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With a 3.7/170, would anything short of "I cured cancer and solved the Israel-Palestine situation on the same day" caliber softs get me in to Stanford?

I know it's probably a pipe dream. My best soft is my Peace Corps service, which is above average as far as PC goes. I was asked to extend my service for about 6 months to finish some projects and manage/train new volunteers. I draw on a lot of that in my PS (which I think is strong, but who doesn't think theirs is?) and have a solid Stanford-specific rec from my boss there (who's also a Stanford UG alum, if that matters).

Am I grasping at straws here?

FlamingCow wrote:Am I grasping at straws here?

Definitely a reach, but worth the app if you ask me. Is your UG institution a heavy hitter? (HYP ect.) That could make a difference.

The Gentleman wrote:Is your UG institution a heavy hitter? (HYP ect.) That could make a difference.

Far from it, craptastic state school here, but I do have a good academic LOR from one of my professors there.

FlamingCow wrote:Far from it, craptastic state school here, but I do have a good academic LOR from one of my professors there.

Haha... same situation here. I have slightly better numbers, but weaker softs. Applying anyway.

Good luck!

The Gentleman wrote:

FlamingCow wrote:Far from it, craptastic state school here, but I do have a good academic LOR from one of my professors there.

Haha... same situation here. I have slightly better numbers, but weaker softs. Applying anyway.

Good luck!

Thanks, good luck to you too.

Anyone else have any input? I'm very close to sending in my ED contract to NYU, but if I have even a small shot at Stanford, I might hold off.

I know much less than others, but if you're heart-set on Stanford, you might have just as good odds attempting to transfer from wherever you attend in the fall. And the benefit there would be that you can might grow to be happy with NYU, or wherever you land, while also having a motivation to work yourself to the very top of your class if you decide once you're there that you still want Stanford more than anything.

I'd defer to whatever anyone else says, though.

From a crappy undergrad with average soft factors? You have close to a zero percent chance. 3.7 is just too low for Stanford, even with a 180, if you don't have something AMAZING helping you stand out. Even NYU is a LONG SHOT with ED and you are likely waitlisted and denied. With your credentials, have a good time at MVPB next year.

Patriot1208 wrote:Even NYU is a LONG SHOT with ED and you are likely waitlisted and denied. With your credentials, have a good time at MVPB next year.

That's what I was thinking, too, but I was curious. Thanks.

Are you applying or not? The worst case is wasting some money. If I were you, I apply anyway, knowing my chance is slim.

My numbers are much worse than yours, but I am not losing hope. I got in Stanford Engineering School with poor UGPA and GRE, but graduated with 4.0. They let me in probably because I got great GPA from my first Master's program in a decent school. Anyway, I was fairly lucky.

Because I am married and living in bay area, Stanford and Berkeley are the only two schools I am applying. Sure my numbers are bad, but maybe someone in the committee will take a chance on me. You never know.

aimee wrote:Are you applying or not? The worst case is wasting some money. If I were you, I apply anyway, knowing my chance is slim.

My numbers are much worse than yours, but I am not losing hope. I got in Stanford Engineering School with poor UGPA and GRE, but graduated with 4.0. They let me in probably because I got great GPA from my first Master's program in a decent school. Anyway, I was fairly lucky.

Because I am married and living in bay area, Stanford and Berkeley are the only two schools I am applying. Sure my numbers are bad, but maybe someone in the committee will take a chance on me. You never know.

Sorry to threadjack, but do you know how competitive is the grad school for Computer Science/Engineering? If I get lucky and get in Stanford I am seriously considering a join degree is CS/CE. Thanks!

Don't underestimate the Stanford Ad-Comm..
They'll probably give your app a thorough review, and sometimes people just get lucky, plain and simple. You could be one of those people.
Don't underestimate your Peace Corps service either. It's an excellent "soft factor" that falls in line with Stanford's commitment to public service/consciousness.

Fresh wrote:Don't underestimate the Stanford Ad-Comm..
They'll probably give your app a thorough review, and sometimes people just get lucky, plain and simple. You could be one of those people.
Don't underestimate your Peace Corps service either. It's an excellent "soft factor" that falls in line with Stanford's commitment to public service/consciousness.

Seems like that's the only thing that would save me at this point, but I don't think I should get my hopes up.

Patriot1208 wrote:From a crappy undergrad with average soft factors?

Peace Corps is just "average"? Damn, here I was thinking it would be more helpful than that.

FlamingCow wrote:

Patriot1208 wrote:From a crappy undergrad with average soft factors?

Peace Corps is just "average"? Damn, here I was thinking it would be more helpful than that.

About 5,000 people do Peace Corps every year, along with 3,000 TFA and hundreds of other more prestigious awards like Rhodes/Fulbright/Marshall scholars. The SLS class is less than 200. Your LOR is weak compared to those written by Stanford professors and even Stanford Law professors. With a 3.7 GPA, median LSAT, crappy undergrad, average softs, no work experience, and no graduate degree, I'm going to go with very slim to no chance.

im_blue wrote:

FlamingCow wrote:

Patriot1208 wrote:From a crappy undergrad with average soft factors?

Peace Corps is just "average"? Damn, here I was thinking it would be more helpful than that.

About 5,000 people do Peace Corps every year, along with 3,000 TFA and hundreds of other more prestigious awards like Rhodes/Fulbright/Marshall scholars. The SLS class is less than 200. Your LOR is weak compared to those written by Stanford professors and even Stanford Law professors. With a 3.7 GPA, median LSAT, crappy undergrad, average softs, no work experience, and no graduate degree, I'm going to go with very slim to no chance.

Makes sense. Thanks for the input.

stanford is a nice reach but pretty unlikely. i don't think your service an "average soft" but not a major game-changer, more like, will give you the benefit of the doubt where you are borderline, which is like, everywhere.

you have to look at the medians. you're below both medians at NYU, so ED is probably not going to get you in. you're below the GPA median at almost every T14. you're at or below the median LSAT at the majority of the T14. i think you're probably out at T6 but in (and might get a little money) at MVPBDCNG.

can't you apply to NYU ED and SLS as well? I mean if you get into NYU you have to go, but if you get deferred then you're still in the running for SLS.

IAFG wrote:stanford is a nice reach but pretty unlikely. i don't think your service an "average soft" but not a major game-changer, more like, will give you the benefit of the doubt where you are borderline, which is like, everywhere.

Yeah, that definitely seems to be the case. I truly have no idea what to expect from my cycle.

legends159 wrote:can't you apply to NYU ED and SLS as well? I mean if you get into NYU you have to go, but if you get deferred then you're still in the running for SLS.

That's what I'm planning on doing, but just wanted to see if SLS is just a nice fantasy that'll likely get dinged pretty quick.

FlamingCow wrote:

IAFG wrote:stanford is a nice reach but pretty unlikely. i don't think your service an "average soft" but not a major game-changer, more like, will give you the benefit of the doubt where you are borderline, which is like, everywhere.

Yeah, that definitely seems to be the case. I truly have no idea what to expect from my cycle.

Class of 2013 GPA/LSAT Medians, as lovingly assembled by im_blue

Yale 3.91 / 173 (out)
Harvard ~3.89 / 173 (out)
Columbia 3.72 / 172 (out)
NYU 3.71 / 172 (out even if you ED probably)
Chicago 3.78 / 171 (out)
UVA 3.85 / 170 (in if you apply ED or are a resident)
Penn ~3.82 / 170 (possibly in with ED, I think out RD)
Duke 3.80 / 170 (WL)
Northwestern 3.80 / 170 (50/50)
Georgetown 3.67 / 170 (in)
Michigan 3.73 / 169 (write the optional essays and probably in)
Cornell 3.70 / 168 (in)
Berkeley 3.80 / 167 (black box admissions office)

Ha, thanks for the info. Realistically, I'm hoping to get one or two of MVPB to bite RD. I'd be ecstatic if NYU ED came through, but not counting on it. Overly optimistic?

Edit -- I type gud.

FlamingCow wrote:Ha, thanks for the info. Realistically, I'm hoping to get one or two of MVPB to bite RD. I'd be ecstatic if NYU ED came through, but not counting on it. Overly optimistic?

Edit -- I type gud.

You should definitely get into at least 1 of MVPB, maybe even all 4 with Peace Corps (which is a more impressive soft at this level).

im_blue wrote:You should definitely get into at least 1 of MVPB, maybe even all 4 with Peace Corps (which is a more impressive soft at this level).

That would be fantastic. Thanks for the input, all.

im_blue wrote:

FlamingCow wrote:Ha, thanks for the info. Realistically, I'm hoping to get one or two of MVPB to bite RD. I'd be ecstatic if NYU ED came through, but not counting on it. Overly optimistic?

Edit -- I type gud.

You should definitely get into at least 1 of MVPB, maybe even all 4 with Peace Corps (which is a more impressive soft at this level).

which besides Mich? i don't see UVA or Penn as a slam dunk, and Mich can be finicky (as in, you had better try hard on the optional essays and convince them you want it)

r6_philly wrote:

aimee wrote:Are you applying or not? The worst case is wasting some money. If I were you, I apply anyway, knowing my chance is slim.

My numbers are much worse than yours, but I am not losing hope. I got in Stanford Engineering School with poor UGPA and GRE, but graduated with 4.0. They let me in probably because I got great GPA from my first Master's program in a decent school. Anyway, I was fairly lucky.

Because I am married and living in bay area, Stanford and Berkeley are the only two schools I am applying. Sure my numbers are bad, but maybe someone in the committee will take a chance on me. You never know.

Sorry to threadjack, but do you know how competitive is the grad school for Computer Science/Engineering? If I get lucky and get in Stanford I am seriously considering a join degree is CS/CE. Thanks!

Not clear on that, but saw someone saying 30% including Ph.D. So I guess it is not that difficult.