Backstage at Stanford's Admissions Office

As everyone and her mother tries to crack the admissions codes of highly selective schools, this article from the Stanford Alumni magazine might be good reading. The short answer to the question: "It's complicated." Another way of putting it: "It's not entirely 'fair.'" But you probably already know that. 

Hat tip to Josh Stephens at Arborbridge (international standardized test prep/tutoring) for calling it to my attention. 

It's call "What it Takes" by Ivan Maisel. Here's a excerpt and the link to the full article: 

"THE GOAL OF THIS PIECE is to demystify college admissions at Stanford, because explaining nuclear physics is just too simple. Clarifying Middle East politics, solving the Riemann hypothesis, defining love—anyone can do that. Let's tackle a subject with some heft to it.

"As my late grandmother would say, "Oy."

Few topics invite more analysis, envy, code-breaking, speculation and hope than college admissions. Across the "United States, applications to elite universities have mushroomed. More than 35,000 students applied to Harvard last academic year, vying for 1,664 spots. Princeton handled 26,498 applications to fill a class of 1,291. At Stanford, applicants totaled 38,828, an all-time high; 2,210 were accepted, or slightly less than 1 in 17. In the coming years, the odds, like afternoon shadows on the Quad, will only lengthen.

"A generation ago, college admissions boiled down to a teenager, a pen-on-paper application and a 13-cent stamp. Oh, for the soothing presence of Dean Fred Hargadon, Stanford's own Lincoln, the towering presence who dispensed cracker-barrel wisdom and fat envelopes to the parents of the current legacy applicants." READ MORE 

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