[PVTree]

When I was an OVAL volunteer (alums who interview students who have applied to Stanford) in the Boston area, I met with 8 Stanford applicants.

All 8 had very impressive credentials and had accomplished more than I had at their age. I wrote glowing recommendations for 7 of them. To my surprise, I was informed that none of the 8 got in. It made me wonder how accomplished the ones that did get in were, and that I probably would not be accepted if I applied today. 

The only one that I did not recommend was probably the brightest of the 8. She was also the only one that was 16, the others were older. 

I always started with the question "What do you know about Stanford?" I was hoping to hear some of the same passion about the school that I have. The answer the 16 year old gave me was that she knew that Stanford was a top 10 school, and she wanted to be accepted by all 10.

To me, that was a sign that she was on an ego trip and not serious about attending Stanford. I included that in my review, and she, along with the others, did not get in. 

I think there should be an interview in the process (by admissions officers) because you can learn a lot about the candidates beyond what's on paper (gpa, test scores, essays, etc.).

[PVTree]

When I was an OVAL volunteer (alums who interview students who have applied to Stanford) in the Boston area, I met with 8 Stanford applicants.

All 8 had very impressive credentials and had accomplished more than I had at their age. I wrote glowing recommendations for 7 of them. To my surprise, I was informed that none of the 8 got in. It made me wonder how accomplished the ones that did get in were, and that I probably would not be accepted if I applied today. 

The only one that I did not recommend was probably the brightest of the 8. She was also the only one that was 16, the others were older. 

I always started with the question "What do you know about Stanford?" I was hoping to hear some of the same passion about the school that I have. The answer the 16 year old gave me was that she knew that Stanford was a top 10 school, and she wanted to be accepted by all 10.

To me, that was a sign that she was on an ego trip and not serious about attending Stanford. I included that in my review, and she, along with the others, did not get in. 

I think there should be an interview in the process (by admissions officers) because you can learn a lot about the candidates beyond what's on paper (gpa, test scores, essays, etc.).