Weird thing about Stanford's transfer admissions

Colleges and Universities A-Z Stanford University
1

After visiting Silicon Valley for spring break, seeing all the startups and big companies, and visiting Stanford’s campus, I really got interested in transferring to somewhere in the area. Pretty much the only place I can afford is Stanford, and I immediately became discouraged when I saw that 2% rate. But under further inspection, I noticed something very strange about their stats. From the most recent year available (2016) a QUARTER of their admissions came from people with under a 600 on SAT math, and another quarter was 600-699. As far as reading goes, an entire quarter was 600-699. Comparing that to Freshman admissions, only 30% had less than <700 on reading, and 22% <700 on math.

Does this mean that they weigh college GPA heavier? Or maybe extracurriculars?

As someone with a 1380 SAT (only took once so I could improve), 3.5 GPA, and (as humbly as possible) very good ECs, does this mean that I have a remote possibility? Or at least better than Freshman admission?

2

Look at San Jose State and Santa Clara University too.

3

Your gpa is pretty low. The people you’re seeing with low sat reading stats are likely kids born abroad who learned English as a second language. If you can afford Stanford you can afford anywhere

4

The inverse correlation you’re seeing is because Stanford takes a lot of non-traditional students as transfers. Military, CC transfer, etc. So these types of students have lower test scores due to other priorities. So it doesn’t mean that having a lower SAT will result in a greater chance of admission.