Stanford to Release REA Results for Class of 2024 on December 6, 2019

Restrictive Early Action decisions will be released on Friday
The Office of Undergraduate Admission will release decisions to Restrictive Early Action applicants on Friday, December 6 at 4 p.m. (PST).

Stanford to Release REA Decisions on December 7, 2018 for the Class of 2023

Admission decisions for Restricted Early Action applicants will be available on Friday, December 7 at 4 p.m. (PT). Applicants can review their decision by logging in to their Application Status page. The Office of Undergraduate Admission will close on Friday at 4 p.m. and reopen on Monday, December 10 at 8:30 a.m.

https://admission.stanford.edu/

Stanford Admitted 2,040 Students for Class of 2022

Stanford University has offered admission to 2,040 students, including 750 who were accepted last December through the early action program, the Office of Undergraduate Admission announced today.

Students admitted to the Class of 2022 represent all 50 states, plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. Of the admitted class, 11.4 percent are international students by citizenship, representing 63 countries. The new class is 50.8 percent male and 49.2 percent female.

“We continue to be awed and humbled by the interest Stanford receives from outstanding young people around the world,” said Richard H. Shaw, dean of admission and financial aid. “Indeed, the incredible strength of the students applying to Stanford is simply awesome, and all candidates who applied will have wonderful choices in higher education.”

The office announced an increase in the proportion of admitted students who are the first in their families to attend a four-year college – rising to 18.3 percent of the admitted class.

“We are proud of the intellectual strength and incredible diversity represented by the Class of 2022,” said Shaw. “Overall, the admitted students reflect the broad diversity of our country and the world. These students already have had incredible impact on their communities, and we know they will contribute to the world in immeasurable ways.”

The admitted students expressed a primary academic interest across Stanford’s undergraduate schools, with 65 percent expressing interest in Humanities and Sciences programs, 30 percent in Engineering, and 3.5 percent in Earth, Energy and Environmental Sciences. The remainder were undecided.

Under Stanford’s generous financial aid program, which the university expanded in 2015, parents with total annual income below $125,000 and typical assets for this income range will pay no tuition. Parents will be ensured that all tuition charges are covered with need-based scholarships, federal and state grants and/or outside scholarship funds, so that the expected parent contribution is only for room, board and other expenses. Typical parents with annual income below $65,000 are not expected to contribute anything toward educational costs.

This year Stanford received 47,450 applications. Students admitted under the early and regular decision admission programs have until May 1 to accept Stanford’s offer.

https://news.stanford.edu/2018/03/30/offers-admission-2040-students/

Stanford to Release RD Decision on Friday, March 30, 2018

The Stanford Office of Undergraduate Admission will release decisions to Regular Decision applicants on Friday, March 30 at 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time. Decisions will be available on the Application Status Page starting at 4:00 p.m. The Office of Undergraduate Admission will close at 3:00 p.m. PT on Friday, March 30 and will reopen at 8:30 a.m. PT on Monday, April 2.

https://admission.stanford.edu/

Stanford to Release REA Decisions for Class of 2022 on December 8, 2017

Admission decisions for Restrictive Early Action applicants will be available on Friday, December 8 at 4:00 p.m. (PT). Applicants can review their decision on-line via the application portal. The undergraduate admission office will reopen on Monday, December 11 at 8:30 a.m.

https://admission.stanford.edu/

Stanford Will not Release Early Admission Statistics of Class 2021 Before the End of Admission Cycle

High school students across the globe anxiously checked their emails on Friday evening, hopeful to become early admits to Stanford’s Class of 2021. Some gained the anticipated acceptance, others a deferment and others the dreaded rejection. In a break with recent tradition, however, the early admission statistics will not be released at this time.
In a brief email to The Daily, Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Richard Shaw wrote that the release of early admissions data in the last several years had been “exceptional.”
“Our policy is to release data at end of cycle,” Shaw wrote. “We have returned to our standard approach in communicating about the Class.”
Stanford had released the number of early acceptances, deferrals and rejections from the restricted early applicant pool in 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011 and 2010. According to vice president for communications Lisa Lapin, these were not formal releases of data.
“We don’t do press releases on early action and never have,” wrote Lapin in an email. “The Daily has asked and sometimes they have been provided to The Daily.”
Stanford News did, however, release a brief on early admissions data for the Class of 2020 last year, as well as for the early admits to the classes of 2019, 2018 and 2017. Stanford’s previous release of early admissions numbers has been in line with that of peer institutions. Princeton, Yale and Harvard have all released their early applicant results in recent Decembers. In past years, Stanford has stood out with the lowest early admissions rate even among these institutions.
The move comes at a time when the University has been criticized for a lack of transparency in other areas such as the handling of sexual assault cases and the recent change in alcohol policy.
In response to a follow-up email from The Daily asking about the reasoning behind the apparent change, Shaw emphasized that the University does not view this as a policy change and will release the Class of 2021 data when all candidates have been notified.
In an interview last spring with the Washington Post, however, Shaw indicated that he doesn’t find low admissions rates to be something to brag about.
“[Releasing the percentages] just diverts everybody’s attention from the fact that we took 2,000-plus kids that are magnificent,” Shaw told the Washington Post. “My feeling is, what’s the difference between 7 percent and 4 percent?”

http://www.stanforddaily.com/2016/12/10/in-break-from-past-stanford-declines-to-release-early-admissions-data/

Stanford to Release REA Results on December 9, 2016

The Stanford Office of Undergraduate Admission will release decisions to Restrictive Early Action applicants on Friday, December 9 at 3:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time.

Decisions will be available on the Application Status Page starting at 3:00 p.m. Students were referred to this page in their application acknowledgement email. If you are a Restrictive Early Action applicant and have not yet logged on to your Application Status Page, check your email from December 6 for instructions on how to create a password using your unique PIN. The Office of Undergraduate Admission will close at 3:00 p.m. PST on Friday, December 9 and will reopen at 8:30 a.m. PST on Monday, December 12.

http://admission.stanford.edu/

Stanford eyes undergraduate enrollment increase

Stanford University's new General Use Permit application, submitted to the county on Nov. 21, maps out ambitious expansion plans, including not only to the physical campus but also its student body, with a placeholder to increase undergraduate student enrollment by 100 students per year through 2035.

Stanford spokeswoman Lisa Lapin said that Stanford included the enrollment increase in the application because the university "wants to preserve the option for possible future undergraduate growth," but has no present plans to do so.
The application, however, calls enrollment growth an "increasing priority" for the university.

"Stanford plans a modest expansion of undergraduate enrollments in recognition of the fact that applications to Stanford have increased while spaces available have not, resulting in one of the lowest rates of admission in the nation," the application states. "Providing a reasonable increase in the number of talented students for whom a Stanford education is accessible has therefore become an increasing priority."

Stanford's fall 2016 admission rate was a record low of 4.8 percent — down from 9.5 percent in 2008.

The General Use Permit application includes a report on student, faculty and staff population projections that assumes the annual bump in the undergraduate student body, starting in 2018. Growing by 100 students each year is "higher than the historic growth rate," the report states. Lapin said she could not recall any increase "in recent memory, beyond a few students in any given year."

In the fall of 2015, 6,994 undergraduates were enrolled at Stanford. The majority of those students — 6,401 — lived on campus. That population is anticipated to grow to 7,085 in the fall of 2018, by which time Stanford expects to receive the county's approval of the General Use Permit.

By 2035, Stanford expects to see 8,785 undergraduates, according to the report. The application proposes to add 1,700 beds to accommodate the undergraduate growth.

The university also expects its graduate and postdoctoral student population to grow between 2018 and 2035: graduates by about 70 students per year, and postdoctoral students by about 56 students per year (a total growth of 960 students), according to the application.

Faculty numbers are expected to increase at historic rates, the report states.

The permit proposes constructing 3,150 faculty/staff housing units and student beds (up to 550 housing units for faculty and staff).

"Stanford wishes to continue to provide on-campus housing to meet the increasing student enrollment in coming years, to foster collaboration and learning, and to attract and retain world class faculty," the application states.

Stanford's "broad, long-term consideration," Lapin wrote in an email to the Weekly, "is whether there should be a balance in the student body, so that we have an equal number of undergraduate and graduate students.

"But again, there is no present plan to do so," she wrote.

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Follow the Palo Alto Weekly/Palo Alto Online on Twitter @PaloAltoWeekly and Facebook for breaking news, local events, photos, videos and more.

http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/2016/11/28/stanford-eyes-undergraduate-enrollment-increase

Stanford Accepted 745 Students in EA to the Class of 2020

On Friday, Dec. 11, Stanford accepted 745 high school students for early admission to the Class of 2020, amounting to an acceptance rate of 9.5 percent. 7,822 students applied to Stanford’s restrictive early action program, Stanford’s largest ever early applicant pool. 701 applicants were deferred to the regular admissions program.
This year’s early acceptance rate was lower than last year’s, which was 10.2 percent. For the Class of 2019, Stanford accepted 743 and deferred 562 students out of a pool of 7,297 early applicants.
“Today we invited 745 remarkable young people to join the Stanford family,” wrote Colleen Lim M.A. ’80, associate dean and director of undergraduate admission, in an email to The Daily. “It is such an honor and joy for our staff to play a role in transforming the lives of these admitted students, and we can’t wait to see the impact they will make on the Stanford community.”
The 745 early admits come from 48 states and 34 countries, according to Richard Shaw, dean of admission and financial aid. Over 80 percent of the students have a high school grade point average of 4.0 or above.
“These students represent the best and brightest young people from around the world, selected from an extraordinary array of candidates from every conceivable background,” Shaw told the Stanford News Service.
“We had a record pool this year, and we regret that we could not  accommodate more of the many well qualified candidates who applied to Stanford,” Lim wrote.
The majority of spaces in the freshman class will be filled during the regular admission program in the spring. According to the Office of Undergraduate Admission, more than 35,000 students are expected to apply.

http://www.stanforddaily.com/2015/12/11/9-5-percent-of-early-applicants-admitted-to-stanfords-class-of-2020/

1,722 Students Matriculated to Stanford for Class of 2019

When faculty and staff arrive on campus tomorrow morning the Farm will have a distinctly festive air. There will be lots of horn honking and "woo-hoos," red-and-white balloon arrangements and welcome signs – some handmade, others fresh from the printer.

Tuesday, Sept. 15, is move-in day for the Class of 2019. The university will roll out the cardinal carpet for 1,722 freshmen and 15 transfer students.

Stanford's newly minted freshmen represent 49 states and 66 countries. The largest contingent of first-year students – 32.9 percent – hails from California. About 12 percent are international students and U.S. citizens living abroad. Slightly more than half of the freshmen are male – 50.5 percent – while 49.5 percent are female. More than 95 percent ranked in the top 10 percent of their high school class. Fifteen percent are first-generation college students.

The new transfer students include one veteran who served as a crew member for the U.S. Navy Dragon Boat Team and taught battlefield medical courses. Another is a U.S. Marine veteran who served three tours of duty in Iraq and received a certificate of commendation for his service in Fallujah. Another transfer student is one of only five international officers for Phi Theta Kappa, the world's largest and most prestigious honor society for two-year college students.

Almost 36 percent of the incoming freshmen say they are interested in engineering; nearly 23 percent have an academic interest in the natural sciences; 17.7 percent have expressed an interest in the humanities.

But before they get to their majors, Stanford's incoming students all have a bit of acclimating to do, which is what the six days of New Student Orientation (NSO) are all about.

As Stanford tradition dictates, residence staff and orientation volunteers have crammed over the summer to memorize every new resident's name and likeness, so that each new student arrives to a hearty personal greeting. NSO staff will be on hand Tuesday to help carry luggage, stuffed animals and other items to make students' dorm rooms a bit like home.

Once students secure their essentials – ID cards, room and post office box keys – and meet their roommates for the first time, they will have a chance to explore campus life. Events on Tuesday include open houses, receptions and information sessions at community centers; information tables on White Plaza and tours at the visitor center; a welcome at Windhover contemplation center and more.

Parents and family members partake in many of these move-in day activities as well as programs and resources designed to provide them with their own one-day immersion into Stanford's rich intellectual life and cultural traditions.

The day culminates with the 125th Opening Convocation Ceremony, which takes place on the Inner Quad at 4 p.m. President John Hennessy will welcome incoming students, their families and friends at the formal opening of the academic year. The Rev. Jane Shaw, dean for religious life, will offer the invocation. The audience also will hear from Harry J. Elam Jr., vice provost for undergraduate education, and Richard H. Shaw, dean of undergraduate admission and financial aid. Jordan Shapiro, who earned a bachelor's degree in bioengineering in June and is currently a graduate student in management science and engineering and in business, will offer student remarks.

Following Convocation, parents and family members say goodbye to their students and head for dinner with Provost John Etchemendy. New students head back to their dorms for "Welcome Home" activities and their first house meetings.

NSO continues for five more days, with activities designed to engage students intellectually and socially. NSO programs include discussions about alcohol, sexual behavior and relationships, religious life and personal identity. Among the programs focused on academic life is the First Lecture featuring Margot Gerritsen, associate professor of energy resources engineering, who will talk about the purpose of a liberal education. Later in the week President Hennessy will moderate the Three Books program panel discussion. This year's summer reading assignments for new students were This Boy's Life by Tobias Wolff, Cane River by Lalita Tademy and The Innovators by Walter Isaacson.

Undergraduate housing opens for returning students Thursday, Sept. 17, and classes begin Monday, Sept. 21.

http://news.stanford.edu/news/2015/september/nso-starts-tuesday-091415.html

Stanford Accepted 2144 Students for the Class of 2019

Stanford University has offered admission to 2,144 students, including 742 applicants who were accepted last December through the early action program, the Office of Undergraduate Admission and Financial Aid announced today.

In addition, Stanford announced that it is expanding financial aid by increasing the income thresholds at which parents are not expected to contribute toward educational costs.

Under the new policy, Stanford will expect no parental contribution toward tuition from parents with annual incomes below $125,000 – previously $100,000 – and typical assets. And there will be zero parental contribution toward tuition, room or board for parents with annual incomes below $65,000 – previously $60,000 – and typical assets.

"Our highest priority is that Stanford remain affordable and accessible to the most talented students, regardless of their financial circumstances," said Provost John Etchemendy. "Our generous financial aid program accomplishes that, and these enhancements will help even more families, including those in the middle class, afford Stanford without going into debt. Over half of our undergraduates receive financial aid from Stanford, and we are pleased that this program will make it even easier for students to thrive here."

Admits to Class of 2019
The Class of 2019 was selected from 42,487 candidates, the largest applicant pool in Stanford's history. The admitted students come from 50 states and 77 countries.

Of the admitted class, 16 percent are first-generation college students.

"We are honored by the interest in Stanford and the experiences shared by all prospective students through the application process," said Richard Shaw, dean of admission and financial aid. "The young people admitted to the Class of 2019 will engage their undergraduate years at Stanford with energy and initiative. Their contributions will impact the world in immeasurable ways. We are thrilled to communicate the good news to these accomplished students. The opportunities at Stanford are limitless, and our newly enhanced financial support makes these opportunities more accessible than ever before."

Students admitted under the early and regular decision admission program have until May 1 to accept Stanford's offer.

Expanded financial aid
Stanford has long been committed to need-blind admissions for U.S. students, supported by a financial aid program that meets the demonstrated financial need of all admitted undergraduate students.

Since 2008-09, Stanford has provided two simple benchmarks that make it easy for prospective students to understand the possibilities for getting financial support from Stanford. These two benchmarks are being updated for all undergraduates for the 2015-16 year, with no parental contribution toward tuition expected for those with annual incomes below $125,000 and typical assets, and no parental contribution toward tuition, room or board expected for those below $65,000 with typical assets. Scholarship or grant funds will be provided to cover these costs in lieu of a parental contribution.

In either case, students will still be expected to contribute toward their own educational expenses from summer income, savings and part-time work during the school year. Students are expected to contribute at least $5,000 per year from these sources but are not expected to borrow to make the contribution.

Currently, 77 percent of Stanford undergraduates leave the university at graduation with no student debt.

Families with incomes at higher levels, typically up to $225,000, may also qualify for financial assistance, especially if more than one family member is enrolled in college. Financial aid offers vary by family, but the financial aid expansion for 2015-16 will allow Stanford to reduce the expected parental contribution for many families at these higher income levels.

Annual costs for a typical Stanford student total roughly $65,000 before financial aid.

"This expansion of the financial aid program is a demonstration of Stanford's commitment to access for outstanding students from all backgrounds – including not only those from the lowest socioeconomic status, but also middle- and upper-middle-class families who need our assistance as well," said Karen Cooper, associate dean and director of financial aid.

MEDIA CONTACT
Richard H. Shaw, dean of admission and financial aid: (650) 723-2091, rhshaw@stanford.edu

http://news.stanford.edu/news/2015/march/new-admits-finaid-032715.html

Stanford Accepted 743 EA Students for Class of 2019

Stanford has sent acceptance letters to 743 high school students who sought admission to the Class of 2019 under the university's early admission program, the Office of Undergraduate Admission announced today.

The students were selected from 7,297 early admission candidates, the largest early application pool in Stanford's history.

"We have admitted a remarkable group of students from an extremely talented applicant pool," said Richard H. Shaw, dean of undergraduate admission and financial aid. "Our review was rigorous, and we are pleased to celebrate those who were accepted."

Shaw said the 743 students who received acceptance letters come from 47 states and 31 countries. More than 75 percent of them have a high school grade point average of 4.0 or above, and have demonstrated excellence in fields ranging from the arts and humanities to Earth sciences, engineering and science.

All early applicants were notified of their decisions – admitted, denied or deferred to the regular decision round – by email Friday afternoon.

Students who apply through Stanford's restrictive early action program may consider all of their college options before responding.

Under Stanford's undergraduate financial aid program, the university guarantees to meet the full demonstrated financial need of all admitted students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents.

"We are humbled by the many competitive candidates who demonstrated interest in Stanford University through our restrictive early action program," Shaw said. "We recognize the time and effort that goes into completing our application, and we are honored to have reviewed the applications of so many outstanding young people."

Stanford will reserve the majority of spaces in its freshman class for students who apply for admission under its regular decision program. More than 30,000 students are expected to apply for admission by Jan. 3.

Students admitted under both programs have until May 1 to accept Stanford's offers.

Media Contact
Richard H. Shaw, dean of admission and financial aid: (650) 723-2091, rhshaw@stanford.edu

http://news.stanford.edu/news/2014/december/early-admit-offers-121214.html

Stanford Accepted 2138 Students for Class of 2018

Stanford admitted 2,138 students to the Class of 2018 in this year’s admissions cycle, producing – at 5.07 percent – the lowest admit rate in University history.
The University received a total of 42,167  applications this year, a record total and a 8.6 percent increase over last year’s figure of 38,828. Stanford accepted 748 students in December through the Office of Undergraduate Admission’s restrictive early action program and extended offers to 1,390 more applicants on March 28. A further 958 students have been placed on the waitlist.

https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=887129011657642837#editor/target=post;postID=1390758804684853220

1694 Students Accepted Stanford's Offers for Class of 2017

Stanford reported a yield rate of approximately 76.7 percent for the Class of 2017 on Tuesday — a 3.7 percent increase from last year’s figure and the highest-ever in University history, according to an email from Director of Admission Colleen Lim M.A. ’80.

The University also offered admission to 32 transfer students, out of 1,662 applicants, on May 10. This year’s transfer admit rate of 1.9 percent marked a further decline from last year’s 2.2 percent rate and 2011’s figure of 4.1 percent.

At 1,694 students, the Class of 2017 is smaller than the two preceding classes and may shrink further before fall quarter as students drop or defer enrollment. Last year, the Office of Undergraduate Admission faced an over-enrollment of about 50 students after 1,786 students accepted offers of admission.

This year’s elevated yield rate is the latest sign of the University’s increasing selectivity. Stanford offered admission to 2,210 students this year out of a pool of 38,828 applicants, producing its lowest-ever admissions rate — at 5.69 percent — and its highest-ever number of applications received.

By Tuesday, a number of peer institutions had also released their yield rates for the Class of 2017. Harvard, Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania and Brown reported yields of 82, 68.7, 64.3 and 60 percent respectively.

http://www.stanforddaily.com/2013/05/14/class-of-2017-produces-record-yield/

Stanford Accepted 2,210 Students for the Class of 2017

Stanford offered admission to 2,210 students via electronic notification today, producing – at 5.69 percent – the lowest admit rate in University history.

The University received a total of 38,828 applications this year, a record total and a 6 percent increase over last year’s figure of 36,631. Stanford accepted 725 students in December through the Office of Undergraduate Admission’s restrictive early action program and extended offers to 1,485 more applicants today. A further 813 students have been placed on the waitlist.

“The most exciting part of our review is the opportunity to consider the world’s most exceptional students,” wrote Dean of Admission and Financial Aid Richard Shaw in a press release. “The most daunting challenge is to select a relatively small number from among a most competitive and exceptional group of candidates. We are honored by the vast abilities and potential of those we admitted and those who, in the end, we could not accomodate.”

The record low admit rate reflects an continued trend of increasing selectivity for Stanford. The University admitted 6.6 percent of applicants in 2012, 7.1 percent in 2011 and 7.2 percent in 2010.
At the same time, the size of the matriculating freshman class has grown over the past three years, from 1,675 for the Class of 2014 to 1,768 for the Class of 2016. The increased yield rate has prompted academic and residential adjustments for incoming classes, as well as – for the Class of 2016 – the release of all waitlisted students.

On Thursday, several peer institutions also reported historically low admit rates. Harvard, Yale, Columbia and Princeton admitted 5.8, 6.72, 6.89 and 7.29 percent of applicants respectively.
Accepted students have until May 1 to accept the University’s offer.

http://www.stanforddaily.com/2013/03/29/class-of-2017-admit-rate-marks-record-low/

Connections to University can affect admissions decision

While high school students around the world anxiously await university admissions decisions, some applicants may have less cause for concern due to unique privileges gained from special connections with their schools of choice. According to former University admissions officers and college admissions experts, the difference made for those applicants—including legacies, children of faculty and development cases—may, in some cases, bridge the gap between acceptance and rejection.
Though Dean of Admissions Richard Shaw declined to comment on the issue, several prominent University figures, including President John Hennessy, have supported the preferences afforded to select applicants.
Publicizing preferences
According to the charge for the Faculty Senate’s Committee on Undergraduate Admission and Financial Aid (C-UAFA), the Committee has the power to determine “the general criteria under which applicants may be given special consideration because of distinctive characteristics.”
The charge lists examples of these characteristics, including “applicants whose parents graduated from Stanford or are on the Stanford faculty or staff, those with highly developed specific talents, members of ethnic minorities, or others who lend a desirable diversity to the class.”
The charge also states that the Faculty Senate is responsible for deciding “the general extent of preference” given to applicants in these special categories.
Associate Professor of Music Mark Applebaum, chair of the C-UAFA, declined to comment on the decisions made by this year’s Faculty Senate regarding these preference.
This section of the charge has been a subject of controversy in the past, however. At a Faculty Senate meeting on Oct. 7, 2010, Professor of Computer Science Eric Roberts questioned whether or not the Committee should list the types of applicants that could receive special consideration.
“The idea was that these were things were in practice already and it was good to lay it out before the committee to carry that forward,” said David Palumbo-Liu, professor of comparative literature, at the meeting. “I take your point that by specifying it, you draw attention to it. On the other hand, it seems to be something the public is well aware of already.”
President John Hennessy weighed in, arguing that Stanford should set a precedent of determining its own admissions criteria based on the University’s needs.
“I think we will find ourselves, as will the rest of higher education, increasingly trying to protect our rights to decide who are the best students to come to Stanford, just as we did in the Michigan case with affirmative action,” Hennessey said at the meeting. “We need to protect our right to make that decision.”
Karen Cook ’68 M.A. ’70 Ph.D. ’73, professor of sociology, agreed with Hennessy.
“The one advantage to this list is it is ‘truth in lending,’ ” Cook said at the meeting. “I mean, this is what we do—admit legacies and people in all these categories.”

Substantial number of students
Though Stanford does not release statistics on the percentage of legacies in each incoming class, Daniel Golden, author of “The Price of Admission: How America’s Ruling Class Buys Its Way into Elite Colleges—and Who Gets Left Outside the Gates” estimated that this number fluctuates between 15 and 20 percent each year.
Golden, who conferred with sources in the Office of Undergraduate Admission while writing his book, said that the majority of accepted legacies would not have been admitted without the benefit of their legacy status.
“I would say a few of them would get in anyway because they’re remarkable students, some would be on the bubble and most of them would not get in,” Golden said, adding that even if the applicant’s parents do not give money to the University, “it still helps to be the child of an alum.”
Jon Reider ’67 Ph.D. ’83, who worked in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions from 1985 to 2000, agreed that legacies receive a significant boost in admissions. He estimated that legacy applicants are currently admitted to Stanford at more than twice the admit rate for non-legacy applicants.
A study conducted in 2011 by Michael Hurwitz, a researcher at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, also concluded that admission rates for legacies are much higher than for the general applicant pool. In his study, Hurwitz analyzed the impact of legacy preference on admissions using data from 30 selective colleges across the country.
After controlling for a variety of factors, including SAT scores, Hurwitz found that “primary legacies,” which he defined as the children of alumni who attended the college as an undergraduate, earned an advantage equivalent to a 45.1 percentage point increase in chance of admission.
“Although the admissions advantage received by legacy applicants may strike some readers as unacceptably large, I urge readers to consider that donations from alumni are increasingly important to the well-being of this paper’s sampled colleges,” Hurwitz concluded.
However, Richard Kahlenberg, senior fellow at The Century Foundation and editor of “Affirmative Action for the Rich: Legacy Preferences in College Admissions,” took issue with colleges factoring legacy preference into admissions decisions.
“Legacies, by definition, are the offspring of those who have already completed college, and if it’s an elite college, then the child has had all sorts of advantages already,” Kahlenberg said. “So to provide a preference to the already advantaged strikes me as compounding the inequalities that other students face.”
According to Kahlenberg, many colleges defend legacy preference by arguing that “alums are more likely to give donations if their kids are provided preferences,” though he claimed that this was untrue.
Kahlenberg referenced a study conducted for “Affirmative Action for the Rich,” in which researchers examined 75 universities with legacy preference and 25 without it. They concluded that the “existence of a legacy preference does not increase giving for universities.”
Golden agreed that universities would not suffer financially by eliminating legacy preference, and argued that colleges should feel confident that they can raise money without “promising admission.”
“They should be able to say, ‘Look, we have this great program that will save the world, please contribute to it,’ or look to alumni and say, ‘Please contribute because you had a wonderful time here,’” Golden said.
Both Golden and Kahlenberg said that they thought Stanford would never “willingly give up legacy preference,” but agreed that the Supreme Court’s decision in the case of Fisher v. Texas could motivate a change in policy.
Though the decision that affirmative action is unconstitutional will only apply to public universities, Kahlenberg said that it might also apply to a civil rights statute that private schools have to abide by in order to receive federal funding.
“If the Supreme Court eliminates affirmative action for minorities, there will be a lot of pressure on schools to eliminate legacy preference, which predominantly benefits white students,” Golden said. “If you eliminate minority affirmative action, how can you justify white affirmative action?”

The weight of money
While legacies may receive a significant boost in the admissions process, Golden said that “development cases,” a term that refers to the children of important donors or potential donors, receive an even more substantial advantage.
“It can be as big as 400 or 500 points out of 1600 on the SAT, using the old 1600-point scale,” Golden said. “It can help a student with a score of 1100 out of 1600 get into a top university.”
Golden said that wealthy parents sometimes use private counselors with contacts in admissions offices to indicate that they are likely to donate large sums of money if their child is admitted.
“There’s not an explicit quid pro quo—they don’t say ‘We’ll give you five million dollars if you let our son in’—but there is kind of an implicit understanding,” Golden said.
According to Bev Taylor, president and founder of the college consulting business The Ivy Coach, both legacies and development cases benefit from the fact that admissions offices will look for reasons to accept them.
“They’ll get a better read or they’ll get a second read, they’ll get a second look. ‘How can we accept this kid?’ is the question,” Taylor said. “Instead of looking to see what’s wrong here, let’s look to see how we can accept this kid.”
Taylor said that in many cases where a student has a special connection to the University, colleges look to protect their endowments by admitting applicants who would otherwise not gain admission.
“Whether it’s legacy or development or children of faculty, it’s the family that’s responsible for the endowment, so the college feels obligated to that pay back,” Taylor said.
Both Golden and Reider referenced Margaret Bass ’02 as an example of a classic development case. Bass is the daughter of Robert Bass MBA ’74, who was the chair of the University’s Board of Trustees from 1996-2000 and donated $25 million to Stanford in 1991 and $50 million to the Graduate School of Business in 2005.
According to an article by Golden published in the Wall Street Journal, Bass was ranked 40th in her class of 79 at Groton High School. Out of the nine students from Groton that applied to Stanford that year, she was the only one accepted, though she had the second lowest SAT score of the Groton applicant group.
Her SAT score of 1220, out of 1600, was significantly lower than that of the typical Stanford student. When Bass applied in 1998, 75 percent of incoming freshmen had an SAT score of at least 1360.
“She was admitted because of her last name, and because the family was a big, big donor to Stanford,” Reider said.
In his article, Golden quoted Robin Mamlet, former Dean of Undergraduate Admission as saying that she “will certainly factor in a history of very significant giving to Stanford” when making admissions decisions.
Mamlet also said that the Office of Development gave her a list of applicants who were children of significant donors, which Reider said is not unusual. According to Reider, the admissions office is presented with this list every year, which includes not only children of large donors but also the children of people who are “important to the University.”
“Being important doesn’t just mean giving a lot of money—it means having the potential to give a lot of money or having the potential to get other people to give a lot of money,” Reider said. “There are a lot of ways you can be a development case—you don’t have to be extraordinarily rich.”
Although Reider could not give a specific number for how much money an applicant’s parents would have to donate for the applicant to be considered a development case, a July 2012 Palo Alto Patch article identified a $500,000 threshold, citing two anonymous sources connected to Stanford’s admissions process.

Faculty connections
Reider said that if he could choose any “hook” to have as an applicant, he would want to be the child of a faculty member. According to Reider, being the child of a faculty member means that “you’re already connected,” making it difficult for the Office of Admission to issue a rejection.
“Influential professors can further leverage their influence to gain their student’s admission by threatening to move valuable research funding to another university,” said Irena Smith, a former Stanford admissions officer, to The Palo Alto Patch. “If it is well-known that a faculty member gets angry, he will go elsewhere, then that’s something that is considered.”
Swart said that children of faculty members also benefit from having a “direct line to the Dean’s office,” as faculty are able to “get in direct touch with senior admissions officers to lobby on their children’s behalf.”
Golden said that in other types of special cases, some applicants, such as children of politicians or celebrities, also get a “substantial boost” in the admissions process.
According to Golden, admissions officers will go to what they consider the “lowest limit”—that a student will be able to graduate—for a select few candidates.
“They’ll go that far for a top athlete or a child of a big donor or somebody who’s politically important,” Golden said. “They’ll go quite a ways.”
Reider noted that a student could get a boost in the admissions process simply by being associated with a prominent figure in the University. Reider referenced an applicant who was in the middle of his high school class but was admitted because he was the nephew of a dean of one of the graduate schools.
“He wasn’t a faculty child or a legacy. To me it was a slam dunk that you don’t take him,” Reider said. “But the Dean [of Admissions] said, ‘It’s probably good to have friends in the graduate schools.’”
Taylor said that she has seen several of her clients gain admission to top schools like Duke and Stanford because they benefited from the preferential treatment afforded to what she called “celebrity kids.”
One of Taylor’s clients, the crown prince to “a significant country,” was admitted to Stanford with a relatively low GPA and test scores. According to Taylor, there was “absolutely no way” he would have been admitted if he hadn’t been an important political figure.
“Maybe one day he’ll come and give a commencement address,” Taylor said. “It’s not always about the money, it’s about who these kids are, what they will contribute in life and how proud the school will be to say that this kid was educated at Stanford.”
OTHER ARTICLES

http://www.stanforddaily.com/2013/03/12/connections-to-university-can-affect-admissions-decision/

Stanford's RD Admission Decisions to be Released March 29, 2013

Regular decision applicant admission decisions will be communicated Friday, March 29, 2013 via email beginning at 3 p.m. (Pacific Time). Please understand that while we will begin to send decisions at 3 p.m. (Pacific Time), it may take several hours before your decision reaches you. If we encounter any technical issues or your internet service provider blocks our email, delivery may be interrupted. As a result, we respectfully ask that you do not call or write to the Office of Undergraduate Admission to request your admission decision until our office reopens on Monday, April 1 at 8:30 a.m. (Pacific Time).

We understand and empathize with your anxiety right now and we will do everything in our power to ensure that your admission decision reaches you as soon as possible. Your patience is greatly appreciated.

http://admission.stanford.edu/site/news/index.html#n122

Stanford accepts 725 in REA for class of 2017

Stanford has sent acceptance letters to 725 high school students who sought admission to the Class of 2017 under the university's early admission program, the Office of Undergraduate Admission announced Friday, Dec. 14.

The students were selected from 6,103 early admission candidates, the largest restricted early application pool in Stanford's history.

"We have admitted an extraordinary and highly accomplished group of students, selected from an early pool of exceptional depth," said Richard H. Shaw, dean of undergraduate admission and financial aid.

"We are honored to have reviewed all the outstanding young people who expressed an interest in Stanford."

Shaw said the 725 students who received acceptance letters come from 43 states and 28 countries.

More than 70 percent have a high school grade point average of 4.0 or higher and have demonstrated excellence in fields ranging from fine arts, writing and the humanities to engineering and science.

All early applicants were notified of their decisions -- admitted, denied or deferred to the regular decision round -- by email Friday afternoon.

Students who apply through Stanford's restrictive early action program may consider all of their college options before responding.

Under Stanford's undergraduate financial aid program, the university guarantees to meet the full demonstrated financial need of all admitted students.

Stanford will reserve the majority of spaces in its freshman class for students who apply for admission under its regular decision program. An additional 30,000 students are expected to apply for admission by Jan. 1.

Students admitted under both programs have until May 1 to accept Stanford's offers.

Last December, Stanford offered early admission to 755 high school students from an applicant pool of 5,880.

On March 30, 2012, it notified regular applicants. In total, the university offered admission to 2,427 prospective freshmen -- including the early admits -- from a total applicant pool of 36,631 for the Class of 2016.


http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/show_story.php?id=27929

Stanford's REA Admission Decisions to be Released December 14

Restrictive Early Action applicant admission decisions will be communicated Friday, December 14, 2012 via email beginning at 3pm (Pacific Time). Please understand that while we will begin to send decisions at 3pm (Pacific Time), it may take several hours before your decision reaches you. If we encounter any technical glitches or your internet service provider blocks our email, delivery may be interrupted. As a result, we respectfully ask that you do not call or write to the Office of Undergraduate Admission to request your admission decision. We will not begin releasing decisions over the phone until next Wednesday, December 19, 2012.

We understand and empathize with your anxiety right now and we will do everything in our power to ensure that your admission decision reaches you as soon as possible. Your patience is greatly appreciated.

http://admission.stanford.edu/site/news/index.html#n119

Stanford received 6100 early applications for class of 2017

This year we reviewed more than 6,100 Restrictive Early Action applications and accepted approximately 750.


http://admission.stanford.edu/extras/decision/restrictive_early_action/faq.html