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Thursday, March 27, 2008

What it takes to get into stanford ?(short version)



Recently i have received a larger than expected number of emails and queries as to what it takes to get into stanford. I am not claiming that i am any sort of authority or any sort of seer - who knows what it takes. But what i do have it the opportunity of being in the company of people who make such decisions and people who got in as a result of those decisions and also i have been in a position to be able to influence such decisions. Here is a very short analysis of what it takes to get into a Masters program at Stanford:

  • Good Grades at undergrad
  • Make that great grades
  • A good/great recommendation from someone who matters or is well known
  • A publication at a top-tier conference or a journal
  • A summer that was well spent and you have something to show for it
  • Helps to be from a top-tier university already (though not a necessity)
  • As few mistakes as possible in recommendation letters/SOPs/Transcripts
  • GREs on the higher side are always and always better than low scores on GREs
  • Remember - all GRE sections are important
Elaboration coming soon...

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Don't you think, too much emphasis is being placed on GRE scores. They show nothing except the proficiency in words which are barely used in scientific papers. Stanford will surely miss many of the brilliant talents who can be next Raj Reddy or Edward Feigenbaum, if they continue to filter students based on GRE.