<p>Even if you are an URM, have excellent essays, have an excellent SAT/ACT score, have great recommendations, and have excellent ECs and leadership qualities?</p>
<p>Hey, if you pay the application fee they’ll consider you. So yes.</p>
<p>But will they actually “consider you?”</p>
<p>EDIT: And that’s assuming you have no legacy ties or anything like that.</p>
<p>They give all applicants a thorough review, of course. So they definitely will. There’s no “cutoff”.</p>
<p>Hmm. Not really getting the direct answer I’m looking for.</p>
<p>Alright. If the director of admissions looks at your application, and sees all of this spectacular stuff (listed in the first post) first, and THEN sees that you have around a 3.5, will that directly put you into the rejection/waitlist column, or will all of that spectacular stuff outweigh the GPA?</p>
<p>I want to know, also.</p>
<p>The only people who know that are the admission officers, and they’re not exactly forthright in sharing details on the process.</p>
<p>I don’t know what a URM is, and I’d be curious to see what you define as an excellent ACT score, but…</p>
<p>The answer you’re looking for is probably a no. I’m sorry, but we have to be honest…a gpa below 3.7 is a serious disadvantage in applying to the Top 20 schools. Those are schools for students who made major personal sacrifices their entire life in order to look perfect to college admissions people. That’s not necessarily a bad thing though, because every other respectable school in the country would be glad to have you, if your ECs and essays are really as good as you say they are.</p>
<p>There’s definitely nothing for certain because I’m certain that people with 3.5s and possibly below get accepted to HYPSM all the time but these are special circumstances and 99% of the time occur because you’re a legacy or your dad is Warren Buffet. I think you are looking for a blunt answer and not something around the bush, so most likely…3.5 hell no. It’s a whole friggin .2 points beneath Stanford’s bottomest standards (I’m being somewhat facetious of course).</p>
<p>Just look up Stanford’s Common Data Set and examine the GPA distributions.
[Stanford</a> University: Common Data Set 2008-2009](<a href=“Stanford Common Data Set | University Communications”>Stanford Common Data Set | University Communications)</p>
<p>See, the sum of GPAs below 3.5 was 3.7%. That’s for enrolled students. The percentage of admitted students with GPAs under 3.5 might have been a little different. </p>
<p>So, let’s say it makes your chances 1 in 25 instead of 1 in 10 or whatever it is. But you have not really said what you mean by “spectacular stuff”. I think their standard for “excellent ECs” is spectacular indeed, if we mean enough to get you in despite grades in that range. Olympic athlete? Acted on Broadway, or in a major motion picture? HYPS do attract applicants in that league.</p>
<p>URM is a definate hook, but the 3.5 GPA can be a definate negative. Whether one will balance the other out depends on how many other URM’s in your category and what other positives, fit, etc. you bring to the campus. There have been cases of 3.5’s (and lower) being admitted to the top 20…Write an awesome essay, have outstanding recommendations and GO FOR IT.</p>
<p>“I think you are looking for a blunt answer and not something around the bush, so most likely…3.5 hell no.”</p>
<p>Haha, that’s more of what I was going for. Thanks.</p>
<p>I mean, don’t not try if you really want to go.</p>
<p>IIRC, there was a person on this board not too long ago that made it into Stanford with a 3.49. Granted, her GPA went on a severely upward trend, but it shows you that it definitely is possible.</p>
<p>If you are a thousand yard per season rusher or you can run the mile in very close to four minutes, a 3.5 will do just fine. But lacking some big hook like that, it’s going to be very tough.</p>
<p>I actually talked to someone and they got into Stanford with a 3.4 GPA and it was a shock to them.</p>
<p>Stanford along with HYPM all have prescreening which means it is somebodys job to go through all the applications to weed out the people who don’t have the “secret” numbers they are looking for (gpa, SATs, ACTs). No matter how many extracurriculars/clubs you have done there is somebody else applying who has all that plus a 4.0 and near perfect SATs. Once you get past that point you are truly considered by a real admissions officer. I don’t mean to get you down but I have a friend who had a really rough time in high school (his family was dirt poor and he had to live at my house for several months) and he had roughly a 3.65 compelling essays/ 2310 SAT and he was denied. He is also native american. If he didn’t get in then I really can’t say anybody with lower stats than that has a chance</p>
<p>Stanford has to fillup D1 Pac10 teams somehow. If you’re not going to be an NBA lottery pick or an NFL day 1 draft pick a 3.5 puts you at a significant disadvantage. Not to say you will be outright rejected, but there are more than enough students with perfect grades, amazing ECs, top test scores, etc. rejected from Stanford that having a major deficiency in one of those areas could be a kiss of death. You would need to have something really special to overcome a low GPA or low test score.</p>
<p>Are you talking about 10-12 GPA or the 9-12 GPA?</p>
<p>I heard Stanford throws out freshman year. Anyone want to confirm?</p>
<p>Also, on their website it says that they look at you core classes for 10th and 11th grade ( Spanish, English, Math, Science, and History.) If I didn’t take spanish in 10th grade but I self studied it and moved on to the next level in 11th grade and got an A, would it matter if I took it at school in 10th grade?</p>
<p>I dunno the answers to I’m. But Stanford reviews people’s ENTIRE applications. They pay lots of admissions officers to go through EVERY application that’s submitted (there’s a reason for the application fee), so yes, there’s a chance. Good chance? No, not in the least. But, depending on your shcool, GPA doesn’t necessarily mean what it does at other schools. If your school’s 2300 scorers typically get a 3.5,t then you’ve got a pretty good chance. If your school’s 2000 scorers typically get a 4.0, then no, your chances aren’t looking so hot.</p>
<p>I’m (the poster) is right! Stanford does take out your freshman year, so it should make your GPA a lot higher.</p>