When the odds are against you...

I'll let you in on a little secret...

Getting into any top school is hard. Yes. There's absolutely no denying that. And yes, it's true that a good many of us have amazing SATs and ACTs and APs and IBs and GPAs and PSATs and SAT IIs  and ABCs and 123s. And then there are the extracurriculars, and the volunteer hours, and the amazing internships, and the leadership roles in this that and the other thing. There's the running comment of "How did I get in here? Everybody has either started an orphanage in Africa or is working on research that will cure cancer or redefine modern-day physics!" And while some of this is in jest, there's also some major truth to it.
But.
When the odds are against you, do not, I repeat DO NOT decide to not apply or not even try because you think you are not good enough to get in. GO FOR IT. I know first hand how much many people struggle to succeed, and let me tell you what I've learned: Stanford is an amazing school. They want diverse and unique individuals, not just people who have gotten all the right test scores and have done all the right activities. They care about the personal strengths and character in their classes, and it's not all about the "perfect" application. That secret, when you realize the truth of it, is such a glorious thing. Because for a person coming from the non-traditional background of a high school student, it can literally be something from your wildest possible dreams.

The living proof

Many people are not given the same opportunities others are. Guess what though? Just because you may have had to face some difficult times does not mean you do not have the world ahead of you. Yes, I know you've had to work harder to be successful. There's a statistic somewhere out there that says children from poorer backgrounds have it 44% harder to succeed in everything, since they do not have the privileges their peers who live comfortable have. I'm not talking the rich here- I mean the average middle class.
The beauty of Stanford is that they can recognize motivated people, and people who have developed resilience and determination. You may not have a 2100+ SAT or 4.0 GPA or be the president of anything or have a zillion volunteer hours because you may not be able to keep all that going. But the admissions counselors will recognize your skills and accomplishments, because in a way your accomplishments are not as easily measurable as some of your peers' are.

My story

Yes, I do know this on a personal level, and am not just making stuff up. I know how hard it is to stick to school when your life is falling down around you (or seems to be). I am living proof of how Stanford truly values character and people, and not truly just numbers. While numbers are important as well, I know for a fact that if that was what was important to Stanford, I would not be writing this right now.
I went to public schools my whole life. The one I graduated from was actually mostly comprised of  middle to upper income households, and as I lived with my godparents my senior year, I have to say my senior year was very stable financially. But that wouldn't have happened if I hadn't made some of my own decisions.
I grew up on a farm originally, in a single-wide trailer. I had a mom and step dad and three half brothers: two, three, and ten years younger than me. I went to a small county school of about 100 people per grade from Kindergarten to freshman year. Life had some major ups and downs, as things with my parents were never great. It was like a sinusoidal wave; there were crests when things were great, and there were troughs when I was separated from the family and kept locked out. Even now, I am still coming to terms with all that happened.
After my freshman year, my family became homeless. My parents cut off all ties with everyone outside of our nuclear familiar unit. For six months, we were homeless. During this time, I was home-schooled through a program at an alternative high school. It was the kind where the majority of the students are just barely struggling to graduate, and are in and out of juvie and have substance abuse issues. My parents, to my frustration, wouldn't let me return to public school during that year for a variety of reasons.
April 2010 found my family moving into a new house. We knew no one, and being a new student was difficult. My new school had some minor gang issues. I was finally able to take my first AP class, although I could only take two since I had a lot of other graduation requirements to take, being a transfer student.
Halfway through my junior year, things started to hit a trough again with my parents. It grew to a point that it had never reached before. I will spare the details, but will say that it was never physical abuse.
Long story short, I decided to file a Child in Needs of Services case, which is very similar to a CPS case in Washington state. My mother fought the case. The Commissioner who presided over my case couldn't believe it. He suggested emancipation, and my mother agreed. That was July 22, 2011. Not quite a year ago yet.
At their request, I have not talked to anyone in my family since.
Since then, life has been much improved. I literally can't say how much it has. I went to yet another school, but being a new student was worth it this time. Prior to my senior year, I'd never been in a club or had volunteered; I'd never been allowed to. My world all of a sudden opened up before me, and it was so exquisitely breath-taking.
There have been major emotional struggles, but I've been able to grow a lot through this.

In conclusion

Now, let me tell you why I told you that long story. It was not for sympathy, no sir. I am the last person who expects sympathy, so don't bother. My attitude is BRING IT ON, which brings me to my point.Just because you think you can't get in, apply anyway. That's the beauty of this stupendous school: it's not all about the numbers. It's one of the top schools in the country, and it values applicants for who they are as people. They take the time to get to know many of the aspects of your life. They want to admit you, and not your statistics.
That's why it's so important to go for it, even when many people around you -even your own parents- think you can't.
Don't let anything get in the way of your goals. You have the power over your own life, and you may be surprised at what happens when you shoot for the wildest of dreams. This time last year, I was literally fighting for my freedom, where my best option if I failed was a community college. Now I'm going to Stanford.
When the odds are against you, don't let them stop you. Let nothing stop you.

Nerdy Kid Loves Loud Guitars

Hello my lovely brohemians!

First off, thanks to all the lovely and talented people putting this blog together! I leap at any excuse to blab about myself, and all the admins and writers have put together a quality site so far! [Virtual high-five!]

But anywho, onto selfish me time!

I am Andrew, from the caffeinated hipster's paradise that is Seattle, WA. But, unlike hipsters, I have genuine passions for things (including disliking hipsters, which in a way kind of makes me hipster I guess…? (Hipster-ception?(Parenthetical-ception!)))

(#toomanyparentheticals (#irony))

…

…Sorry about that. ANYWAY! I am a bonafide geek. I love me some sci-fi, be it in book, tv, movie, comic book, or video game. Doctor Who is my favorite show, which I think says a lot about me (specifically my ability to stick with a show even when it gets terrible….Looking at you Russel T. Davies!) I watch TV obsessively and geek out over movies, loving to process the finer points of pop culture. I also consider myself a creative type, doing quite a lot of theater and writing during high school. I acted in a bazillion plays, and even got around to writing one, so theater is a passion well-practiced.

As you may not have been able to tell by my inability to write with anything remotely resembling formal style and proclivity to make up words (brohemians?) I absolutely love to write, both just on my own and on another blog. I write plays, short stories, reviews, essays, and whatever strikes my fancy. 

Additionally (because you didn't think I'd let you go that easy, did you?) I am a music FANATIC. I play (at last count) eight different instruments. I write, play, record, produce, listen to, review, an obsess over music. I play in two bands and make my own music.

….Blahblahblah I'm sure this is boring as hell to most of you. You don't want to know about ME, you want to know about Stanford! SO, how about this change of pace: Why Stanford?

Well, for me it was three-fold:

3) The Academics. Let's face it, Stanford is a good school. It has great faculty, great facilities, endowments, and is certainly a school to get a good education. However, this was less of a deciding factor for me, because my other schools were pretty much on par academically (as most schools are.) There isn't as much of a jump in quality from school to school as people make it out to be. It's certainly a factor, but as a friend of mine says "Chemistry isn't going to change if you study it at Harvard or UW."

2) The Quarter System. I LOVE the quarter system because I'm a nut who wants to study everything. Having an extra quarter to take extra classes is EXTREMELY attractive to me. I want to double major (or at the very least major, minor, and take a bunch of electives) and the flexibility that the quarter system provides is great for that! Plus, it makes me feel better about my possible Film And Media Studies Major if I can also take useful classes like Comp Sci or Economics.

1) The geekiness. This is probably the end-all and the be-all. The Big Daddy and the Little Sister. The….third thing and it's compliment? Anyway, Stanford is a geeky school. No way to argue that. And this particular zeitgeist was captured perfectly for me when I visited campus and went with my dad to the Stanford/UW game. I care ZERO about sports, and adore music, so I was excited to see the band play. And when they came out playing "All Right Now" in Star Wars outfits, I knew this was a school where I would feel right at home. This was a school where I could put my Doctor Who posters on my wall and be appreciated. This was a school where I could invite people over for Settlers Of Catan marathons.  This was a geeky, nerdy, school, and that was the kind of school that I want. 

After all, in my application where it asks for five words to describe yourself, I chose:

"Nerdy Kid Loves Loud Guitars."

There's a reason that Nerdy was the first word I chose, and it's the same reason that Stanford was the school I chose. Nerdiness is a part of me and a part of Stanford, making me a part of Stanford too. 

-Andrew W.

For International prospectives: What I "think" I did right

Hi, it's Winnie again!



So here's my post on how to approach the college process from an international's perspective! I've actually saved this paragraph for last.
Scanning over what I've just wrote, it feels like the advice I've given is vague and somewhat obvious, but hey! The most obvious things are often the most important, because they're so obvious people tend to overlook them. The application process was a hit and miss experience for me, but I got lucky and did alright.
Here are some of the things I felt I did correctly and made an difference with, hope they help!

START EARLY

If you are studying in an American system school, I guess it's okay to start taking your SATs and APs well into junior year, and start on college applications after summer holidays.
But keep in mind that THE RESULTS OF PROCRASTINATING TOO MUCH ARE MORE CATASTROPHIC FOR INTERNATIONALS. 
You already have less time for applications and such. Once you start leaving everything to the last minute and start entering you classroom like this every morning,

(Compliments to the awesome StanfordGirlProblems tumblr)

I 'm pretty sure that it'll have a bad impact on your school grades and test grades.

"But procrastinating is human nature!"That's why you should start as early as you can. I definitely procrastinated more than I should've (who doesn't) but I was still relatively safe in the end, sending in my application 2-3 days before the deadline. I started taking my SATs in sophomore year, a total of 2 SAT I's and 2 SAT II's spanning almost 3 years; the slow pacing allowed me to be unproductive now and then, and spared me a crazily intense double identity academic life.

Of course, not everyone decides that they want to study abroad as early as that, and don't freak out if you're only starting to prepare at the end of your junior year-- it's just that you have to be more unforgiving with yourself, that's all.


BE RESOURCEFUL AND AGGRESSIVE

Pay attention to your school's bulletin, and squeeze out everything you can get from the school

Maybe it's just because of my specific Asian culture, but honestly, it still kind of awes me how many clubs and startups and leadership positions people have in the States. At first, it felt as if everyone but me had a ton of diverse experiences and impressive records.
But actually, I've found that my school's bulletin was a great place to find stuff that interested me, and just by regularly scanning it and handing in forms now and then, I managed to go to a lot of unforgettable events.
Oftentimes important events or serious academic positions recruit via school connections, so look out for the latest school announcements! (Remember, how passionate you are about your experiences is still more important than the number of experiences you had. But that's not exactly relevant to this international student post and should be left for another article.)

Here's another example and advice specific to people who live in non-English speaking countries:

The Taiwanese high school system is typically very inflexible, but we have a special exemption system where you can take a test and be exempted from certain required course. I heard of this via our online announcement system; a small line of text admist all the other announcements.
The discovery helped me a LOT in the past 3 years;  taking out a 6 hour chunk of English classes per week out of an 9-hour day schedule, it definitely took a lot of pressure off my shoulders.If your school offers something like this, do not let go of this opportunity.(If you're considering studying abroad, I'm assuming your English is better than most of your school peers) 
If you don't know if your school offers something like this, ask and ask and ask and pester the school administration (in a polite way) or make deals with your English teacher or find other ways that might work. Try until you're sure there isn't any other way, and after that don't let yourself dwell on it too much.

Google anything you don't know

If you lack anything, search the almighty Internet. You've probably noticed that I'm not going to talk about how to prepare for the SAT, what the format is for the SAT, what in the world is an SAT.The reason is that just by googling "American college applications" hundreds and thousands of websites pop up telling you the nuts and bolts of the system : ) ((I especially recommend Wikipedia and CollegeConfidential, though take the information in the latter with a grain of salt.))

Do everything you have to do and more

We didn't have a School Profile. I had to help my school's counseling office write it. What's more, my school's English website was last updated in 2006 and actually has less information on it than the Wikipedia school page.
So I spent at least 20 hours with 2-3 classmates who were also planning on studying abroad, running around the school gathering statistics from different offices, searching the Ministry of Education's website for education requirements then translating them, designing the profile format... If I may say so, I think the result looked pretty badass.

All the good universities in America definitely have a penchant for students who make the most of their environment; the lack of resources international students have can actually be used to our advantage. Show them that despite having to go out of your way to take standardized tests, to relearn courses for the tests aforementioned, and lacking stuff that every other American school apparently has, you found a way around it and still enjoyed yourself in high school.
Which brings me to the last thing I wanted to talk about:

REMEMBER TO HAVE FUN AND GO CRAZY NOW AND THEN

I guess it might be easy to forget, when you're submerged in the doubleload of schoolwork, or when you have marching band competitions and SATs in the same week and 9 finals in the next (believe me, I feel your pain) ESPECIALLY if you grew up in a world similar to mine, where local schools simply look at your scores and admit you.

Like I said before, American universities like to admit students who flourished in their high school environment, and that extends beyond academics. By simply enjoying your high school life and naturally incorporating the fact into your essays, you're adding to your application's appeal.

It's also interesting to note that amongst the other good US unis, I think Stanford gives off a more vibrant, happy, fun-loving vibe.

Maybe, just maybe, the school intentionally chose students who gave them this happy impression .... and maybe it's just a result of having better weather than the East coast Ivies. But it won't hurt you either way! Remember that you only experience high school once ; ) try doing something stupid and fun and whimsical (in a harmless way) when you feel tired and depressed and demotivated. I'm sure that most of you won't have problems finding something fun to do, but I'll be more than happy to share with you a few crazy things I did in high school.
Such as cutting my raincoat into pieces in the pouring rain, and making makeshift rainboots with it just because I thought it would be nicer to have dry feet than dry everything-except-feet.

And having a year-long debate with my friends on what would be more edible, excrement that tasted like curry, or curry that tasted like poop.

Trust me guys, there really is no foolproof formula.

Hey everyone! I'm Sarah, another incoming freshman at Stanford. A little about me: I'm from San Jose, California (yeeee, Bay Area!) and graduated from a large (~3500 students) public high school. It's safe to say that I have spent more time on the softball field than in the classroom (or anywhere else for that matter), but I didn't get into Stanford through athletics and won't be playing any sports at the varsity level. I'm also a lover of volleyball, naps, pop-rock, and of course the San Francisco Giants! I am an engineering/science kind of person and have probably written more in bullet points than actual prose, so I'm gonna do the same for this post! Here are my thoughts/tips for applying to Stanford:

• JUST DO IT. I honestly thought there was no fricken way that I would get in, but luckily my parents forced me to, hahah. Think of it this way: this is most likely the BEST chance you will ever have to get into Stanford/any other top-tier school, so go for it! The $90 application fee is nothing compared to the chance of a lifetime. 
• Don't worry if you're not a 4.0 student who's also the president 6 clubs, concert master, and founder of a successful business - I still find it difficult to believe people like this actually exist. Stanford (and pretty much every university) isn't looking for the perfectly well-rounded student, but instead looking to build a well-rounded community. There really is no formula that can guarantee an acceptance - or rejection - so stick to who you are and just roll with it. 
• Activities are more important than SAT scores or grades. Sure, the numbers do count, but that's not what you should be worrying about. My SAT score was pretty below the average scores listed on collegeboard or whatever (my critical reading and writing scores didn't even clear the 25th percentile, LOL) and I was really only involved in one club throughout my four years of high school, but I made it clear that I was extremely dedicated to sports and very interested in my intended field of study. 
• For the essays/short answers: be yourself, and don't try too hard. I personally hate cliche sayings like that, and I apologize for all the rolled eyes and annoyed sighs, but there really is no other way to say it. Since I didn't think I would get in anyway, I really didn't put a lot effort (sounds terrible, but it's 100% true) into depicting myself as a brilliant, all-around kind of girl (ex: my entire roommate essay was about my obsession with the SF Giants. No lie.). It doesn't matter what you are interested in - cancer research, sports, the sci-fi channel, yu-gi-oh cards, fruit pie - just find a way to relate how it has formed you and represents you as a person. And trust me, writing about something you have a passion for is SO much easier than writing about something you think will make you sound good.

Keep in mind that although Stanford's one of the top schools in the world, it's also an extremely wacky place (in a good way!) - so don't hesitate one bit to let your application show the more odd/quirky side of you! Hope you find this helpful, and I wish you the best of luck!

SLZ101: Intro to Samantha

Hi, I'm Samantha! I was accepted to Stanford REA at 5:06 PM on Friday, December 9, 2011 while at school studying for Science Olympiad. It was, needless to say, amazing. My friends who were with me at the time later said that I looked like I was having a stroke from sheer excitement. Anyway, I'll follow the trend of my peers and post a bit about my academic profile.

SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT

I recently graduated from a public high school in suburban Minnesota. My former school has about 2200 students and typically sends about 1-2 kids per year to a HYPSM (Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, MIT) school or equivalent. Most students attend the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.

I was also captain of my school's Science Olympiad team and we've been to nationals three times and state champions twice (both of which were reflected in my application; we came in second my senior year and did not go to nationals). I was also captain of my school's quiz bowl and knowledge bowl teams and we've been to the NAQT national tournament in Atlanta once (though that happened after I applied). I was also captain of my school's math team, but I was made captain after I applied. I also did colorguard and debate for two years each and was a member of my school's NHS chapter.

After I applied to Stanford but before I was accepted, I created a Science Bowl team with three of my friends and we made the state playoffs, though we did not win the state tournament. Stanford called my school and asked for my first quarter grades and anything I had done in the school year sometime after I applied, so they knew about SciBowl.

I've also done biology research at the Philippines chapter of the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC) (I was an intern for two weeks last summer), Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST) (I developed my own experiment on the effects of ethanol on developing zebrafish), and Carleton College (I developed my own experiment on the correlation between rank of olive baboons and longevity).
I'm also 15 years old (SIXTEEN in less than a week!). I don't know how my age affected my application, if at all, but it's just something you may want to consider while looking at my academic profile. Another curious thing about me is that I won a game show when I was 10. It was so long ago that I doubt it was relevant to my application, but it's on my resume, so I thought I'd mention it here.

I was going to put something about my essays here, but this post is long enough already. I'll write about essays later.

FUTURE PLANS
I hope to major in something science-y, probably biology-related. After college, grad school is definitely happening - possibly a Ph.D., possibly an M.D., or even both (Ph.D.-M.D.)! I don't really know. Medical research seems like a plausible career for me, but who knows? I could spontaneously decide to become a baker.
...Except that would never happen, because I baked and frosted a cake with my sister within the last couple days and it was exhausting and stressful. I don't see a future in the culinary arts for me.

CHOOSING STANFORD

Funnily, I also seriously considered Harvey Mudd and Johns Hopkins as my top picks throughout my high school career. I was actually ready to apply to JHU early decision when my counselor asked me if I would have any regrets. I then realized that yeah, I would regret not applying to Stanford. I had heard about the culture and the stellar academics, but the culture was what sold me. I wanted a more laid-back (or, as they say, "chill") atmosphere than the ominous "work yourself to death" atmosphere East Coast schools seemed to give off (disclaimer: I know some people thrive in this atmosphere; it just didn't feel right for me); I also wanted a school that had a strong STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) program as well as a strong humanities program. So I applied to Stanford REA (Restricted Early Action - you can only apply to one school REA, but if you're accepted you can apply to more schools Regular Decision) and, when I was accepted, decided not to apply to the other 13 schools on my list. I haven't regretted it one bit. I was also accepted to a couple of 'safety' schools. However, the 'safeties' I applied to I was completely prepared to go to. I did not think that I would get in to that good of a school, and I was absolutely convinced that Stanford would reject me. In short, I got very, very lucky.

So, I hope my voice is somewhat unique in this lovely group of people! I chose FroSoCo (Freshman-Sophomore College) as my #1 pick for a dorm, so hopefully I'll be able to give some insight into how that works this fall. I also have a lot of theories about how college admissions works and am always happy to give advice about the college application process.

And if you read all of this:

Expect to see more of me in the future,
Samantha

So how did I come to Stanford?...Introducing me!

Hey there internet!  This is the story of how I got lucky...er....how I came to be a member of the Stanford University Class of 2016!
In the upcoming days and months, I will give a more detailed picture of some of the general information about admissions, admitted students, and my freshman year...so keep posted.  Think of this post as a bit of an introduction!

Who am I?
I am a recent graduate of a small high school in Minnesota.  I love school, showing dogs, 4-H, riding horses, acting, giving speeches, playing the flute, traveling, speaking in tongues, reading, hanging out with friends, and discovering why things are the way they are.  I'm a little bit out there, and I love to speak my mind (but I don't necessarily want you to be offended by it!).  Yes, I certainly am intelligent, but by no means am I a genius.

Academia?
At this point, I am almost entirely positive that I am planning on majoring in Biology with an emphasis in Molecular and Cellular Biology.  In about 4 or 5 years, I hope to continue on to graduate school to study Genetics and pursue a career as a research scientist.
I love biology, chemistry, learning languages, and making music.  I may need a minor or two to  make sure all my interests are covered...

Why did I choose Stanford?
There are very many specific reasons why I chose Stanford.  I will be sure to elaborate on those in the future, however I will give the short version of the story now.
I applied to 9 different colleges last fall.  Stanford was the only school that I didn't have a chance to visit before applying; it was the only school on the west coast, and we couldn't swing a trip to CA just for one college visit.  I really wanted to go to Princeton, but I kept my mind open, and knew that I'd be happy with wherever I ended up.  Around the last week of March, the admissions decisions started pouring in, and my prospects weren't looking quite as sunny as I'd hoped.  I was accepted to both of my backup schools, UMass Amherst (with a large scholarship) and Tufts, wait listed at Duke and Brown, and rejected to Yale, Vanderbilt and Princeton.  I was only waiting on Harvard and Stanford...it didn't seem feasible that I'd get in to either, so I decided as soon as I got their rejection letters, I'd commit to Tufts, and stay on Brown's waiting list.
A few days later, I got a rejection letter to Harvard....and my acceptance letter to Stanford!  I was in a giddy sort of shock for a week or so (I still don't think it has completely subsided...).  A part of me knew that it was just meant to be.
I knew I had to visit the campus before I committed, so I went out with my parents for Admit Weekend (a weekend set aside in April for admitted students to visit and stay on campus...another topic for another blog post!).  That weekend gave me a sense of ease, and I saw that I could easily fit into the Stanford community.  I committed that weekend.  I haven't looked back!
Ultimately, I am happier with my college decision than I ever imagined I would be.

I am sorry that I wrote a novel.  I forgive you if you didn't read all of it.
I will be writing a lot over the rest of the summer about my admissions process and what it's like to be a "ProFro" (prospective freshman) and a "FoShoFro" (committed student, incoming freshman).  I also plan to continue this blog as I start my freshman year.  I'm sure I'll have lots of experiences to share!
Look forward to future posts about admissions statistics, the application, interviews, what sets Stanfy apart from its academic peers (from a student's POV), admit weekend, the hallowed admitted students facebook group, Approaching Stanford, and much, much more!