Getting into any college these days is much harder than it used to be. But getting into Stanford is like, really hard. Getting in requires, not only excellent grades and a strong resume but foresight and thought regarding your application. If you are really dead-set upon getting into Stanford, you’re going to need to push the envelope.
A Holistic Review
Stanford’s admissions process is by way of what they call a “holistic review.” According to their website, Stanford not only wants to know about your academic achievements, but also your intellectual contributions, your ideas, and interests. The purpose of the college essay is for any given college to get to know a part of your personality that’s not present elsewhere on your application. But Stanford takes things a bridge further. They want to know “what is meaningful to you.” Ultimately, they’d like to know something you should be showing every school: why you’re a great fit.
Intellectual Vitality
On its holistic review page, Stanford dedicates a paragraph to what it calls “intellectual vitality” or “the initiative with which you seek out opportunities and expand your perspective.” We tell our students that, above all, what matters most in the college admissions process is academics. First and foremost, you need to have excellent grades to get into an excellent school. But beyond that, in this competitive environment, you also need to show that you are committed to growing into a successful professional or thought leader in a given field. It’s the reason a school should invest in you as a candidate. We tell our students it’s really important to present yourself as having an academic niche you pursued throughout high school that you are now signaling to universities you will continue to expand and master over the next four years. The type of ‘intellectual vitality’ a Stanford candidate needs to demonstrate is that which will make Stanford understand that you’re serious about becoming the best in a given (highly specific) field.
Some Examples
We’ve had students get rejected from Stanford and come to us for help. Most didn’t understand how they, with perfect grades and leadership positions in every club they wanted, could have been rejected. The answer lies within the “intellectual vitality” section on the site. The kids who got in really pushed the envelope. One of our kids was interested in aerospace engineering. It was the niche she carved out for herself throughout high school and could demonstrate that she intended to pursue it into college. So, instead of just joining the science club at school and getting A’s in physics, she built model rockets in her spare time and talked herself into an extremely competitive SpaceX internship at 18 years-old. Another one of our students wanted to be an entrepreneur. He started a marketing company in high school and took on local clients, first making and distributing flyers and collecting commissions on leads he generate. He ultimately managed and grew the social media platforms for more than 10 small businesses in town over the course of three years and drove sales revenue for each of them. He also made a nice income for himself.
The point is, if you want to get into Stanford, you’re going to need to get creative. You’re also going to need to focus your energy and attention in a singular direction and really strive for something that expands upon something you’ve already built academically.
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