Anonymous
06/28/2014 20:28
Subject: Re:My son wants to apply to Stanford only. I want to encourage him, but do not think it is realistic
Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for all the feedback. Thank goodness the kid seems to have his head on a little more straight now. He will apply to more schools. He got his 2nd attempt ACT scores back and did much better. I want him to shoot for the stars, but have a good backup plan. Thanks again.
If he doesn't apply, he won't get in for sure. But make sure his target and safety schools are schools he'd be happy enough to attend. As the old adage goes, "love your safeties."
Anonymous
06/28/2014 20:25
Subject: Re:My son wants to apply to Stanford only. I want to encourage him, but do not think it is realistic
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Stanford's acceptance rate is 5%, right?
I just read an article about Stanford (in the NYT?).
At an acceptance rate of 5%, getting in is reduced to a lottery. Only the very best kids apply, and only a few of those kids in that pool will get in.
If you look closely at the admissions process, it's so subjective once the stats are reached. There is a very large pool of kids who have the stats to get into Stanford, but only a fraction of those kids (maybe slightly more than 5%, but not much, since it's a self-selecting group who apply) will be accepted, including kids with great extracurriculars, great "hooks," great everything.
Stanford has to choose someone, so they rely on the subjective opinions of their admissions staff, and the needs of the school, which you (we, as parents and kids as applicants) are not privy to. Perhaps they need a trombone player, so the trombonists get a boost, but French horns are out!
In short, all of the most selective schools have too many applicants who meet all the qualifications for admission, so at that point admission is based on subjective opinion and the needs of the school (as I mentioned above).
A bright kid will know, after a short amount of research, that he/she needs to apply to a range of schools. Crazy to fall in love with one school. And not very smart.
Great post. This is true at all the highly selective universities. The game for these top universities is to make the first cut by jumping through some hoops wrt GPA and SATs. After that, it really is a crapshoot as to who gets the acceptance. Do they need a trombone? Does the admissions person have a headache when he reads your essay? Does your passion for naked organic gardening ring a personal note with the admissions officer who also happens to like naked organic gardening, or at least is impressed by your perseverence in doing it through the Alaskan winter?
Who can say. But at the end of the day, perfect GPAs and SATs just get you dumped in the second round with thousands of other kids with perfect GPAs and SATs.
Anonymous
06/28/2014 19:21
Subject: Re:My son wants to apply to Stanford only. I want to encourage him, but do not think it is realistic
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Stanford's acceptance rate is 5%, right?
I just read an article about Stanford (in the NYT?).
At an acceptance rate of 5%, getting in is reduced to a lottery. Only the very best kids apply, and only a few of those kids in that pool will get in.
If you look closely at the admissions process, it's so subjective once the stats are reached. There is a very large pool of kids who have the stats to get into Stanford, but only a fraction of those kids (maybe slightly more than 5%, but not much, since it's a self-selecting group who apply) will be accepted, including kids with great extracurriculars, great "hooks," great everything.
Stanford has to choose someone, so they rely on the subjective opinions of their admissions staff, and the needs of the school, which you (we, as parents and kids as applicants) are not privy to. Perhaps they need a trombone player, so the trombonists get a boost, but French horns are out!
In short, all of the most selective schools have too many applicants who meet all the qualifications for admission, so at that point admission is based on subjective opinion and the needs of the school (as I mentioned above).
A bright kid will know, after a short amount of research, that he/she needs to apply to a range of schools. Crazy to fall in love with one school. And not very smart.
This is very well stated and directly "on point". I hope that kid opens his eyes to the real world.
Anonymous
06/28/2014 12:43
Subject: Re:My son wants to apply to Stanford only. I want to encourage him, but do not think it is realistic
Anonymous wrote:Stanford's acceptance rate is 5%, right?
I just read an article about Stanford (in the NYT?).
At an acceptance rate of 5%, getting in is reduced to a lottery. Only the very best kids apply, and only a few of those kids in that pool will get in.
If you look closely at the admissions process, it's so subjective once the stats are reached. There is a very large pool of kids who have the stats to get into Stanford, but only a fraction of those kids (maybe slightly more than 5%, but not much, since it's a self-selecting group who apply) will be accepted, including kids with great extracurriculars, great "hooks," great everything.
Stanford has to choose someone, so they rely on the subjective opinions of their admissions staff, and the needs of the school, which you (we, as parents and kids as applicants) are not privy to. Perhaps they need a trombone player, so the trombonists get a boost, but French horns are out!
In short, all of the most selective schools have too many applicants who meet all the qualifications for admission, so at that point admission is based on subjective opinion and the needs of the school (as I mentioned above).
A bright kid will know, after a short amount of research, that he/she needs to apply to a range of schools. Crazy to fall in love with one school. And not very smart.
Anonymous
06/28/2014 11:47
Subject: My son wants to apply to Stanford only. I want to encourage him, but do not think it is realistic.
Yes.
Anonymous
06/28/2014 10:58
Subject: Re:My son wants to apply to Stanford only. I want to encourage him, but do not think it is realistic
Stanford's acceptance rate is 5%, right?
Anonymous
06/28/2014 10:45
Subject: My son wants to apply to Stanford only. I want to encourage him, but do not think it is realistic.
PP,
It's not impossible but there is nothing in OP's description that suggests he's got a decent shot. I would not call us naysayers! Stanford and the Ivies reject many applicants with perfect scores. Stanford, unlike Harvard and Yale, does not disclose its legacy accepts. Who knows what it is.
If I was OP, Stanford would be the backup if accepted! I'd focus on realistic acceptances.
It's not impossible but there is nothing in OP's description that suggests he's got a decent shot. I would not call us naysayers! Stanford and the Ivies reject many applicants with perfect scores. Stanford, unlike Harvard and Yale, does not disclose its legacy accepts. Who knows what it is.
If I was OP, Stanford would be the backup if accepted! I'd focus on realistic acceptances.
Anonymous
06/27/2014 06:50
Subject: My son wants to apply to Stanford only. I want to encourage him, but do not think it is realistic.
OP, it is wise to have a back-up, but don't be too discouraged by the naysayers, it's not easy, but also not as impossible as some suggest. Also, transferring in after a year is a realistic path.
Anonymous
06/26/2014 13:48
Subject: Re:My son wants to apply to Stanford only. I want to encourage him, but do not think it is realistic
OP here. Thanks for all the feedback. Thank goodness the kid seems to have his head on a little more straight now. He will apply to more schools. He got his 2nd attempt ACT scores back and did much better. I want him to shoot for the stars, but have a good backup plan. Thanks again.
Anonymous
06/25/2014 19:18
Subject: My son wants to apply to Stanford only. I want to encourage him, but do not think it is realistic.
OP does you DC's school have college counselors?
Anonymous
06/23/2014 22:34
Subject: My son wants to apply to Stanford only. I want to encourage him, but do not think it is realistic.
Can you afford it?
Anonymous
06/23/2014 16:23
Subject: Re:My son wants to apply to Stanford only. I want to encourage him, but do not think it is realistic
Anonymous wrote:Most gap years are kids who have been accepted somewhere and defer, not kids who hope to go to a competitive college by applying the year after they graduate. Unless you have a spectacular story about what you are doing in your gap year ("I didn't get in to Stanford and didn't have any other options" isn't a good one), or have health or family issues that made it impractical, typically your application is not improved by waiting a year. I'm sure there are exceptions to this but it's not an option I would bank on.
The OP seems to have disappeared so perhaps she/he was a troll.
Agree that most gap years are planned such that if x activity comes through, the student will defer college for one year. And getting rejected and applying again without some HUGE change in your resume isn't going to get you into Stanford the second time around. I think the above advice about saying he'll take a gap yr if he doesn't get into S is just what you tell other students/peers so that you don't have to discuss it in depth. What he does for his plan B is up to him.
Anonymous
06/23/2014 10:46
Subject: Re:My son wants to apply to Stanford only. I want to encourage him, but do not think it is realistic
Most gap years are kids who have been accepted somewhere and defer, not kids who hope to go to a competitive college by applying the year after they graduate. Unless you have a spectacular story about what you are doing in your gap year ("I didn't get in to Stanford and didn't have any other options" isn't a good one), or have health or family issues that made it impractical, typically your application is not improved by waiting a year. I'm sure there are exceptions to this but it's not an option I would bank on.
The OP seems to have disappeared so perhaps she/he was a troll.
The OP seems to have disappeared so perhaps she/he was a troll.
Anonymous
06/23/2014 02:02
Subject: My son wants to apply to Stanford only. I want to encourage him, but do not think it is realistic.
Anonymous wrote:Do kids have to reveal where else they are applying? If so, wouldn't it seem arrogant to say "nowhere else"?!
Meaning on an application or to each other? Certain applications do ask where else you've applied but people do leave that blank and I don't think it counts against you; the school doesn't care if you have a plan B or not -- it's not like they're more/less likely to take you if they realize you've put all your eggs in one basket. As for revealing it to others in high school, I mean it does come across as standoffish if you say to your peers/friends of 12 yrs "sorry I'm not discussing where I'm applying" as if it's a state secret. That being said I know kids who've done it and it's not like they've lost their friends doing that. With friends you can always keep it vague "I'm applying to Stanford." Where else - "I haven't figured it out yet" or "I don't know -- I'm thinking of taking a gap year if S doesn't come through."
Anonymous
06/22/2014 22:52
Subject: My son wants to apply to Stanford only. I want to encourage him, but do not think it is realistic.
Do kids have to reveal where else they are applying? If so, wouldn't it seem arrogant to say "nowhere else"?!