<p>For those taking the biggest chance of their life: applying to Stanford with FAR from perfect stats.</p>
<p>Who else is going to make their best possible effort to show their true personality in their supplement? Who else is going to attempt at showing Stanford that they are that <em>missing piece</em>?</p>
<p>I'm not putting all my eggs in this basket, but hey, it's worth a try.</p>
<p>Je suis en d’accord avec vous.</p>
<p>I’m far from perfect, statistically speaking, but I’ve reached national acclaim in my extracurricular activities, and I’ve accomplished all this despite coming from a low-income (>10k), single parent household. I came off as a serious person in my essays, but I hope Stanford sees “something” in me beyond first impressions.</p>
<p>Cheers to you, topramenbaklava!
Je te desire le meilleur! :)</p>
<p>I’ve got an Art Supplement and an award or two for photography…plus Legacy (my father) and a few long terms ECs…but, I’m heavily relying on these essays to make me stand apart from my slightly below par Stats.</p>
<p>woohoo. This is my first post on College Confidential. Good luck to all!</p>
<p>This thread is redundant. Isn’t Stanford “extremely unlikely” for just about everyone? :P</p>
<p>M0DESTmouse: One of my first posts on here! Good luck to you, and love your username, Modest Mouse is a great band!</p>
<p>adchang: You’ve got a point there, it’s very much a lottery for all Stanford applicants…but people like myself have an even worse chance…having <4.0 :(</p>
<p>I myself am not a 4.0 either. (I blame my school’s ridiculous 7 point scale)</p>
<p>A 7.0 scale may be to your advantage, although Stanford definitely has a variety of formulas to really understand your GPA no matter what scale it’s on! What state are you in or do you attend a private school?</p>
<p>My stats arent great 
(im international so SAT’s are like an extracurrcular to me) only got 2000 in the recent test (am taking again though)</p>
<p>hopefully theyll look past that into my personality through the supplement (that and ive reached international acclaim in my extracurricular)</p>
<p>Same here man. Read for my SAT’s in like 2 weeks. Though I do not understand the scale collegeboard used in the end. I failed only 1 q in math and got a 770, only 2 in writing with a essay of 8 and got a 710, failed 6 and skipped 1 in CR and got 670??? ***? Anyway, lets hope that won’t adversely decrease my chances. :(</p>
<p>The opposite side of Stanford Syndrome today…</p>
<p>I’ve heard of many instances where Stanford overlooks test scores (2000 is a really good starting point…I, myself, am right in that range…). Trying to stay positive, I realize now that I should’ve probably applied for Single Choice Early Action…</p>
<p>Random question but…teacher recs are due past our app deadline, am I right? Because to submit the Art Supplement I have to get my app & supp in by the 1st of December…but does this mean my teachers must do the same?</p>
<p>youthography, I don’t think you’ve erred in not applying early action to Stanford. The early action pool is loaded with people with incredible stats and is extremely competitive. Also, I don’t think Stanford “overlooks” test scores so much as puts them in context with each person’s overall application. They are always an important part of the application. Accepted students with scores/GPA in the bottom quartile of top colleges’ applicant pool are typically hooked in one or more ways. Good luck in RD.</p>
<p>Oh yes, I definitely agree with you, zenkoan!</p>
<p>What I mean when I say ‘overlook’ is somewhat based on the assumption that the student has reached a certain point (let’s say around 2000 SAT I and a 3.6 GPA, rigorous course load, decent EC and involvement in community)…basically a student who has definite plans of attending a four year university.
I think even those stats are likely at the very bottom of the accepted pool, it is still worth it for students in that range to apply if they are confident they can present their personality and passion within the context of their essays.</p>
<p>Thank you for the good wishes, zenkoan.</p>
<p>I’ve poked around the boards quite a bit about the Legacy hook, there is obviously no definite answer on its impact…but if anybody would care to share their take on it, please feel free to do so here… ! :)</p>
<p>My understanding of legacy at Stanford is that it functions as more of “tip” than a “hook.” By “tip” I mean a factor that can sometimes give a slight favorable nudge to an applicant who is otherwise basically equivalent to another applicant or group of applicants in terms of overall qualifications. By contrast, a “hook” gives a significant boost to a candidate, and can sometimes compensate (to an extent) for a less-competitive aspect of an application. It’s also helpful to distinguish legacy applicants from “developmental” applicants. The latter come from families who have donated very large sums of money to the college. They are usually legacy students, since their alumni parents tend to be the ones who are motivated to make the huge donations, but not always. Being a “developmental” admit is probably the biggest hook of all for admission to any college, but they are by definition a tiny group of applicants.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for the clarification, zenkoan.</p>
<p>How I wish my father had a six figure salary…just a joke, I want to honestly be accepted/deferred/rejected on my own terms.</p>
<p>True dat, youthography. It’s hard to imagine what it would be like to be the (sorta dim) offspring of some high roller, and have everyone realize that your parents bought your spot, but there are a few of these running around at every prestigious college. They do help pay for campus bling of various kinds, so be kind when you meet them, wherever you eventually attend next fall. : ) Disclaimer: I am not implying that all students from very wealthy backgrounds are sorta dim.</p>
<p>Yes, exactly. Not all are dim, but I’ve met my fair share of simple-minded offspring of the wealthy…but, true, we must be thankful for their donations which allow Stanford to give such great financial aid to those that need it!</p>
<p>Let’s pray I shall be attending Stanford next fall…“pray” being the key word ;)</p>
<p>hola hola here to join the board! almost regretted not applying REA…but my stats wouldn’t compare to the extreme high-caliber of those applicants. good luck to all!!!</p>
<p>Welcome, FrenchSilkPie! Moi, aussi…moi, aussi! :)</p>
<p>has anyone started on the supplemental essays?</p>