Calling Stanford Fall 2008 Applicants

You guys really think that R1 is so crucial for Stan? I am already on Sep 30th and I haven't even started the Stan application. I think that it makes more sense for me to continue spending the next 10 days on Wharton and move Stan to R2.

Another option is to finish W right now (I'm close to completion anyway) and see if I can finish Stan in 20 days. But I am worried that I may end up submitting half-cooked applications to both the schools in that case. Is it really going to be a case of 400 in R1 vs 4000 in R2?

mNeo, I don't know how much of it is true, but every student, alum, and even one admissions officer said that R1 is "probably" better than R2.

Of course, in your situation, I wouldn't rush Stanford essays just to get it in R1, since the essays are CRUCIAL for them to decide whether to admit you or not. I think a better essay will still be better than the slight edge you may get in R1, especially since you're still working on Wharton.

I've been working on my Stanford essays for 8 days straight now, almost 4 hours a day, and it's still 100-200 words over the limit per essay and not as good as I want it to be. I forsee myself spending the next two full weeks on reviews with friends and students to make it perfect. Good thing my UCLA and Haas are almost ready.

I agree with Kryzak. I am planning to go R2 at the rate I am doing my Stanford essays. Atleast to me they are brutal. Trust your judgement on this. I wudnt do R1 just for that "apparent slight" advantage. In my case, I want to submit the best app possible.

I really am surprised that only 10% of applicants apply in R1 for most of the top schools. Seems a little on the lower side. I would guess the number should be closer to 25-30% but then if it is 10% I would love to know the % of accepted students that are accepted in R1.

I was under the impression that 30% applicants and 30% of accepted students in R1- essentially leading to the same odds.

So I will be applying to the most selective school in R2 instead of R1? Great .. that makes me feel more confident about my chances.

dahcrap: Stanford essays are brutal. I've been spending every day for the past 8 days on it, and it's only barely shaping up. I'm glad I still have 2-3 weeks before I have to turn them in.

dosa: I would say the acceptance rates are similar, but you probably get a slight edge in R1 if you are a high quality candidate who happens to fall into a common category (Indian IT, IB/Consulting, Engineering, etc...)

mNeo: Well, at this stage, it is getting late to do Stanford R1, especially with its tough topics. You could rush it, but with how selective Stanford is, you won't be helping yourself if you do. my 2 cents.

Hi kryzak,

As I am diving deeper in Stan's essays I am becoming lost with what they ask us about. Let's look at C1. There they ask us about our experience of empowering others.

What does it mean in extracurricular or work experience to empower others?

I have found different interpretations of empowerment:

1. Some people construe "empowering" as a delegation of power ("letting go").

2. Others say it is self-actualization of those whom we empower.

Webster - https://mw1.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/empower - gives us similar meanings of "empowering".

3. Plus it can also mean the so-called empowering of women, indigenous people or other minorities by providing them basic opportunities through the help of others who share their own access to these opportunities.

I would like to choose some example of "empowering others" from extracurricular activities (empowering my friends in their activities) - that would be smth "I helped them to stand up and fight" - but not sure whether it will fit the characteristics of "delegation of power" (which is more connected with work activities rather than extracurricular).

What do you think about this issue? What's your vision of "empowerment" in Stan. essays?

nick_sun

Sorry Nick, that's why I didn't do that question, since I wasn't sure how good my "empowerment" example would be. Basically, I would go with delegation of power, encouragement of growth and advancement, and giving the tools for success as "empowerment". Other than that, I know no more than you.

That's ok. I've got an idea - I will call them and ask about it

My contribution might be a little late, but I heard from a Stanford adcom at a presentation that as long as your application is ready (i.e. if you don't compromise quality for the sake of meeting the deadline), then you should apply in R1.

The example/reasoning he used was: "if you are an olympic bronze medalist and apply in R1, then we would be pretty excited about having you with us. However, if you are an Olympic silver medalist applying in R2 we would probably think: what do we want the silver medalist for? we already have the gold medalist!

L.

Oh well, I didn't realistically expect to get in anyway.

While I think my essays could be done for Round1, I am going to wait for R2 anyway. I will visit the day after the R1 deadline, and some of the stuff I have been working on, that will help bolster my application, have only been going for about 4 months. I think another couple of months will allow me to complete some important projects at work and get further along in some personal/community projects that I am pretty excited about.

I will check out their class visit tomorrow (Tuesday). Hope it's fun! Had a blast at UCLA today.

How big is this mistake?

My recommender notified me that there was a check box for a question " Are you the direct supervisor of the applicant?"

Because he is currently not my supervisor (but previously he was), he wrote NO in that box and submitted the recommendation.

He had a look at the printed version of the recommendation and found that they have included "Are/were" instead of only 'Are" in the same question. So, ideally he should have entered "Yes" but he entered "No" because of the wrong question on the webpage.

How critical will this be in adcoms eyes?

So went to their "Managing Growing Enterprise" class by Professor Jim Ellis today. It was an AMAZING class. After a quick discussion about a case where someone got fired (I don't know the details since I didnt' read the case), they went into three "experiential" learning activities.

One had a student tell a sales person that he was not performing (the prof) and needed to shape up or get fired.

Another had a student play a manager that needed to tell an older/more experienced worker that he got passed over a promotion because of a younger more "energetic" worker.

Finally, they shared experiences when someone in their team or themselves get promoted to lead that same team, and the politics and dynamics involved.

Man, the Stanford students are a smart bunch, probably asking the best questions out of the three schools I've been to so far. They were all very articulate and friendly towards each other.

I only wish the new GSB building would finish earlier... but alas, the buildings were pretty old and confusing to navigate.

Kryzak, you are the lucky man!!! I wish I had a chance to visit their classes too, but I am in the time zone that differs from Stan's by 11-13 hours and it would be a really long flight to get there and back Anyway, thank you for the inside that increases my wish to get in

you're welcome Nick. Good luck to all of us!

WTF - i definitely have an amazing sense of intuition !!! for some reason I thought the guy next to me was KRYZAK - darn I am spooky at times ! anyway was fun meeting 'you' and ya the visit was awesome! esp when this guy went like 'so that I can put u to rest' LOL

So - we were indeed classmates at Stanford !!