[81alum]

Let's not get all high and mighty. Our drama and music students have GPAs and SATs in line with the rest of our student body. Our football and basketball players do not (but they're closer than other schools!). You're not getting in to Stanford with a 1350 and a 3.7 unless you run a 4.4 40 or your dad donated a building.

Hargadon initiated a rating system in which all applications were rated 1-5 on Scholastics and 1-5 on everything else--mainly extracurriculars.  I presume that system or a similar system continues in use.  Our football and basketball players do have GPAs and SATs in line with everyone else in the student body with an equivalent extra curricular score.  It is very difficult to score a 5 in the non academic category--only a tiny number of the most elite athletes do so.  That means that only a tiny number of our most elite athletes really can bend the bar on the academic score.  For example, let's say in a given year you need a "8" to make the first cut at admissions.  If you scored a 5 due to your football prowess then you would need a "3" on the academic scale.  If you were not as desirable an athlete--say a "4", then you would need to be better on the academic scale at a "4."  Let's say you are are a good athlete that the coaches wanted but not really elite--so that you only rate a "3" on extracurriculars based on your solid athletic achievements.  Then you would need to blow away the academic scale at a "5".  So athletes on the same team actually have different standards depending upon the evaluation of their whole application.

Now, if this were in place only for athletes people would be right in saying that Stanford, too, has a double standard for athletes.  But it is in place for everyone.  Musicians, writers, political activists, thespians,  science fair aficionados--you name it.  They all earn points on extra curriculars and earning more or less raises or lowers the academic expectations.  Most students at Stanford do NOT score "5" on the academic scale--the vast majority of students at Stanford are there in large measure as a result of outstanding extracurricular activities that are judged just as worthy as football or basketball.

[81alum]

Let's not get all high and mighty. Our drama and music students have GPAs and SATs in line with the rest of our student body. Our football and basketball players do not (but they're closer than other schools!). You're not getting in to Stanford with a 1350 and a 3.7 unless you run a 4.4 40 or your dad donated a building.

Hargadon initiated a rating system in which all applications were rated 1-5 on Scholastics and 1-5 on everything else--mainly extracurriculars.  I presume that system or a similar system continues in use.  Our football and basketball players do have GPAs and SATs in line with everyone else in the student body with an equivalent extra curricular score.  It is very difficult to score a 5 in the non academic category--only a tiny number of the most elite athletes do so.  That means that only a tiny number of our most elite athletes really can bend the bar on the academic score.  For example, let's say in a given year you need a "8" to make the first cut at admissions.  If you scored a 5 due to your football prowess then you would need a "3" on the academic scale.  If you were not as desirable an athlete--say a "4", then you would need to be better on the academic scale at a "4."  Let's say you are are a good athlete that the coaches wanted but not really elite--so that you only rate a "3" on extracurriculars based on your solid athletic achievements.  Then you would need to blow away the academic scale at a "5".  So athletes on the same team actually have different standards depending upon the evaluation of their whole application.

Now, if this were in place only for athletes people would be right in saying that Stanford, too, has a double standard for athletes.  But it is in place for everyone.  Musicians, writers, political activists, thespians,  science fair aficionados--you name it.  They all earn points on extra curriculars and earning more or less raises or lowers the academic expectations.  Most students at Stanford do NOT score "5" on the academic scale--the vast majority of students at Stanford are there in large measure as a result of outstanding extracurricular activities that are judged just as worthy as football or basketball.