What do you think was the #1 reason you got accepted into Stanford?
I think you should focus on what is the #1 reason you can get into Stanford instead. What our son did between October last year and March this year made a huge difference and got him admitted. Instead of reading College Confidential, your time is better spent elsewhere.
@ganbatte What did your son do, if you don’t mind sharing?
If I shared, my son would be upset. He told me I am addicted to College Confidential. But I do miss the time we were struggling through the application process last year. Empty nest syndrome has been tough.
Perhaps more helpful is to tell you the kind of students I have encountered during the admit weekend. Several founded startups; some were finalists or semifinalists at various science/ math contests; some have published in peer-reviewed journals; some have started organizations that have made an impact in their communities; one guy started bakery delivery service on unicycle (according to Dean Shaw). Everyone seems to be smarter and more social than me, and it seems they all have done something special or unique. My advice to you: find out what is unique about you, and try to nurture what you feel passionate about. Everyone is different.
Every Admitted student is unique. And nobody can guarantee the admitted ones of this year can be admitted next year. So I recommend you to do your own unique things which can show your passion.
Ah
@ganbatte My current situation: I am the owner of a company that sells skin care and makeup products online (e-commerce), and am doing laboratory research on lung cancer. My fervent passion(s) is health/biology and business, and I find these two fields to be the most unique to me that few others share. However, I currently go to a magnet school with high-level science classes and have B+s in most of them. I wonder if an admissions officer will find it odd for someone who is so passionate in health/biology to have the lowest grades than her other subjects and other peers. What do you think?
I re-read that and I sound really arrogant… :0 forgive me, I’m trying to work on it.
@cuteraspberries Sorry to barge in here, but may I ask about your company? As an entrepreneur myself I LOVE seeing other teens’ endeavors. Are you running a drop shipping type store or have you developed the products yourself? Outsourced manufacturing yet? Very cool 
@ganbatte I would be careful about implying that most Stanford students have wild accomplishments like those you mention. Sure, there are Olympic gold medalists and international science fair winners and CEOS of companies in your classes, but I have found that the vast majority of people have no such crowning achievement. Rather, what has made Stanford so special for me is the passion of the students. For example, in my friend group, there are people who love music, gaming, soccer, badminton, and board games. We may not have any “wow” accomplishments, but we all actively pursue our interests.
@gambatte I agree. My kid was admitted as REA, and we attended two receptions. I would say most (70% plus) don’t have off the wall or “wow” accomplishments like already running a company that makes half million dollars a year etc. Few, I found even annoying, although most were personable and seemed to have some areas they were very good or interested in.
As an aside, the kid who impressed me the most was 10 year old kid of the Stanford alumnus host who hosted the reception. That kid already won some award, could hold a very clear conversation with an adult and his passion to learn shined through. And he had a natural charisma along with innocence.
Additional comment to my above post: I realized then that some admitted students based on legacy are more than well qualified and deserve to be admitted to Stanford. And if there are two “equal” applicants, it makes sense to accept the legacy based applicants over non-legacy applicants to maintain or increase the royalty to Stanford. And this young kid really wanted to attend Stanford because his parents had attended the school.
@EquestrianCEO Hey no problem. It hasn’t exactly launched yet (I haven’t launched it to the public to make money, but my local government approved of it) and it is still in the making. It is indeed a dropshipping type store and I promote some of Amazon’s products through Amazon Affiliate Services. The website is cocoaandraspberries.com. Why do you ask?
@cuteraspberries Sweet! I ask because “As an entrepreneur myself I LOVE seeing other teens’ endeavors.” 
I have a few companies of my own, not in cosmetics/drop shipping though. Site looks awesome, great job. Shopify is life!