2014-2015 Stanford University Application Thread

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jeghaber said:
Hi everyone! I applied last year, but decided to defer matriculation, so I'll be joining you guys next fall! :hello:It looks like @Narmerguy has been awesome as always with answering questions , but feel free to reach out to me as well, especially once the semester starts and he starts getting busier, hahah 😛 Good luck to everyone!!
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Nice. Can you please explain the process? When did you apply for deferral? When did they get back with you?What was your reason? thanks in advance for your help.
 
PML said:
Nice. Can you please explain the process? When did you apply for deferral? When did they get back with you?What was your reason? thanks in advance for your help.
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I sent my deferral request mid-April and it was approved in early-May. This was essentially right after I had gone to second look weekends and had decided to matriculate.

The process itself was pretty straightforward; I sent them a one page letter outlining my goals for the year (finishing up some research projects that I wouldn't be able to finish otherwise being the main focus) and then just had to sign a deferral agreement once they approved the request! 🙂

From what I recall, the agreement makes your matriculation to Stanford binding (you can request another deferral year pretty easily but it does ask you not to apply to other schools, etc). That being said, I don't think this necessarily means you can only request a deferral if you've decided on Stanford, so if you have any questions I would just shoot them an email
 
dinothedc said:
For those of you who are accepted, how did you guys get your Student ID for SUNet ID? I've been trying to call the office but no one answered the phone.
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I remember the being instructions in the acceptance packet; they give you your student ID and ask you to make an SUNet ID. Or is this in reference to the Stanford web sites being touch and go and not loading properly? (...or is that just me? I was just assuming they were doing internal renovations to their sites)
 
jeghaber said:
I remember the being instructions in the acceptance packet; they give you your student ID and ask you to make an SUNet ID. Or is this in reference to the Stanford web sites being touch and go and not loading properly? (...or is that just me? I was just assuming they were doing internal renovations to their sites)
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I've got the instructions--the problem is no one ever answers the phone when you call to request it!
 
jeghaber said:
I sent my deferral request mid-April and it was approved in early-May. This was essentially right after I had gone to second look weekends and had decided to matriculate.

The process itself was pretty straightforward; I sent them a one page letter outlining my goals for the year (finishing up some research projects that I wouldn't be able to finish otherwise being the main focus) and then just had to sign a deferral agreement once they approved the request! 🙂

From what I recall, the agreement makes your matriculation to Stanford binding (you can request another deferral year pretty easily but it does ask you not to apply to other schools, etc). That being said, I don't think this necessarily means you can only request a deferral if you've decided on Stanford, so if you have any questions I would just shoot them an email
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Since you attended the Revisit last year, can you tell us a little bit about it? Do you recommend attending the whole event?
 
dinothedc said:
Since you attended the Revisit last year, can you tell us a little bit about it? Do you recommend attending the whole event?
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Hey there -- I unfortunately had to leave to take a red-eye to another revisit weekend on the second night, so I didn't get to stay for the entire thing (from what I can tell, I basically missed the last half-day of more casual sessions, so I don't think I missed out on too much). For the time I was there, however, I had a great time and found it incredibly informative as it really gave me a gestalt of the school in addition to the finer details of what it has to offer. In addition to all the information (and food) they throw at you, meeting the current students is a big part of the weekend. They played a significant role in many of the events, and they're a phenomenal resource in learning more about the nitty-gritty of school life (I personally loved hearing about all the neat things the 5-year students were doing with their extra year). Meeting potential classmates was another big plus -- during second looks, people are generally more open about what they're seriously considering, so you can actually start thinking about who your future classmates might be and if you jive with them.

Events-wise, on the first night, there's a dinner ("Diversity dinner," but it's really for everyone) and casual social with current students. On the second day, there are a bunch of information-session type things (there was a pretty neat part where it was round-robin-y meetings with Deans/etc in small groups; others included panels of physicians, med students, etc), housing tours, dinner with faculty and current students, student showcase and a night out (with a choice of bar-hopping or a board game night of some sort?). I left right after the student showcase to catch my flight, so I missed the rest of the events, but I heard the night out was pretty fantastic.

While second looks are still dressed-up versions of each school, if you're attending more than one to decide between schools, I think you'll find that they do highlight significant differences in cultures and can be helpful in making you final decision. One question I liked to ask was "what's your favorite thing about your school?" While this is an incredibly trite question, the answers you get can tell you a lot about 1. what aspects of the school highlights reel actually trickle down to the student's experiences and 2. what the students of that school care about. Even with positive opinions, there's a big difference in what you can conclude about a school when the majority of the answers you get are "we're really well-prepared for the boards and have stress-friendly exam schedules" vs "I love having the time to go out into the city and maintain a good balance" vs "the class gets along really well and is incredibly collaborative" vs "the school is really supportive in whatever we may want to pursue outside the curriculum." This is where you finally get to reap the rewards for the year of incessant phone checking and stress, and you get to call the shots based on what your own priorities are.

So....a tl;dr seems to be in order 🙂 To answer your question, if you can, attending the whole event is the way to do it. This is especially true if you're deciding between schools. But if you can only afford to attend a part of the event, you'll still have a wonderful time but might wonder what you may have missed. Think of it as cake vs molten lava cake. If you're paying for dessert anyways, why settle for plain cake? (That being said, if you're counting coins/checking the time to see if you can afford to pay/stay for dessert at all, I wouldn't stress too much about going through contortions just to attend -- it's cake, not the elixir of life)
 
Perhaps a glimmer of hope for those still waiting for a mythical II: one showed up in my inbox this morning (complete in July, stats well below the average). I had long assumed Stanford thought so lowly of my app that they didn't even want to waste a piece of Stanford letterhead on my rejection letter... Keep the faith y'all!
 
peanutbutterdaisy said:
Perhaps a glimmer of hope for those still waiting for a mythical II: one showed up in my inbox this morning (complete in July, stats well below the average). I had long assumed Stanford thought so lowly of my app that they didn't even want to waste a piece of Stanford letterhead on my rejection letter... Keep the faith y'all!
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Congrats! This renews my hope. lol
 
Hi everyone, Stanford definitely does not accept pre-interview updates, right?
 
peanutbutterdaisy said:
Perhaps a glimmer of hope for those still waiting for a mythical II: one showed up in my inbox this morning (complete in July, stats well below the average). I had long assumed Stanford thought so lowly of my app that they didn't even want to waste a piece of Stanford letterhead on my rejection letter... Keep the faith y'all!
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Congratulations. What dates are available?
 
jeghaber said:
Hey there -- I unfortunately had to leave to take a red-eye to another revisit weekend on the second night, so I didn't get to stay for the entire thing (from what I can tell, I basically missed the last half-day of more casual sessions, so I don't think I missed out on too much). For the time I was there, however, I had a great time and found it incredibly informative as it really gave me a gestalt of the school in addition to the finer details of what it has to offer. In addition to all the information (and food) they throw at you, meeting the current students is a big part of the weekend. They played a significant role in many of the events, and they're a phenomenal resource in learning more about the nitty-gritty of school life (I personally loved hearing about all the neat things the 5-year students were doing with their extra year). Meeting potential classmates was another big plus -- during second looks, people are generally more open about what they're seriously considering, so you can actually start thinking about who your future classmates might be and if you jive with them.

Events-wise, on the first night, there's a dinner ("Diversity dinner," but it's really for everyone) and casual social with current students. On the second day, there are a bunch of information-session type things (there was a pretty neat part where it was round-robin-y meetings with Deans/etc in small groups; others included panels of physicians, med students, etc), housing tours, dinner with faculty and current students, student showcase and a night out (with a choice of bar-hopping or a board game night of some sort?). I left right after the student showcase to catch my flight, so I missed the rest of the events, but I heard the night out was pretty fantastic.

While second looks are still dressed-up versions of each school, if you're attending more than one to decide between schools, I think you'll find that they do highlight significant differences in cultures and can be helpful in making you final decision. One question I liked to ask was "what's your favorite thing about your school?" While this is an incredibly trite question, the answers you get can tell you a lot about 1. what aspects of the school highlights reel actually trickle down to the student's experiences and 2. what the students of that school care about. Even with positive opinions, there's a big difference in what you can conclude about a school when the majority of the answers you get are "we're really well-prepared for the boards and have stress-friendly exam schedules" vs "I love having the time to go out into the city and maintain a good balance" vs "the class gets along really well and is incredibly collaborative" vs "the school is really supportive in whatever we may want to pursue outside the curriculum." This is where you finally get to reap the rewards for the year of incessant phone checking and stress, and you get to call the shots based on what your own priorities are.

So....a tl;dr seems to be in order 🙂 To answer your question, if you can, attending the whole event is the way to do it. This is especially true if you're deciding between schools. But if you can only afford to attend a part of the event, you'll still have a wonderful time but might wonder what you may have missed. Think of it as cake vs molten lava cake. If you're paying for dessert anyways, why settle for plain cake? (That being said, if you're counting coins/checking the time to see if you can afford to pay/stay for dessert at all, I wouldn't stress too much about going through contortions just to attend -- it's cake, not the elixir of life)
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Thanks a lot for the info. Definitely very thorough!!!
 
I got places on the waitlist, but the letter didn't say anything about what to do to stay on the waitlist. Is it automatically assumed I want to stay on it unless I tell them otherwise?
 
premedpurposes said:
I got places on the waitlist, but the letter didn't say anything about what to do to stay on the waitlist. Is it automatically assumed I want to stay on it unless I tell them otherwise?
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when did you interview mind me asking?
 
Has anyone began working on their financial aid application yet (like completing the Supplemental Financial Aid Application)?
 
dinothedc said:
Has anyone began working on their financial aid application yet (like completing the Supplemental Financial Aid Application)?
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Have you been able to access the supplemental application? I received an email from the Financial Aid Office yesterday saying that it would be available on AXESS soon, but I don't see it yet.
 
bluevase said:
Have you been able to access the supplemental application? I received an email from the Financial Aid Office yesterday saying that it would be available on AXESS soon, but I don't see it yet.
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I didn't see anything either. Also, I didn't receive any email from the Financial Aid Office. Do you mind sharing what was in there?
 
dinothedc said:
I didn't see anything either. Also, I didn't receive any email from the Financial Aid Office. Do you mind sharing what was in there?
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Sure! See below:

Our online upload forms and supplemental application portal will be available soon.

You can prepare ahead of time by signing up for a SUNet ID which you will need to log into Stanford’s portal “AXESS” at https://axess.stanford.edu/ .

Creating your SUNet ID is easy. If you have not done so already, go to https://sunetid.stanford.edu/ and use your student ID number to create one.

We will notify you to when these forms are ready. Having your SUNet available will enable you to use the online upload forms and supplemental application portal in AXESS.

For additional instructions for financial aid requirements and applications, please visit:

http://med.stanford.edu/md/financial_aid/application.html
 
dinothedc said:
I didn't see anything either. Also, I didn't receive any email from the Financial Aid Office. Do you mind sharing what was in there?
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From what I remember, you'll have to upload your+your parents' signed tax return forms and your+your parents' W2 forms. The actual supplemental application was just a simple online form -- fairly straightforward. The link to upload the documents will show up in the middle of the axess page, in the financial aid section.

OscarWao said:
Sorry if I missed this but when exactly is admit weekend?
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April 9-11 🙂
 
Is there an official fb group for admitted students?
 
toastytoastie said:
Nothing official, but type in "Stanford Medical School Entering Class of 2015" and request to join!
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Since the current setup of having the M1 recruitment chairs as admin and several other M1s as members is the same as last year's accepted-turned-matriculating group around this time, I think this group is pretty much the official one!
 
Hi guys,

I had a fantastic interview day at Stanford (and have of course fallen madly in love). I interviewed in March--late in the cycle--and am wondering about letters of intent. Based on what I heard during Dr. Gibbs' presentation, I got the sense that these kinds of letters don't mean much to the admissions committee. While we weren't explicitly told not to send them, we were told that they get "tons" of them, and that they only want to hear about TRULY significant updates. Did others get this sense during interview day? I spaced on asking when I had the chance. Thanks, and good luck to those waiting. Btw, for anyone who is nervous about MMI, don't be--it was a blast!
 
quetzalcoatl said:
Hi guys,

I had a fantastic interview day at Stanford (and have of course fallen madly in love). I interviewed in March--late in the cycle--and am wondering about letters of intent. Based on what I heard during Dr. Gibbs' presentation, I got the sense that these kinds of letters don't mean much to the admissions committee. While we weren't explicitly told not to send them, we were told that they get "tons" of them, and that they only want to hear about TRULY significant updates. Did others get this sense during interview day? I spaced on asking when I had the chance. Thanks, and good luck to those waiting. Btw, for anyone who is nervous about MMI, don't be--it was a blast!
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Interviewed same day, also got that sense about letters of intent :/ Good luck though!
 
oogachaka said:
Interviewed same day, also got that sense about letters of intent :/ Good luck though!
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Hi oogachaka, thanks for the response! I guess I have to accept that it is "all out of our hands" at this point. Good luck to you too! Hoping that we will hear good news in time for second look!
 
quetzalcoatl said:
Hi guys,

I had a fantastic interview day at Stanford (and have of course fallen madly in love). I interviewed in March--late in the cycle--and am wondering about letters of intent. Based on what I heard during Dr. Gibbs' presentation, I got the sense that these kinds of letters don't mean much to the admissions committee. While we weren't explicitly told not to send them, we were told that they get "tons" of them, and that they only want to hear about TRULY significant updates. Did others get this sense during interview day? I spaced on asking when I had the chance. Thanks, and good luck to those waiting. Btw, for anyone who is nervous about MMI, don't be--it was a blast!
Click to expand...

Definitely got the same feeling. However, I did have several substantial updates to send them. I just tacked on a brief 1-2 sentences at the beginning of the letter about how right the fit would be. Doubt it would hurt to send a standalone letter either
 
quetzalcoatl said:
Hi guys,

I had a fantastic interview day at Stanford (and have of course fallen madly in love). I interviewed in March--late in the cycle--and am wondering about letters of intent. Based on what I heard during Dr. Gibbs' presentation, I got the sense that these kinds of letters don't mean much to the admissions committee. While we weren't explicitly told not to send them, we were told that they get "tons" of them, and that they only want to hear about TRULY significant updates. Did others get this sense during interview day? I spaced on asking when I had the chance. Thanks, and good luck to those waiting. Btw, for anyone who is nervous about MMI, don't be--it was a blast!
Click to expand...

Regarding the letter of intent, imho it didn't really help at all compared to the weight on other non-mmi private east coast schools.
 
biotechpharma said:
Regarding the letter of intent, imho it didn't really help at all compared to the weight on other non-mmi private east coast schools.
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+1
It looks like their admission is very score driven. You know, research has this much points, MMI counts for some other points. I don't think they give points for LOI. If you have really major update like the ones stated on the fliers they gave out during interview, maybe they'll rescore certain areas of your app.

That being said, didn't Elizabeth Homes manage to take college level Chinese classes at Stanford by calling them excessively? even after being told it's not possible?🙄
 
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