Stanford C/O 2019 Applicants (2015-2016 cycle) Forum

[lemonparty]

I'm gonna be in San Fran next Thursday/Friday and was thinking of emailing SLS to see if anyone would be around from admissions to talk -- does anyone have any insight on this? Too desperate? I genuinely would like to see the campus but don't want to ruin what small chances I have remaining after surviving the ding waves so far. Was thinking after visiting I might send a LOCI expressing how they're my top choice, I loved visiting, I just got a new job, blah blah blah.. Would love any feedback!

[fliptrip]

I'm gonna be in San Fran next Thursday/Friday and was thinking of emailing SLS to see if anyone would be around from admissions to talk -- does anyone have any insight on this? Too desperate? I genuinely would like to see the campus but don't want to ruin what small chances I have remaining after surviving the ding waves so far. Was thinking after visiting I might send a LOCI expressing how they're my top choice, I loved visiting, I just got a new job, blah blah blah.. Would love any feedback!

SLS will be in reading period/exams end of next week. Not sure how that effects visiting, but it's a good thing to be aware of.

[Erinlily22]

It wasn't clear to me: you guys are writing LOCI even though a decision hasn't been made yet or because you were WLed? I don't expect to get in, but I haven't heard anything back and according to the status checker a DLS hasn't been sent, so does this means I have a minuscule chance?? Should I send a LOCI?

Speaking for myself: I was talking about sending a LOCI even though a decision hasn't been made--I gather others were also discussing the LOCI along these lines. From my understanding, Stanford Law likes to see applicants submit a LOCI.

[lawj5]

I'm thinking of sending a LOCI as Stanford is my first choice, but I only submitted my app in early January. Is it too soon to send one now?

edit: I'm not on the waitlist; I haven't received any decision yet

[fliptrip]

I mean, Stanford is well known to go deep into April with its acceptances, so it could be "too early". But, considering they are the one place that openly welcomes LOCI from pre-decision students, I figure that if you've got something to say you might as well let 'er rip.

It might help and it can't hurt, so why not?

[lawj5]

I mean, Stanford is well known to go deep into April with its acceptances, so it could be "too early". But, considering they are the one place that openly welcomes LOCI from pre-decision students, I figure that if you've got something to say you might as well let 'er rip.

It might help and it can't hurt, so why not?

Ok, thanks for your input!

[clarf]

COULD TODAY BE THE DAY? Probably not.

[panli19]

So I applied early October and I haven't heard back yet. Many of you are probably in the same boat. There's just one thing I can't understand. Why not wait list us if they can't make a decision now? Why put our file aside and make us wait for an initial decision? Isn't the idea of a wait list conceived exactly for situations like ours.

[fliptrip]

^^You just have to accept that SLS has a different kind of operation going on. We know less about SLS' process than we do about anyone's. Their staff is small and they are trying to execute a more holistic process. In some ways you should be happy they don't just straight WL people quickly. It is a sign that they are holding on to folks they like and want to see if they can make it work to take. Obviously, this is not on the most applicant-sensitive schedule, but I bet it works out for a lot of folks in the end.

Also, SLS is very sensitive to yield. If you can possibly admit someone, I think you'd prefer to straight admit them rather than WL them.

[Olliedemars]

According to LSN, there was a 3-week span in March with no new admits. Scrolled through last year's thread to see if what was said there aligns with LSN; no calls were reported from March 4 'til 28th? 29th?

Wonder if this trend will hold, or what explains the radio silence.

Also, desperately need new hobby.

[SpikeSeagull]

According to LSN, there was a 3-week span in March with no new admits. Scrolled through last year's thread to see if what was said there aligns with LSN; no calls were reported from March 4 'til 28th? 29th?

Wonder if this trend will hold, or what explains the radio silence.

Also, desperately need new hobby.

Honestly the data from LSN is too little to extrapolate from, and we also have no idea what is going on behind the scenes, so speculating about whether a specific trend that may or may not have happened last year will happen again is fairly pointless... so is posting on this forum about that, tho, so I agree that I, too, need a new hobby.

[publicinterest7]

What do you guys think about submitting an additional letter of recommendation if you haven't heard back yet? I went complete in early November, and I stupidly didn't submit a Stanford-specific LOR and have been kicking myself ever since. It sounds like Stanford welcomes an additional LOR for waitlisted candidates, but do you think it would be helpful for those of us who haven't heard yet or would they wonder why we hadn't just submitted it with our original apps?

[publicinterest7]

Ughhh, sorry, should have done this before posting, but I went further back in the thread and saw that submitting a LOCI before being waitlisted could seem desperate, so I'm assuming an additional LOR would be the same

[clarf]

Ughhh, sorry, should have done this before posting, but I went further back in the thread and saw that submitting a LOCI before being waitlisted could seem desperate, so I'm assuming an additional LOR would be the same

The thing is, how would you be able to distinguish if your LOCI/LOR pushed your wait-list into a ding or an acceptance?

[hookedonjambalaya]

I've been waiting on some type of movement since Thanksgiving, but have gotten nothing. Honestly expect to be rejected with my numbers (165/3.3 with great softs) but am confused as to why this hasn't happened already..

[clarf]

I've been waiting on some type of movement since Thanksgiving, but have gotten nothing. Honestly expect to be rejected with my numbers (165/3.3 with great softs) but am confused as to why this hasn't happened already..

Are you a URM?

[Topszn]

I've been waiting on some type of movement since Thanksgiving, but have gotten nothing. Honestly expect to be rejected with my numbers (165/3.3 with great softs) but am confused as to why this hasn't happened already..

there's no method to the stanford madness. save yourself

[publicinterest7]

Ughhh, sorry, should have done this before posting, but I went further back in the thread and saw that submitting a LOCI before being waitlisted could seem desperate, so I'm assuming an additional LOR would be the same

The thing is, how would you be able to distinguish if your LOCI/LOR pushed your wait-list into a ding or an acceptance?

Sorry, I'm confused what you mean. I haven't even gotten a waitlist unfortunately, so I guess the LOCI/LOR could push me to a waitlist, ding, or acceptance.

[GrayGamut]

Ughhh, sorry, should have done this before posting, but I went further back in the thread and saw that submitting a LOCI before being waitlisted could seem desperate, so I'm assuming an additional LOR would be the same

I'm clearly not an expert, but I really don't think that it would come off as desperate. For folks like us who really want Stanford, I think it's easy to overestimate the extent to which Stanford will assume that everyone wants to go to Stanford, so it can seem like there's no benefit from demonstrating continued interest. But Stanford loses great applicants to Yale, Harvard, Chicago ($$), etc. every year, and they seem to actively try to keep their yield in check by valuing the Stanford-specific elements of the application, whether that's a Why Stanford, Stanford-specific LOR, or LOCI.

I was at an admissions panel in October, and if I remember correctly, Dean Deal said that files are reviewed first upon submission, and then often are held and read again later in the cycle. She said it's underwhelming for admissions to pull your file off the shelf in the spring and find that there's been no movement whatsoever on your part since you applied. She advised submitting fall grades, another LOR, or a LOCI. I assumed based on her description of the review process that the advice was relevant even prior to being waitlisted.

[publicinterest7]

Ughhh, sorry, should have done this before posting, but I went further back in the thread and saw that submitting a LOCI before being waitlisted could seem desperate, so I'm assuming an additional LOR would be the same

I'm clearly not an expert, but I really don't think that it would come off as desperate. For folks like us who really want Stanford, I think it's easy to overestimate the extent to which Stanford will assume that everyone wants to go to Stanford, so it can seem like there's no benefit from demonstrating continued interest. But Stanford loses great applicants to Yale, Harvard, Chicago ($$), etc. every year, and they seem to actively try to keep their yield in check by valuing the Stanford-specific elements of the application, whether that's a Why Stanford, Stanford-specific LOR, or LOCI.

I was at an admissions panel in October, and if I remember correctly, Dean Deal said that files are reviewed first upon submission, and then often are held and read again later in the cycle. She said it's underwhelming for admissions to pull your file off the shelf in the spring and find that there's been no movement whatsoever on your part since you applied. She advised submitting fall grades, another LOR, or a LOCI. I assumed based on her description of the review process that the advice was relevant even prior to being waitlisted.

Oh my, that is so good to know! Thank you!! I had also heard that they often review applications again throughout the spring, so that really makes sense.

[hookedonjambalaya]

I've been waiting on some type of movement since Thanksgiving, but have gotten nothing. Honestly expect to be rejected with my numbers (165/3.3 with great softs) but am confused as to why this hasn't happened already..

Are you a URM?

Nah

[fliptrip]

I'm clearly not an expert, but I really don't think that it would come off as desperate. For folks like us who really want Stanford, I think it's easy to overestimate the extent to which Stanford will assume that everyone wants to go to Stanford, so it can seem like there's no benefit from demonstrating continued interest. But Stanford loses great applicants to Yale, Harvard, Chicago ($$), etc. every year, and they seem to actively try to keep their yield in check by valuing the Stanford-specific elements of the application, whether that's a Why Stanford, Stanford-specific LOR, or LOCI.

I was at an admissions panel in October, and if I remember correctly, Dean Deal said that files are reviewed first upon submission, and then often are held and read again later in the cycle. She said it's underwhelming for admissions to pull your file off the shelf in the spring and find that there's been no movement whatsoever on your part since you applied. She advised submitting fall grades, another LOR, or a LOCI. I assumed based on her description of the review process that the advice was relevant even prior to being waitlisted.

This characteristic about Stanford needs to be repeated to the point that it becomes conventional wisdom. Stanford is not Harvard or Yale. They do not assume they are your first choice. You only help yourself the more you can show specific Stanford interest. Why is Stanford this way? Simple math:

Yale admitted 269 to fill a class of 200, that's a 74% yield, which is really low for Yale. Strange.
Harvard admitted 931 to fill its class of 562, that's a 60% yield, which is higher than they usually are.
Stanford admitted 433 to fill a class of 180, that's a 42% yield. These guys are fighting tooth and nail for every deposit they can get.

[GrumpyYellowOgre]

DLS sometime in the last week without a phone call. No letter yet but I'm not international. It was definitely a longshot but I was hoping to sneak onto the WL. Good luck to everyone else still waiting!

[TheKisSquared]

DLS via status checker today. no call, no email. Anticipating that ding!

[Califbess]

I've been stalking this thread since I first discovered it existed a few weeks ago, so I thought I might as well start participating. Makes me wonder how many other lurkers there are, hoping they're not simply the last to be sent denial letters. Since I submitted at the end of October and have heard nothing since, that was totally me.

Now I'm facing my fear and working on a LOCI. I didn't write a Stanford-specific personal statement, so I would hope it could convey a bit more of "me." I assume mailing a hard copy is preferred?