Admission News
Dedicated undergrads bring Stanford Powwow to life this Mother's Day Weekend
May 7, 2012
As a child, Maija Cruz recalls chasing the rippling fringe of a teenage girl's shawl as she whirled around a powwow arena doing the light, quick steps of the Fancy Shawl Dance, which mimics the flight, elegance, agility and endurance of the butterfly.
"My mom says I fell in love with her the first time I met her, since I thought she was a real live princess—even though that was just a powwow dance competition title," said Cruz, a Stanford junior and co-chair of the 41st Annual Stanford Powwow, a three-day event that begins Friday in the Eucalyptus Grove.
By the time Cruz (Ojibwe) was 10, the teenage girl she had idolized—named Deanna—was married, with a child of her own, living on the Lac Du Flambeau Chippewa Reservation in Wisconsin. Cruz asked her to teach her the steps of the Fancy Shawl Dance, so she could perform it "correctly" and dance it the way her cousins did.
"I'll never forget her explaining to me that there were no steps, that it was a feeling, something that only the drums and something inside of me could teach me," Cruz said. "She said I needed to just move and let it come out, that I would know when I got it right."
Cruz found the feeling of the dance—by listening to the drums and her heart.
"I realized I was doing it right all along," she said. "I was dancing and I loved it. It was as close to being a butterfly as I could get."
So Cruz will be watching the Fancy Shawl Dance competition at this weekend's Stanford Powwow with a special fondness.
"It is my favorite dance," she said. "The dance is very much alive and in front of me, whether I'm the one dancing or not. "
Six Stanford faculty elected to National Academy of Sciences
May 7, 2012
Six Stanford professors were named this week as new members of the National Academy of Sciences. The academy is an honorific society that recognizes distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.
The Stanford scholars were among 84 new members and 21 foreign associates from 15 countries, bringing the total number of active members to 2,152 and the total number of foreign associates to 430. (Foreign associates are nonvoting members of the academy, with citizenship outside the United States.)
The Stanford honorees are Karl Deisseroth, Carol S. Dweck, James D. Fearon, Christopher Garcia, Liqun Luo and Robert Tibshirani.
Read more about the honorees »
Robots dazzle spectators at block party held by Stanford's Center for Internet and Society
April 17, 2012
They whizzed and they whirled. Some even flopped and fizzled. But all of the machines at this year's Robot Block Party managed to dazzle visitors who came out to the event.
The third annual showcase held last week at Stanford's Volkswagen Automotive Innovation Lab brought together dozens of robots and robotic technology from throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.
There were playful robots including one that danced to Michael Jackson's Thriller. It thrilled the dozens of children who gathered to watch the spectacle.
There also were autonomous vehicles and drones, robots used in film and television, and medical robots designed to make surgical procedures more precise.
Inventors brought homemade machines, such as one that tosses basketballs into a hoop and another that hovered a few inches above the ground while circling the area via remote control.
Organizations also showed off robots that kids can make using Lego bricks and a smartphone, and advertised summer camps for children interested in engineering. Read more about robots »
Admission Decisions Released
March 30, 2012
The Office of Undergraduate Admission has completed its evaluation and selection process and we will release all admission decisions sometime today after 3pm. All decisions will be sent via email from Richard Shaw, Dean of Admission and Financial Aid, and will not be available on any Stanford website. Students who are admitted will also be mailed a formal offer letter of admission as well. To avoid sending disappointing news twice, we will not mail paper copies of decisions to students who are not offered admission. Please do not call the Office for admission decisions as we will not release them by phone.
Of the 36,631 applications received, a total of 2,427 students will be admitted. An additional 789 students will be offered a space on our waitlist. Regrettably, we cannot consider any letters or calls of appeal whatsoever. All admission decisions are final and we never alter any admission decision once it has been rendered.
We were humbled by this year's admission process and we have great respect for those students who have applied for admission. We wish all of our candidates the best and know that they will all have a wonderful collegiate experience.
Please be aware that the Office of Undergraduate Admission will close today at 3pm to complete the mailing process. We will re-open Monday, April 2 at 8:30am.
Bob Patterson
Director of Admission
Transfer Application Deadline
March 13, 2012
Please be advised that transfer applicants must successfully complete and submit their applications online by the March 15 deadline to be considered for transfer admission. Applicants who have successfully submitted their complete applications can check whether or not their applications were submitted and downloaded by Stanford by checking the Common Application (under MY COLLEGES). The download process may take several days but rest assured complete applications submitted by the deadline date will be received by the Office of Undergraduate Admission.
Unapproved paper applications and late submissions will not be considered under any circumstances, even for students who have technical difficulties with the Common Application Web site. All technical difficulties must be addressed well before the application deadline.
Bob Patterson
Director of Admission
Update: Regular Decision Application Decisions
March 13, 2012
We are still on schedule to release all freshman admission decisions by Sunday, April 1 after 3pm (Pacific Time). All admission decisions will be sent via email from admission@stanford.edu and will be signed by Richard Shaw, Dean of Undergraduate Admission and Financial Aid. Decisions will not be posted on any Stanford website and only applicants offered admission will be sent any information by mail. Admitted students will be mailed a packet of materials (including their official offer of admission letter). All other decisions will be sent to students via email — including those students offered a space on our waiting list. All admission decisions will be final and given the highly selective nature of our process, we cannot consider any appeals whatsoever. We never, ever reverse an admission decision once it has been officially rendered.
Bob Patterson
Director of Admission
President Obama gives the National Humanities Medal to Stanford literary scholar Ramón Saldívar
February 22, 2012
In a White House ceremony on Monday, President Obama awarded a National Humanities Medal to Stanford English and comparative literature Professor Ramón Saldívar.
His teaching and research, centering on globalization, transnationalism and Chicano studies, were recognized for "his bold explorations of identity along the border separating the United States and Mexico."
"You've helped guide our growth as a people," Obama told the nine medal winners. The awards are for outstanding achievement in history, literature, education, philosophy and musicology. This year's recipients include poets, historians and philosophers.
The medals are described as honoring those whose work deepens the nation's understanding of the humanities. Saldívar, the Hoagland Family Professor in Humanities and Sciences at Stanford, was selected by the National Endowment for the Humanities for his literary analysis, which "beckons us to notice the cultural and literary markings that unite and divide us.
Read more about Ramón Saldívar »
Checking the status of an application
February 15, 2012
It is the applicant's responsibility to make sure his/her application is complete and that all required materials have been received by us. An applicant may check the status of his/her application by going to http://axess.stanford.edu/ and clicking on "Check Application Status" on the left-hand side, under "Guest Menu"—please do not log in to AXESS or request a SUNet ID. The applicant will then be prompted to enter his/her email address—the applicant must enter the email address listed on his/her Common Application. The email address provided will be validated against our records, and a follow-up email will be sent to that same address within 24 hours containing the current status of the applicant's required application materials.
If a required application item is listed as "Not Yet Processed" please fax the missing item(s) to 650-723-6050 and include the applicant's Common Application number on the fax. Missing items sent via email attachment will not be accepted. Do note late documents may take four to five business days to show up in our online system.
Please do not call or email the Office of Undergraduate Admission to check on the status of an application. We cannot confirm the arrival of specific application materials by phone or email. We encourage applicants to check the status of their application online periodically, no more than once per day, using the link above, until their application is complete.
Stanford concludes transformative fundraising campaign
February 10, 2012
Stanford University today announced the successful conclusion of The Stanford Challenge, having raised $6.2 billion to seek solutions to global problems and educate leaders for a more complex world.
The five-year fundraising campaign was launched in October 2006 with a goal of $4.3 billion. The effort ended Dec. 31, with the final tally of gifts completed this month.
Although the campus-wide campaign benefited every school and every part of the university, a key priority for The Stanford Challenge was to reduce traditional disciplinary and organizational boundaries to bring together experts from all across campus.
"The Stanford Challenge has transformed the way our faculty and students work," said Stanford President John L. Hennessy. "We've undertaken a new model in higher education, with experts from different fields joining together not only in research, but also in teaching. This kind of collaboration has enabled Stanford to assume a larger role in addressing global problems. We are already making a greater difference."
Read more about the Stanford Challenge »
Trustees approves sites for two new arts buildings
January 13, 2012
The Stanford University Board of Trustees has approved sites for two new buildings: the McMurtry Building and the museum building for the Anderson Collection at Stanford University. These facilities will be critical to expanding and enhancing the role the arts play throughout campus.
Trustees gave concept and site approval—the first two steps in the university's construction approval process—to the two buildings at their Dec. 12-13 meeting.
The McMurtry Building, the future home of the Department of Art & Art History, will be located on Roth Way near the Cantor Arts Center. The building was named in honor of Burton "Burt" and Deedee McMurtry, longtime friends of the university, who provided a $30 million gift toward its creation. Burt McMurtry (MS '59, PhD '62) is a former chair of the Board of Trustees.
The museum building for the Anderson Collection at Stanford University, which is one of the foremost collections of post-World War II American art, will be located on the corner of Lomita Drive and Campus Drive West, north of the Cantor Arts Center. Read more »
2011 Annual Report features research highlights from Stanford professors
January 9, 2012
Stanford scholars are engaged in ongoing basic and applied research that creates new knowledge and benefits society. See examples from the 2011 Annual Report.
Last update: May 7, 2012 11:53 AM
