<p>Stanford boasts about how they go for the well rounded really smart kids vs the academic superacheivers with no personality. Is this true or just a bluff for more applicants?
My grades aren't great(probably finish about 14-15 in my class of 699, with hardest schedule possible).
3 years-jazz band
4 years varsity golf
3 years-academic challenge(quizbowl)
NHS president
3 years volunteering
How are my chances?</p>
<p>Also, if Stanford calculates their own GPA, how do they still take class rank into consideration if the rank is determined on a different scale?</p>
<p>I don't remember ever reading Stanford boasted about "well-rounded applicants." If anything, they've boasted about their students being "wonderfully lop-sided."</p>
<p>yea, i think laurak's right, i've only heard stanford brag about its students who are exceptional at one thing - like at this one stanford event i went to, some adcom woman was talking incessantly about a kid they accepted who had spent his entire life studying bees. he knew everything about bees, grew them, studied them - everything. and i'm sitting there thinking w.t.f., who really cares about some kid who is obsessed with bee's? i'd much rather talk to someone well rounded who can talk about more than just...bees.</p>
<p>I have heard that Stanford is generally considered more well-rounded than other top schools. Of course they'd rather have someone who spends 3 hours a day on one hobby rather than 1 minutes a day on 180 hobbies. But as far as the make-up of the student body, people have told me that you will find more well-rounded students and fewer really-good-at-only-one-thing students than at other top places like Harvard and MIT. I don't know if that actually affects your chances or not.</p>