: US History, Computer Science, Calculus BC, AP Physics (5 on all )
Senior courses : Multi Variable Calculus, Linear Algebra, AP English, AP Gov, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics
Part time job : research intern since junior
Summer internships : Research work in AI
Lot of programming experience (C, C++, Python, Java)
Various Hackathons prizes
Volunteering : since sophomore > 130 hrs
Lot of STEM related EC
NO sports achievements
National Merit Semifinalist
National Honor Society
AP Scholar with Distinction
stem competition awards
Published research paper, presenting in January at a prestigious international robotics conference
Please chance me …
@robokid I suggest you really take time to craft and edit your essays as they are truly what matter the most. Tell a very unique story in your essay. This might sound cliche but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t my 1460 sat score or my 650 Sat biology score that got me accepted REA…
Make good use of the short prompts to highlight various aspects of yourself as an individual. I wish you all the best! 
Thanks will do. How can I play up my research journal paper and conference presentation ?
@lutetium9 you should check out the deferred applicants thread!
Has anyone received anything in the mail regarding acceptance/rejection/deferred?
Is there a thread for class of 2022 RD?
@itzperez I think accepted applicants have received a folder with a printed version of the acceptance letter in the status update, a sticker for the window of a car, and a sheet with more information about Stanford and instructions on how to accept enrollment, which I got Thursday night US Time. And then there was an email on 18 Dec about the acceptance
Hey congrats! Can I know what your test scores were?
@quincyl I got a 35 ACT, 720 Lit, 800 Math II. Okay, sorry for the long, kinda unsolicited response, but my acceptance has been really making me reflect on why I got in. And, honestly, I don’t think it was my test scores that did it for me because, at this point, there are so many applicants that have those numbers. Not that you are at fault or anything, but, while it’s easy to latch onto quantitative metrics such as test scores, these only go so far, and schools like Stanford know it. Everyone asks about test scores, but you should really be asking about activities, awards, jobs, internships, essays. When you have a pool that qualified, you have to go beyond that and look for more subjective metrics such as character, initiative, leadership, and perseverance. That’s why you see kids with perfect 1600s and 4.0s getting rejected, and that’s why schools ask for essays and a list of your activities. The crazy open-endedness of the “what matters to you” prompt shows you that they want to see who are you really are and what your character entails. Past the numbers, Stanford wants to know: who are you as a person and what are you capable of achieving? They are looking for people who they believe will somehow make an impact in the world and be active contributors within society, which, let’s be real, grades and test scores don’t indicate. And, plus, there’s luck that factors in, too, with admissions, and I just want to end on a note that where you go is not even close to the kind of person you are or will be. I recently talked with an alum who told me about how he knows so many people that got in and just didn’t know what to do with themselves and saw getting into college as the end when it’s actually just the beginning.
*all totally my speculation, just me not being/knowing any admissions officers and doing some research
@sandy44 I totally agree with you!
People. Lots of.brilliant applicants - or apparently smart ones- get bad Recs because they have problems. Bullies. Verbal assaulters cheaters thieves. BORING. Bad interviews. Liars. Plagiarism. OH. Did I mention fit? One guy I interviewed wanted to major in something we did not have. I asked this number 2 out of 750 class why he applied. He said he just made a list of the top 20 off US
News and applied to all. LOL Having served on committees at 4 top 15 schools… there are plenty of apparently flawless applicants to the world that are problematic. I rest my case
Adcoms are not perfect, so sometimes their acceptances turn out not so good, and they let some really fabulous applicants get away.