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Be Stanford-Bound with IvyBound!

Stanford University-- #6 National University (US News & World Report)

In 1885, Jane and Leland Stanford established Stanford University in memory of their son, Leland Junior. Their intent was to establish a “University of high degree” that would “qualify students for personal success and direct usefulness in life and promote the public welfare by exercising an influence on behalf of humanity and civilization.” Today, Stanford is a research university where teaching, learning and research are integral to the university’s mission.

Stanford values close interaction between undergraduates and faculty. Undergraduate student participation in research is strongly supported and, in 2016-17, Stanford allocated about $5.6 million to support 1,049 projects. Stanford’s entrepreneurial spirit draws from its location in Silicon Valley and the legacy of its founders. Stanford emphasizes multidisciplinary approaches to teaching and research, and academic excellence crosses disciplines, ranging from humanities to social sciences to engineering and the sciences.

Stanford is known to be a place for learning, discovery, innovation, expression and discourse. Each applicant is evaluated with an eye to academic excellence, intellectual vitality, extracurricular activity, and personal context.

 

Stanford follows the holistic review process of each applicant. For those with special talents– artistic, athletic, musical– those talents are factored into the process. However, all applicants, even athletes, have to meet the high academic bar of Stanford.

Admissions Requirements

Application Fee$90, waived for financial aid applicants
Standardized TestsSAT or ACT (Essay optional)
SAT Subject TestsTwo Recommended.
If you applying for the Bachelor of Science in Engineering, recommended that you take either Math Level I or II, and either Physics or Chemistry.
AP and IB examsYou may self-report.
Supplement Questions/Essays (found in the Writing Supplement section in My Colleges tab on the Common Application- Questions are updated August of every year.)3 Essays (varying word count)
10 Short Questions
Recommendations2 Teacher Recommendations from grade 11 or 12 teachers in the following subject areas: English, mathematics, science, foreign language, history/social studies. A letter from a grade 10 teacher is fine if the coursework was advanced (e.g., Honors, AP, IB).
Counselor of Record Report
Optional RecommendationIf it can provide new insights about you.
ReportSchool Report, Transcript, MidYear Transcript by February 15, Final Transcript by July 1
InterviewOptional
OptionalPortfolio for art, dance, music, theater. Deadline is October 15 for Restrictive Early Action Applicants and December 1 for Regular Decision Applicants.
International StudentsSAT or ACT is required. TOEFL, IELTS or PTE recommended.
Restrictive Early ActionNovember 1, decision by mid-December
Regular DecisionJanuary 2, decision by mid-to-late March

**Stanford Short Essay Questions: Respond to all 3 short essays (100 to 250 words):

  1. The Stanford community is deeply curious and driven to learn in and out of the classroom. Reflect on an idea or experience that makes you genuinely excited about learning.

  2. Virtually all of Stanford’s undergraduates live on campus. Write a note to your future roommate that reveals something about you or that will help your roommate—and us—know you better.

  3. Tell us about something that is meaningful to you, and why?

Academic Parameters

When applying to an institution, it is important to look at the academic information of previous applicants. This includes the SAT/ACT test scores, SAT Subject test scores (if available), GPA ranges, or class ranking. By looking at these data points, you may assess where you fall and how likely is your admission into this college. Please note, there are students who do fall below the middle range and are still admitted, but then their application has one or more factors that boosts their application, such as a special talent, a recruitable athlete, legacy, racial or socioeconomic minority. Use the chart below to see where you fall and if you may raise your test scores and grades to keep your application in the running.

Testing/GPA Guidelines

SAT Range (25th and 75th percentiles)Math: 720-800
ERW: 700-770
ACT Range (25th and 75th percentilesComposite Score: 32-35
Math: 30-35
English: 34-36
Writing: 30-33
GPA Range (unweighted)99.7% of students had GPA of 3.50+:
95.61% of students had GPA 3.75+
3.46% of students had GPA 3.50 to 3.74

IvyBound Consulting featured Harvard University on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter from March 11-16, 2019

Day 1 • Stanford University

According to US News & World Report, Stanford University is ranked #7 in National Universities. Schools are ranked according to their performance across a set of widely accepted indicators of excellence. Please check their website to read up on these indicators. We are using US News for its popularity, but by no means should they be the only source in determining your “best fit” college. Your best fit colleges should be determined by your academic goals, your personality fit, and financial considerations.

Stanford University:
Private institution with a total undergraduate enrollment of 7,062.

History:
In 1885, Jane and Leland Stanford established Stanford University in memory of their son, Leland Junior.

Setting:
Suburban, and the campus size is 8,180 acres.

Tuition & Fees:
$51,354 (2018-19), offers need-blind financial aid.

Endowment:
$23.4 billion (2017)

Housing:
Only freshmen are required to live on campus, but students are guaranteed housing for all four years, and most choose to remain on campus. Greek life at Stanford represents approximately 25 percent of the student body.

Admit Rate:
Most competitive, admit rate in single digits

Diversity:
51% male/49% female. Ethnicity/Race: 31% White, 23% Asian, 6% African American, 17% Hispanic, 0.7% Native American, 0.4% Native Hawaiian, 10% Two or more races, 0.4% Unknown, 11.4% International.

Religious Affiliation:
None

Other Awards by US News:
#7 in National Universities, #1 in Best Colleges for Veterans, #7 in Best Undergraduate Teaching

Admissions Scandal at Stanford:
Stanford’s former head sailing coach, John Vandemoer, pleaded guilty to a charge in this case. A total of $770,000 was contributed to the sailing program by Key Worldwide Foundation, in the form of three separate gifts.

Stanford rescinds admission of students linked to this college scandal.

Day 2 • School Mission, Mascot, Sports

University motto:
The unofficial motto of Stanford University, is “Die Luft der Freiheit weht.” Translated from the German language means, “The wind of freedom blows.” The phrase is a quote from Ulrich von Hutten, a 16th-century humanist, and indicative of Stanford’s culture of giving it’s students to the freedom to excel in many academic fields.

Mascot:
The Stanford Tree
is the Stanford Band’s mascot and the unofficial mascot of Stanford University. Stanford’s team name is “Cardinal”, referring to the vivid red color (not bird), and the university does not have an official mascot. The tree is a rich and vivid metaphor for the very pulse of life.” The “Tree,” which is a member of theStanford Band, is representative of El Palo Alto, the Redwood tree which is the logo of Palo Alto.

Colors:
Cardinal Red, Black and White.

Sports:
‎Division I‎/‎FBS. The FBS is the most competitive subdivision of NCAA Division I, which itself consists of the largest and most competitive schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As of 2018, there are 10 conferences and 130 schools in FBS. Stanford Cardinals compete in 36 varsity teams and 32 club sports. The Stanford Cardinal are well known for the traditional “Big Game” against Cal, an annual football competition that awards the Stanford Axe to the victor.

Post:
Featured here is  Kathryn Plummer who has been selected as the winner of the 89th AAU James E. Sullivan Award, presented annually to the most outstanding amateur athlete in the United States.

Day 3 • Academics at Stanford/Top Undergraduate Majors/Student Life

Academics:
Stanford is a research university where teaching, learning and research are integral to the university’s mission. Stanford values close interaction between undergraduates and faculty. Stanford emphasizes multidisciplinary approaches to teaching and research, and academic excellence crosses disciplines, ranging from humanities to social sciences to engineering and the sciences. Current faculty members have earned 19 Nobel Prizes and 4 Pulitzer Prizes. Students, distinguished by initiative, love of learning and commitment to public service, are talented in many areas, including academics, art, music and athletics.

Academic Calendar:
Quarter system

Top Undergraduate Majors:
Computer and Information Sciences, Mechanical Engineering, Engineering (other), Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Social Sciences, and Science Technology and Society.

Undergraduate Research:
Student participation in research is strongly supported and, in 2016-17, Stanford allocated about $5.6 million to support 1,049 projects.

Highly-ranked Graduate Programs:
Include the School of Education, School of Engineering, School of Law, School of Medicine and Graduate School of Business. The Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment oversees collaboration between environmental research, teaching and outreach.

Student Life:
Stanford students have a reputation for working hard and playing hard. Stanford fosters student government leaders, future Olympians, talented artists, political activists, fraternity and sorority presidents, volunteers and avid Cardinal sports fans. More than 600 student organizations drive campus life. Stanford has a number of well-known theatrical and musical groups, including the Ram’s Head Theatrical Society and the Mendicants, an all-male a cappella group. The arts are emphasized on the Stanford campus, and a vibrant arts district includes the Bing Concert Hall, the McMurtry Building for Art and Art History, the Cantor Arts Center and the Anderson Collection at Stanford University. The Associated Students of Stanford University is the representative government for Stanford students.

Stanford’s Strange Traditions:
Include Fountain-Hopping, Full Moon on the Quad, Wacky Walk, and The Big Game against Cal!

Fountain Hopping
is a unique Stanford tradition where groups of undergraduate students swim, hangout and “hop” between the variety of fountains around campus. This tradition typically takes place with dorm mates during New Student Orientation at the beginning of freshman year (However, many students continue to fountain hop.)

Post:
Another one of Stanford’s strange traditions– Stanford
begins its Commencement ceremony every year with a fun, very nontraditional procession into the stadium known as the Wacky Walk
.

Day 4 • Notable Alumni

Notable alumni include former U.S. President Herbert Hoover (Class of 1895), Hall of Fame NFL quarterback John Elway (Class of 1983), and actress Sigourney Weaver (Class of 1972).

Post:
Elon Musk was admitted to Stanford to get a phD in physics. Two days later, he deferred his decision to test his luck during the dot com boom, never to return. Tiger Woods also attended college at Stanford University from 1994-1996. He was at Stanford for two NCAA golf seasons (1994-95 and 1995-96) before leaving college after his sophomore year to turn professional.

Day 5 • Applying to Stanford? Be Collegebound with IvyBound

Looking at first-time, Freshman Applicants:

Admission Rate:
4.36%, including early applicants, (as of July 2018). The lowest admit rate of all US Universities!

Total Applicants:
47,451

Admitted:
2,071

Enrolled:
1,706

Yield Rate:
82%- Number of students who actually attended or matriculated once admitted.

Early Option:
Restrictive Early Action (November 1 is deadline)

Regular Deadline:
January 2

Admission Requirements:
See Table above

Admissions into this prestigious University, Stanford, is extremely competitive as the acceptance rate is decreasing each year. With the increase of sheer number of applicants, how do you stand out and get admitted? If Stanford is one of the colleges on your list, use this invaluable worksheet to plan and prepare to apply to Stanford.

IvyBound Consulting offers personalized college admissions services to help you create winning college applications that surely gets you admitted. Choose from one-on-one counseling services, college admissions online course- Applications That Get You Admitted!, private Facebook group membership, and essay review and editing services.

Next week, I will cover, US News Week’s #10 Nationally Ranked University, Duke. Stay Tuned.

Be Collegebound with IvyBound!

* Sources used: the college website, common data set, college factual, US World News, other websites.

Hey guys, welcome to the episodes Be Collegebound with IvyBound! I’m your host, Ruchi S. Kothari. I’m super excited that you’ve joined me.

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