Was Stanford once easy to get into?

[saibot]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Hmm... 1972? I guess that was still during the hippie wave when it was cool to do crafts and handiwork of various sorts? Did he do cabinetry all his life, or did he move on to something else?

Within one semester of a PhD? What does that mean, exactly? Getting a doctorate isn't like undergrad, where it's mainly about completing 4 years or a certain number of credits. For a PhD it's about writing a dissertation and defending it in front of the faculty committee. There's not a schedule for that. Is the dissertation defense the part he walked out on?

And he couldn't have used his MA to get a decent job at some point?

These questions are not really in the scope of the post, but...

"Within one semester of a PhD" is a euphemism, yes, for being very close to earning the degree but not quite getting there. Brother is over 20 years older than I am, so I have no personal memories of this time--I don't know if he had finished most of his dissertation or some of it or hadn't started at all. I was just told by other family members that he decided to drop out when he was very close to the end.

He still works making fine furniture. The situation was the common one of getting married, having children, and then being in a position of needing to provide for a family using the skills and jobs one has. His MA was in Philosophy, not exactly a practical degree.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by saibot

These questions are not really in the scope of the post, but...

"Within one semester of a PhD" is a euphemism, yes, for being very close to earning the degree but not quite getting there. Brother is over 20 years older than I am, so I have no personal memories of this time--I don't know if he had finished most of his dissertation or some of it or hadn't started at all. I was just told by other family members that he decided to drop out when he was very close to the end.

He still works making fine furniture. The situation was the common one of getting married, having children, and then being in a position of needing to provide for a family using the skills and jobs one has. His MA was in Philosophy, not exactly a practical degree.

I guess we're off-topic at this point. But there are a lot of employers who require an MA for various admin jobs, any MA, they don't care what it is. In the 90's, some gov't-related employers, for example, upped their requirement for employment from BA to MA. So their employees at the time all had to go back to school if they wanted to keep their jobs. So your brother may have had more options than he could imagine. Some people are better at pushing the envelope and marketing themselves than other people. But making fine furniture is very cool. I love fine woodworking! I hope he's doing well.

[bigdumbgod]

Originally Posted by 509

The rich kids that could not get into Berkeley went to Stanford. I think it is still the same today.

Rich kids who aren't getting into Stanford or Berkeley head to Santa Clara, St. Mary's, UOP, or Notre Dame de Namur.
Stanford has a smaller student body than many might think, do they can be as picky as they please.

[509]

Originally Posted by bigdumbgod

Rich kids who aren't getting into Stanford or Berkeley head to Santa Clara, St. Mary's, UOP, or Notre Dame de Namur.
Stanford has a smaller student body than many might think, do they can be as picky as they please.

Stanford looks to be half the size of Berkeley these days. Back....in my day it was much smaller than Berkeley.

Between legacy students and my dad bought the building and I should go to school here.....their Merit admit students must be quite small.

It is a fine school. Too bad America's best students are turned down for the children of the Elites.

[CA4Now]

It sounds as if its becoming more and more selective each year. Stanford accepted only 5% of their applicants in 2013.

"For most of the past six decades, overall enrollment boomed, while the number of seats at elite colleges and universities grew much more slowly, making them steadily more selective. Counselors and admissions officers say, the pool of high-achieving applicants continues to grow, fed partly by a rising number from overseas."
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/09/us...lows.html?_r=0

[bigdumbgod]

Originally Posted by CA4Now

It sounds as if its becoming more and more selective each year. Stanford accepted only 5% of their applicants in 2013.

"For most of the past six decades, overall enrollment boomed, while the number of seats at elite colleges and universities grew much more slowly, making them steadily more selective. Counselors and admissions officers say, the pool of high-achieving applicants continues to grow, fed partly by a rising number from overseas."
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/09/us...lows.html?_r=0

There it is. These institutions are not just competing with prospective students from this country, they are alluring students from around the world.