[CTcard]

I was just using random numbers, my point is whether there are more high-achieving HS seniors and thus more competition for the same amount of spots?

We've had this discussion several times on this board, and I suspect many of us in different settings.

The broad answer is that it is impossible to know, almost certainly depends upon who you are - and if you think about it enough difficult to really define what "harder to get in" really means.

The primary driver for more applications to Stanford is kids are filing more applications each - which does broaden the pool but doesn't necessarily indicate that there are more applications with a realistic shot at getting admitted.

The broadening of the pool (and other policies I understand are in place) does mean that students from some demographics have more competition than once upon a time - over a long period of time that would focus on white male children of alums, over a shorter length of time asian-american children of alums. Of course the corollary is that those from groups that didn't use to appear in Stanford's student demographic now have a better (i.e. some) chance.

For the most part scholarship athletes do not compete for spots with the rest of the applicant pool, and when things get tougher or more lenient on grades depends on the approach of particular people in charge and not changes in the total number of applicants to Stanford. And it is quite clear that football and men's basketball players are one case, other scholarship athletes another - maybe a couple of other.


- CTcard posting from a Stanford reunion/workshop in Shanghai.

[CTcard]

I was just using random numbers, my point is whether there are more high-achieving HS seniors and thus more competition for the same amount of spots?

We've had this discussion several times on this board, and I suspect many of us in different settings.

The broad answer is that it is impossible to know, almost certainly depends upon who you are - and if you think about it enough difficult to really define what "harder to get in" really means.

The primary driver for more applications to Stanford is kids are filing more applications each - which does broaden the pool but doesn't necessarily indicate that there are more applications with a realistic shot at getting admitted.

The broadening of the pool (and other policies I understand are in place) does mean that students from some demographics have more competition than once upon a time - over a long period of time that would focus on white male children of alums, over a shorter length of time asian-american children of alums. Of course the corollary is that those from groups that didn't use to appear in Stanford's student demographic now have a better (i.e. some) chance.

For the most part scholarship athletes do not compete for spots with the rest of the applicant pool, and when things get tougher or more lenient on grades depends on the approach of particular people in charge and not changes in the total number of applicants to Stanford. And it is quite clear that football and men's basketball players are one case, other scholarship athletes another - maybe a couple of other.


- CTcard posting from a Stanford reunion/workshop in Shanghai.