[81alum]

The number given by the broadcasters was "6" and is entirely believable for this reason:  most recruits who "turn us down"
 do so before applying, or if they apply and then accept an offer elsewhere their application probably gets pulled before being acted on.  It would be a very rare recruit who was so genuinely undecided that they would stick it out all the way through the application process, get accepted to Stanford, and only then jump ship.

For a Stanford application to be complete will require multiple different documents, transcripts, test scores, letters of rec, personal statements, etc.  All a recruit has to do is to decline to send in one required document after they know they are going elsewhere, and they won't be accepted, and thus they won't count towards those "6".  And if they decide they want to go elsewhere, why the heck would they bother to complete the Stanford application?

[81alum]

The number given by the broadcasters was "6" and is entirely believable for this reason:  most recruits who "turn us down"
 do so before applying, or if they apply and then accept an offer elsewhere their application probably gets pulled before being acted on.  It would be a very rare recruit who was so genuinely undecided that they would stick it out all the way through the application process, get accepted to Stanford, and only then jump ship.

For a Stanford application to be complete will require multiple different documents, transcripts, test scores, letters of rec, personal statements, etc.  All a recruit has to do is to decline to send in one required document after they know they are going elsewhere, and they won't be accepted, and thus they won't count towards those "6".  And if they decide they want to go elsewhere, why the heck would they bother to complete the Stanford application?