Thank you for making a video like this! Sometimes it’s way more discouraging to only hear the success stories because it feels like you’re the only one who “failed” when you don’t make the cut. I feel like people forget that schools with really small acceptance rates admit people nearly arbitrarily and you can be a perfectly qualified student and still not be accepted. It takes a lot of strength and self-awareness to break through the mindset that a lot of high-achieving students (like myself) have and recognize where you could’ve improved. I appreciate this vid and also hope that you got into a school that you’re finding much more success and happiness at!
Stanford, and schools like it, deny more than 19 in 20 of their applicants. If you don't get into Stanford, and you are a perfectly qualified applicant (like Joy was), it is WAY more a reflection of the ridiculous level of selectivity of these schools than it is of your qualifications and "mistakes." The reason you were rejected, Joy, is quite simple. They have a 4% acceptance rate.
I think she got rejected off the basis that they more than likely knew she was going to apply to a billion top schools and odds was, they could potentially get rejected if they made an offer. Funny how schools can reject you if your stats are “too perfect”, especially if they have a feeling that they are a fallback school or second option. Lol.
@@Joshua-cs6gj Interesting point, but I'd disagree. The strategy you are referring to is called "yield protection"- when schools deny applicants that they would typically accept because they believe the students will choose another college over them. This is usually done by schools that are well-respected, but not usually on the very top of a student's priority/ranking list. Tufts, University of Michigan, and Northeastern are frequently referenced examples. This strategy is often intended to increase the school's selectivity (if they know their accepted students will go to their school, they do not have to provide as many extra spots) and thus boost their rankings. Stanford, a school that often competes with Harvard, Yale, and the like for the most prestigious and selective school in the country (even the entire world), does not need to worry about that. The signficiant majority of students (80%, in fact) who get into Stanford end up attending. In all likelihood, Joy just didn't blow the Stanford admissions officers socks off like the 4% who got in somehow did. That's usually what it takes to get into a school like Stanford--- you've got to completely blow their socks off!
@@qud3913 That is a flawed explanation--- incomplete at best. Yes, universities consider race as a factor, since underrepresented minorities have historically been (and continue to be) disadvantaged within the United States' education system (that is a whole other discussion that, while very important, would cause us to stray from the conversation at hand). Consider this. Asian-Americans take up around 7% of the U.S. population, but consist of more than a quarter (~26%) of Stanford's current student body. Meanwhile, Black citizens take up around 14% of the U.S. population, but only consist of 7% of Stanford's student body. Native Americans consist of around 2% of the population, but make up less than .3% (not even one-third of a percent) of Stanford's student body. I'm sure you will have similar findings with peer instutions. Even if we overlooked all this, Stanford is an outlandishly selective instution. Gaining admission is a heroic feat, regardless of the race of the applicant. Affirmative action, in and of itself, does not come remotely close to guarantee admission for any applicant---especially a school like Stanford---no matter their qualifications.
@@isaiahdoble4182 I mean, you just explained with facts & statistics what I said was spot on for the most part. It's the simpler & more obvious reason. The reason written on the wall.
Honestly,my son rejected from Stanford in 2018.He graduated from MIT 6 months ago in Mathematics and Computer Science (applied early action and 100 % scholarship) and now pursuing master degree in Computer Science.( 100% Scholarship from Gates Millennium Foundation).Good luck for future applicants. God Bless!
I think my child has a chance to get into Stanford. At age 11, he got a score of 760/800 SAT math 1440/1600 overall for Duke tip and 35/36 ACT math for Johns Hopkins CTY. 9th grade, took calculus and Quantum physics, finished a few top 10 high school Olympiads, took 4 CS/Calculus colleges courses with all As, 10th grade, top 8 finishes at the IPPF debate at NYU, finished 253 out of 6000 in the collegiate Cybersecurity competition, top 10 in team competition, took another 4 CS/math college courses with all As, AP calculus B exam with a score of 5, AP Physics exams both mechanical and electrical with 5s. 11th grade, another 4 college courses CS 479 AI/pattern, upper college division classes, won the Kenyan Leadership trip to DC, IPPF , Cybersecurity in the spring, will take AP exams in CS, Statistics, and Economics. 12th grade - TBD
Wow! Have just seen your stats video! You got a FULL TUITION to Vanderbilt!! I mean, I get Stanford is a really high ranked School and it may be sad to get rejected from a school like that, but Vanderbilt is another really high ranked school some super smart people that you might’ve heard of went there and to top it all off, you get to go to university for free! Congratulations, you deserve everything that you’ve earned!!
Joy, I tip my hat to you. It takes courage to admit our own mistakes. You clearly are prepared to succeed in any career of your choice. Best wishes to you!
I like how realistic you are in this video! There really is no one thing that we can pinpoint in the admissions process as applicants, so it really does come down to luck.
I'm a recruiter at a top Fortune 500 company. The reality: like top universities, we get thousands of highly qualified applicants for only ONE position. Top universities, like Fortune 500 companies, have to turn down many qualified applicants simply because they have no space for all of them. You're a very smart young lady. Keep your head up. You're going to go far in life.
Keep your head up sister, everything happens for a reason and a real great student can shine everywhere. Like we learned in Ratatouille, not everyone can become a great artist. But a great artists can come from anywhere 🙏. Bless you 🙏 and so wish you the best luck wherever you go.
I was an MIT Alumni interviwer for a bunch of years. I talked to 52 applicants. I think your biggest strength is that you have a youtube channel with almost 20k subs. You had the discipline and passion to make that happen. Lots of people want to be youtubers but few make it happen. Getting test scores is pretty common. Being self driven in your own direction is much more interesting but you didn't mention it as a trait when listing your credentials. In short, be an interesting applicant. Scores are necessary but not sufficient.
Congratulations on your success at getting into Stanford and graduating. You are certainly among the elite by all measures that you encountered and met. What amazes me is how well-prepared Joy seems to be by the measures Stanford employed and yet, she did not meet the bar at the cutoff. What this, of course, means, is that, if assessments were objectively applied for her freshman class, how truly amazing, gifted, and talented each and every student would have been who did get accepted, and attended ... all 100% of them better than Joy. I was fortunate to have been born, raised, and educated in SF Bay Area and know a number of Stanford and Berkeley science graduates in my lifetime, each of whom worked hard for their well-earned success.
Joy, if it's any consolation, your life journey is long so regardless of what school you go to, it'll be only a small portion of your life and in some ways not as important as you think. I went to University of Maryland but in the course of my career ended up working at the State Department with people all around me from ivy league schools. Good luck with your academic pursuits and enjoy the journey!
To be honest, would've been better to see you getting accepted , you were most deserving. I mean your videos have helped me so much as a senior in their final year and your advice is so practical. Just wanted to say thank you for the videos you make , they're awesome and practical.
In reality you probably tried to hard to get into Stanford by overstating your achievements in every area possible. Your application was literally incredible and Stanford cannot afford to sort through such applications that demand so much more attention than the average application.
would be interested in hearing your thoughts on how you came to terms with the rejection in view of your going to Vandy. I got into a fine school but it was nowhere near my top choice and I've never really gotten over it. It undermines my academics even now, I think. I'll never get the validation I needed to get.
Joy not being accepted at Stanford despite her previous academic performance doesn't say anything negative about her, but says a whole lot about the superior achievement of all 100% of those who were accepted each of whom were over the bar..
Sorry you got rejected...My sister (also Asian 🙂) got accepted to Stanford plus just as yourself , her dream school ... Her stats & numbers were similar ... We think it was actually due to a few huge factors hardly anyone ever mentions is the reason why she was accepted Sorry I didn't mention what they were on previous comment ...The factors that got her in were: Besides the obvious perquisites ...My parents hired a PHD Stanford Alumni(very expensive!!) to coach and mentor her once a week, she was accepted to Stanford's HS Summer program , kept a daily journal online, mastered a musical instrument(NOT Piano or Violin) , and founded her own charity organization in the area of her study and ran it and scaled it up successfully for 3 years straight during HS
Could you tell me how she began her charity and the steps she went about to get it out there? I’m interested in starting one myself but I’m unsure where to begin. I’d love to hear back!
Could you tell me how she began her charity and the steps she went about to get it out there? I’m interested in starting one myself but I’m unsure where to begin. I’d love to hear back!
My SAT was 940. Verbal was 320!!! And I was accepted to Stanford. You have a much better chance if your major is music. I excelled in music performance.
I want to major in Physics and/or engineering but I play instruments, do I have a chance if I minor in Music? I know I'm not good enough but I just play music for fun and have been planning to create my own.
@ maybe major in music history or composition to get in, and then change your major. You can always take physics classes even if you haven’t declared it as your major. You have to meet a general requirement for any degree program. I took a class called physics for poets and a computer science class when I was there. I also took freshmen calculus classes. The calculus classes would be a requirement for a physics degree anyway if you didn’t take take AP math in high school
When I applied in 1973, Stanford accept 9 under special considerations. Most,if all those slots were taken by football players. So my SAT scores and grades were not a factor in me getting accepted.
I applied to two graduate programs for Political Science: Brown and Stanford. I got both of them and graduated from Stanford. Occasionally you win the big prize despite poor planning.
C'MON! We ALL know EXACTLY why you were "rejected"...and so do you. I think you're an angel. My brother is a Professor of Medicine at Vanderbilt; that's why I'm so upset for you.
Indeed. LOL at the people pretending they don't know EXACTLY what special brand of leftist racism caused this deserving candidate to be rejected. I'm a liberal Democrat but there really is only one explanation for this nonsense.
A lot of under qualified students get into Stanford for the sake of equity. They struggle to stay in and if they make it to graduation, they have very low GPA's. Most don't make it but being accepted helps Stanfords's numbers showing how woke they are.
Define "woke?" You silly conservatives say you believe in merit and yet you support one of the most meritless people in American history. Donald J (Jailbird) Trump.
bullshit. nobody is underqualified at stanford. the difference is between two highly qualified people: one who ad to work through discrimination, poverty, language barriers, etc, and another who waltzed through life with rich parents. A 1550 SAT is very different between two people
My daughter is at Stanford. Getting in is not guaranteed for anyone, no matter how good. You can be amongst the very best and just didn't get lucky that day. What is assured is that you will be successful no matter where you go to college, and you have a promising life ahead of you. WAY too much emphasis is put on a small number of elite colleges these days. Honestly, it is counterproductive and should stop.
The truth is in AO pov your academics plays only 35% for acceptance , they see overall like Extracurricular, researches,character, interest in college. Just scoring perfect score is definitely not enough
You did not do anything wrong (regarding 3:41). I actually felt the opposite of what you felt -- that my application gave the impression that I'm too serious even though in reality people often say to me "You're a riot. I had no idea you had such a quick wit under that shy persona." Ironically and in contrast, my friend, who is normally straight and serious, wrote a humorous essay and got accepted. I often regret why I did not show my true humorous self and thought that was one big reason I got rejected, although some people did plant the seed in my head that it was mainly because I'm from an over-represented minority (the one everyone says is overrepresented) while my friend claimed to have 1/16th Native American blood even though he appears to be a straight Mayflower Pilgrim White Male.
My daughter visited Stanford years ago and could not stand the vibe of campus. Loved UC Berkeley, UCLA, Washington, and other schools. Came down to UC Berkeley and Washington. She chose Washington.
One of my friends goes to UCLA and my other friend goes to Stanford. My UCLA friend says the culture their is great and very friendly. My Stanford friend says it's extremely competitive and NOBODY helps each other.
3:12 this reminds me of the interview in hunger games when Katniss internally thinks that she only got a little bit of depth talking about her sister and the rest was her being extremely surface level
Great advice, and I think that Stanford especially is looking for change makers and innovators with deep, demonstrable interest in a particular area. Those interests can't be cultivated overnight. They still reject many of those specialist types because they have to fill particular departments and not everyone can be an engineer.
You didn’t share your financial situation. Schools are not blind to how much money your family could pay. In fact, some kids get admitted without even applying due to their family wealth.
You know for a fact that wealthy students get admitted without applying? Applicants have preferential status if they are family members of alumni or big donors, but they still have to apply. These elite private schools provide A LOT of financial assistance to students in need. I know a few students that will graduate from Columbia and MIT paying less tuition than going to state universities. These top schools have so much money in endowments that paying full tuition for a couple of hundred students each year is nothing. They know that their brilliant students will make it big in the future and donate hundreds of millions of dollars back to the school. What I am saying is, if a student is what the university wants, money is not an issue.
@@JackChiu-se2nm Yes, I know for a fact. They get offers from multiple schools before they even apply. It is a disgusting practice and should be illegal.
A great education is available at most colleges. Even more important is the application of the student to take advantage of the college. Don't set your sights on just one college. Wherever you land will be just fine--so long as you work hard.
you're correct on most colleges can provide a great education, but most colleges cannot provide the connections and career opportunities that an elite university can. Also, when an elite private university accept a student, they will provide you the financial assistance needed for you to succeed. A middle class student going to Columbia or MIT can graduate with less student loan debt than going to a state school.
An easy tip you can use in almost any situation is to just take a moment. Step away from what you're doing to take a breath and just look at the bigger picture, often times we become hyper-focused and lose sight of something else that is just as important. This is the same with what you said in the video, just because we may not get into a certain school doesn't mean all of life is over, we just need to look at the bigger picture.
It really is a crap shoot. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason why colleges reject students with off the chart stats, and accepts others with lower scores.
Last year in a classroom lecture video at Sanford Sam Altman told the students not to bother with school, just start working in your field, you will learn more.
My oldest daughter graduated from Stanford this year, and now she's in their School of Medicine. One of her sisters just started Duke. As someone who didn't even graduate high school due to bullying (Class of '99 would have been me), it is so wonderful to see my own children grow far beyond what I could have ever been.
The selection process is not transparent. It's really depending on one or two people who read your application, which is subjective instead of objective. Also, one also has to fit into overall social representation. Honestly, anything can happen in this process.
Been unsure on Major Selection, late submission of application, Art to be included, flaws in essays have out weighs your grades, GPA and SAT scores. Planning wasn't there and little reckless approach cause your rejection!
when there are so many different activities and pursuits listed on the application, it seems that someone is trying to tick off as many checkboxes as possible. If I was a reviewer, I would wonder if an applicant has a genuine and natural passion for any of these activities, or engaged in each of them mostly because they thought colleges want to see a very long list.
Regardless of what she did right or wrong, Stanford's admit rate is only 3.7%, among the lowest in the country. On campus housing is a constraining factor. Also, each application goes through so many readers who weed out the best of the best. Schools like Stanford and the Ivys are great schools to aspire to, but there are so many public schools that are just as good. Degrees only get you in the "door" for a job, what you do and where you go after is up to the person.
Seems to me that you’d be successful no matter what because of your drive and the constructive criticism that you give to yourself. I wish you were my parent or older sibling when I was 18.
Since the top schools are oversubscribed, admissions become quite unpredictable. Therefore, apply to as many as you can. The main benefit of a top school is the connections you will make there. Stanford is especially good for those who will go on to work in Silicon Valley or the like. However, it's a big world, and there are many ways to your path. Stanford only boosts your initial credibility. After that, it's all you, and believe me, you'll be perfectly fine.
Relax, chill, you are fine. Stanford gets a mountain of Asian race applicants. Stanford limits the fraction of student of Asian genetic background. Right or wrong that is just a fact of life. You have the drive and intellect you can be fine in life. Do not expect "the system" to serve you. Make your own way.
Well if it makes you happier, I thought at least one Stanford grad student say don’t go to Stanford for your undergraduate degree. Instead go to a small liberal arts college. The problem with big-name schools is you don’t get the professor with the Teaching assistant.
It isnt at all offensive or lacking nuance at all to say race is a huge factor for these ivy leagues. These universities literally have affirmative action policies in place, you must know about the huge supreme court decision against Harvard regarding race-based admission and how much it influences admissions. You can say its 'unproductive', but that doesn't change the fact it is happening.
Legacy status and grandfathered in is still a big issue imo from all the friends I know who had family get into Stanford. I wish you the best of luck ❤️ in your future choices.
REA only increases your chance slightly. The biggest reason I think why stanford turned down your application, is because you are only a good student. In other words, you are good at study, and maybe not so good at other things. In the eye of stanford AO, it's the other things that count, not study. Almost everybody who has the audacity to apply to stanford are terrific students. But stanford can only accept a few amongst them. So what else you do really matters. For example, my oldest kid is applying this year. She's not as good as a student as you(but quite close), but she's a nationally known athlete. Her academics are ok, maybe only at top 5% of her high school. But in addition to that, she's a star athlete who plays in Division I and has a national ranking. Very soon I'll find out how her application go. She's applying ED to an IVY(where her athlete friend is going) and EA to MIT
The real reason she was rejected: the "crime" of being Asian. There's no such thing as "positive discrimination". That's just a deceitful euphemism. All discrimination is invidious discrimination.
Nope-it’s not that simple. I know an underrepresented minority who had similar stats (actually more AP courses) and who was still rejected. Did they complain that Stanford is ’racist’ and favours other candidates due to their ‘privileged majority’ status? Lmao. Don’t expose your ignorance. It’s frankly embarrassing 😅
@@chrispirilloisebooIa That minority is: black (African), of recent immigrant status, with one parent born + raised in France and the other educated there. The child’s first language is not English. How much more underrepresented can a minority be? Btw, this person began taking university courses prior to entering high school and was studying differential and integral calculus by age 14. Reading Shakespeare and Racine by age 9. Depressed by age 12. Parents essentially raised them with the philosophy that if you don’t earn at least 98% on exam, then don’t both coming home (if you want to live). Being the single top student in the school was not even good enough. Believe it or not, such standards are rather universal where l’m from. Having toxic immigrant tiger parents who worship HYPSM, striving for excellence, and subsequently experiencing rejection does not belong to any race or culture.
Asians have to toe a higher line, it's literally that simple. It is what it is. That said, I think getting a full ride to a top-tier school like Vandy is still the best choice vs. having to go into debt, even for places like Harvard, Yale, Stanford, etc. After a while, you realize that where you went for undergrad, up amongst those levels, doesn't really matter anymore. Work experience, grad school for JD/MBA/etc. have much more impact that whether your undergrad was at a Stanford or a Vandy. All the Ivy League Asians are stopped by the Bamboo ceiling anyways. Better to be a non-Ivy League Asian, and have enough street smarts and people wisdom to eventually get into a position of senior leadership. Going into debt for Stanford isn't going to get you there anyways.
Hey Joy, how are you doing ? I am a stanford applicant majoring in AE. What is your major in Vanderbuilt university and which state are you from? I am from ny in class of 2023
The problem is that you didn’t identify as African American, Native American, or Hispanic on your application. The other issue is that your parents haven’t donated a large building or obscene amounts of money to the alumni association.
Feels like my son will be rejected at Stanford and MIT and end up at Carnegie Mellon or Georgia tech. He will finish 12 college Math/CS courses when he finishes 11th grade in 6 months. Currently taking CS 479 AI/pattern at university as an 11th grader. He is a calculus tutor in college and is a researcher assistant for a college CS PHD program. He finished 253 out of 6,000 competitors in collegiate cybersecurity competition. 10th grade he got all 5s on AP calculus, AP physics mechanic and electricity. Top 8 finishes at the IPPF debate at NYU He is 4.0 gpa, by the end of his high school, he will finish about 16 colleges with all As. He will be taking the SAT/ACT in the 2nd half of 2023. Do your stats similar or better than my child!?? I know there are a lot of kids who are gifted.
My son was denied at Stanford. Went to Georgia Tech (for free). He will be graduating soon and is going to accept an offer from Stanford for his PhD (for free).
Stanford uses calculators to do addition and subtraction of 1+1 and 2-1. Jeezes man even for me I have a hard time doing it but stanford you tuition cost that much to use calculators for simple math.
Could be you forgot to account for the "applying while Asian" dei-duction. But seriously, choosing your major to get into the school?? What do you actually want out of life? To score high on someone else's game. Why not pursue what you are interested in rather than trying to "fit"?
Schools want diverse student backgrounds. My guess was a they already accepted a bunch who mirror yours. It's about grades--but ALSO about being unique and offering something DIFFERENT to the academic community. After all, so much of college is peer-to-peer learning.
She seems coached up on college admissions. Which is sad. Stanford has 6 essays, and with a 3 % acceptance rate... Why do you think you are able to get into Stanford?? So many parents are delusional and you suffered from the weight of expectation.
An obvious negative: Joy speaks far too fast, with little emotional variation. She speaks at her audience, not to her audience. A 'star' student must 'shine', not just emit words.
I think that anyone going for CS the last five years are making a bad choice. Electronics and digital design is much better. I have a major in that and have a good job without the turbulence in many software companies right now. Avoid areas that are hyped and go for what your passion leads you. Inside engineering there are so many other fields and they all pay very well. An experienced radio designer get much more than a coder and isn’t out of job after ten years because some new programming language is the fashion of the day.
The harsh truth is that there's thousands of applications like you who apply to t10 schools. You are the top 0.1%, unfortunately so is everyone else who's on the bubble. The other harsh truth is that affirmative action means that people who look like you and me are going to be hurt. Some people may try to rationalize that, but it's the truth no matter how you describe it.
It is very Difficult to get into Stanford. My brother got admitted. By the Time he finished high school he had taken all the most difficult courses that were available to take by his junior year. Algebra 1 and 2, Geometry 1 and 2, Trigonometry, Elementary analysis, Linear equations, Chemistry 1 and 2, Biology 1 and 2, Physics President of the NHS 4 years straight. Competed in Math and Science. Was taking university courses his senior year, Got Who is Who awards in Math, Science and English, Spoke Fluent English, Spanish, French. Graduated as Valedictorian. We also came from very poor background. Universities pay attention to adversity and what you can accomplish with what you are given. My Brother Graduated Top 1% from High School and Stanford. Eventually became a Doctor. The more you are given the more they expect for you to accomplish. Those Essays are taken very seriously and are no joke. You have to not waste their time with humor. My brother Ended up Getting accepted from every major school. Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Oxford, MIT, Brown . I competed in Biology and was a state Champion in Texas compared to him I would consider myself a moron. HAHAHA Yes that is how smart he is. Don't take it personal Those schools look for the best of the best.
Lol this video reminds me of what happens inside my brain if I get rejected from somewhere. The reasons you got rejected may have had absolutely nothing to do with any of the so-called "flaws" you identified in your application. Unless you actually spoke with the admissions committee and they told you these were the reasons you were rejected, I don't think you really need to be making this sort of video as advice for what not to do. Maybe the adcom actually liked those things that you list in your self-critique! The reality is that these big-name colleges inevitably have to reject a lot of stellar students for random or "other" reasons. Legacies get priority, or someone whose parent gave a big donation, someone who plays some sport that they need players for, for instance. And these students may not be nearly as stellar students as you, and not had much introspection in their essays. Also, as much as you may have dreamed of going to a certain university, it may also be that there is a certain "culture" on campus (that you may not even realize) that perhaps the adcom didn't think would be a good fit for you, not because there's anything wrong with your application or you, just personalities are personalities and it's important to be in a milieu where you fit in well, for your own happiness. But guys, please stop making videos like this as advice about why you didn't get in somewhere. What I saw in this video was merely brainstorming and self-critique of "where I could have gone wrong" and "how I could have made my application more perfect" from a fellow perfectionist like myself, and not necessarily truly the reasons you didn't get into Stanford.
I wonder if your electives and coursework reflected the competitiveness of an EECS major, don’t know if did some math competition AIME/USAMO, CS competitions. Just based on your initial stats in your video, it seems you might have had a better chance as a liberal arts major.
Thank you for making a video like this! Sometimes it’s way more discouraging to only hear the success stories because it feels like you’re the only one who “failed” when you don’t make the cut. I feel like people forget that schools with really small acceptance rates admit people nearly arbitrarily and you can be a perfectly qualified student and still not be accepted. It takes a lot of strength and self-awareness to break through the mindset that a lot of high-achieving students (like myself) have and recognize where you could’ve improved. I appreciate this vid and also hope that you got into a school that you’re finding much more success and happiness at!
Stanford, and schools like it, deny more than 19 in 20 of their applicants. If you don't get into Stanford, and you are a perfectly qualified applicant (like Joy was), it is WAY more a reflection of the ridiculous level of selectivity of these schools than it is of your qualifications and "mistakes." The reason you were rejected, Joy, is quite simple.
They have a 4% acceptance rate.
I think she got rejected off the basis that they more than likely knew she was going to apply to a billion top schools and odds was, they could potentially get rejected if they made an offer.
Funny how schools can reject you if your stats are “too perfect”, especially if they have a feeling that they are a fallback school or second option.
Lol.
@@Joshua-cs6gj Interesting point, but I'd disagree. The strategy you are referring to is called "yield protection"- when schools deny applicants that they would typically accept because they believe the students will choose another college over them. This is usually done by schools that are well-respected, but not usually on the very top of a student's priority/ranking list. Tufts, University of Michigan, and Northeastern are frequently referenced examples. This strategy is often intended to increase the school's selectivity (if they know their accepted students will go to their school, they do not have to provide as many extra spots) and thus boost their rankings.
Stanford, a school that often competes with Harvard, Yale, and the like for the most prestigious and selective school in the country (even the entire world), does not need to worry about that. The signficiant majority of students (80%, in fact) who get into Stanford end up attending. In all likelihood, Joy just didn't blow the Stanford admissions officers socks off like the 4% who got in somehow did. That's usually what it takes to get into a school like Stanford--- you've got to completely blow their socks off!
Nope.
It's just that she's Asian, not B or "native american"
@@qud3913 That is a flawed explanation--- incomplete at best. Yes, universities consider race as a factor, since underrepresented minorities have historically been (and continue to be) disadvantaged within the United States' education system (that is a whole other discussion that, while very important, would cause us to stray from the conversation at hand).
Consider this. Asian-Americans take up around 7% of the U.S. population, but consist of more than a quarter (~26%) of Stanford's current student body. Meanwhile, Black citizens take up around 14% of the U.S. population, but only consist of 7% of Stanford's student body. Native Americans consist of around 2% of the population, but make up less than .3% (not even one-third of a percent) of Stanford's student body. I'm sure you will have similar findings with peer instutions.
Even if we overlooked all this, Stanford is an outlandishly selective instution. Gaining admission is a heroic feat, regardless of the race of the applicant. Affirmative action, in and of itself, does not come remotely close to guarantee admission for any applicant---especially a school like Stanford---no matter their qualifications.
@@isaiahdoble4182
I mean, you just explained with facts & statistics what I said was spot on for the most part.
It's the simpler & more obvious reason. The reason written on the wall.
Honestly,my son rejected from Stanford in 2018.He graduated from MIT 6 months ago in Mathematics and Computer Science (applied early action and 100 % scholarship) and now pursuing master degree in Computer Science.( 100% Scholarship from Gates Millennium Foundation).Good luck for future applicants. God Bless!
Congratulations to your son! Just goes to show it’s what you make of the school, not just what they make of you!
Thanks! You are absolutely correct!
My son also admitted to Harvard,Caltech and Princeton.
MIT > Stanford
I think my child has a chance to get into Stanford. At age 11, he got a score of 760/800 SAT math 1440/1600 overall for Duke tip and 35/36 ACT math for Johns Hopkins CTY.
9th grade, took calculus and Quantum physics, finished a few top 10 high school Olympiads, took 4 CS/Calculus colleges courses with all As,
10th grade, top 8 finishes at the IPPF debate at NYU, finished 253 out of 6000 in the collegiate Cybersecurity competition, top 10 in team competition, took another 4 CS/math college courses with all As, AP calculus B exam with a score of 5, AP Physics exams both mechanical and electrical with 5s.
11th grade, another 4 college courses CS 479 AI/pattern, upper college division classes, won the Kenyan Leadership trip to DC, IPPF , Cybersecurity in the spring, will take AP exams in CS, Statistics, and Economics.
12th grade - TBD
Wow! Have just seen your stats video! You got a FULL TUITION to Vanderbilt!! I mean, I get Stanford is a really high ranked School and it may be sad to get rejected from a school like that, but Vanderbilt is another really high ranked school some super smart people that you might’ve heard of went there and to top it all off, you get to go to university for free! Congratulations, you deserve everything that you’ve earned!!
Joy, I tip my hat to you. It takes courage to admit our own mistakes. You clearly are prepared to succeed in any career of your choice. Best wishes to you!
I like how realistic you are in this video! There really is no one thing that we can pinpoint in the admissions process as applicants, so it really does come down to luck.
They needed to fill the quota for diverse students..
They don't want more Asians.
I'm a recruiter at a top Fortune 500 company. The reality: like top universities, we get thousands of highly qualified applicants for only ONE position. Top universities, like Fortune 500 companies, have to turn down many qualified applicants simply because they have no space for all of them. You're a very smart young lady. Keep your head up. You're going to go far in life.
You are not a recruiter at anywhere relevant.
they accept blacks
@@txt4rand where do/did you go to school?
@@spectre7006 i was pointing out Quota system and preference for Black / minorities
( my own school has nothing to do with that)
Stanford thinks they don’t need Joy but it is Joy who doesn’t need Stanford 💪 You’re already one of the most competent people out there
Reality:
Stanford would rather give another person an opportunity than someone who probably applied to 40 different schools in one application cycle.
if she doesn't need Stanford , why apply?
Cope 😂
joy mistake was not being born black or hispanic
Academically, may be.
Keep your head up sister, everything happens for a reason and a real great student can shine everywhere. Like we learned in Ratatouille, not everyone can become a great artist. But a great artists can come from anywhere 🙏. Bless you 🙏 and so wish you the best luck wherever you go.
I was an MIT Alumni interviwer for a bunch of years. I talked to 52 applicants. I think your biggest strength is that you have a youtube channel with almost 20k subs. You had the discipline and passion to make that happen. Lots of people want to be youtubers but few make it happen.
Getting test scores is pretty common. Being self driven in your own direction is much more interesting but you didn't mention it as a trait when listing your credentials.
In short, be an interesting applicant. Scores are necessary but not sufficient.
It is hard for Asian Americans to get into top universities as they are "overrepresented" in higher education
Cope
@@spacer6176”accept racism”
@@Icg123 frrrr
Cope 😂.
Stanford is not for Nerds
As a Stanford graduate, I’m embarrassed that they rejected you. You would have made a phenomenal Stanford student and alumnus.
Congratulations on your success at getting into Stanford and graduating. You are certainly among the elite by all measures that
you encountered and met.
What amazes me is how well-prepared Joy seems to be by the measures Stanford employed and yet, she did not meet the bar
at the cutoff. What this, of course, means, is that, if assessments were objectively applied for her freshman class, how truly amazing, gifted, and talented each and every student would have been who did get accepted, and attended ... all 100% of them
better than Joy. I was fortunate to have been born, raised, and educated in SF Bay Area and know a number of Stanford and Berkeley science graduates in my lifetime, each of whom worked hard for their well-earned success.
Joy, if it's any consolation, your life journey is long so regardless of what school you go to, it'll be only a small portion of your life and in some ways not as important as you think. I went to University of Maryland but in the course of my career ended up working at the State Department with people all around me from ivy league schools. Good luck with your academic pursuits and enjoy the journey!
Just your generosity and willingness to share your experience shows me that you would be an optimal part of the Stanford community.
To be honest, would've been better to see you getting accepted , you were most deserving.
I mean your videos have helped me so much as a senior in their final year and your advice is so practical.
Just wanted to say thank you for the videos you make , they're awesome and practical.
In reality you probably tried to hard to get into Stanford by overstating your achievements in every area possible. Your application was literally incredible and Stanford cannot afford to sort through such applications that demand so much more attention than the average application.
you do realize that her application is an "average" application for Stanford, right?
this is so confusing tbh. like what? theyre too lazy to read the ones that have more effort put in? That makes no logical sense at fcking all lmao
Too, not to.
We all know why Standord rejected Joy, but no one will say it. Sad…. Please bring back Merit based decisions!
Still not satisfied? 💀
Yeah, a 3.7% acceptance rate and the fact that she's no different academically than the thousands of other applicants.
If you were Black or Latino, you would be accepted with a scholarship.
They got rid of affirmative action WHAT DO YOU PEOPLE WANT
Just stop.
would be interested in hearing your thoughts on how you came to terms with the rejection in view of your going to Vandy. I got into a fine school but it was nowhere near my top choice and I've never really gotten over it. It undermines my academics even now, I think. I'll never get the validation I needed to get.
Stanford lost an amazing human being and an intelligent student. It is their loss. Stanford's director must fire their admission staff.
Stanford need cool & badass students (eg. They rank highest in Sports & Entrepreneurship).
If you're a nerd, go to MIT or Harvard
Joy not being accepted at Stanford despite her previous academic performance doesn't say anything negative about her, but says a whole lot about the superior achievement of all 100% of those who were accepted each of whom were over the bar..
COPE LOL
she could have gotten a tan and claimed she is black
they would have given her full scholarship plus extra pocket money
I really appreciate you taking responsibility.
Sorry you got rejected...My sister (also Asian 🙂) got accepted to Stanford plus just as yourself , her dream school ... Her stats & numbers were similar ... We think it was actually due to a few huge factors hardly anyone ever mentions is the reason why she was accepted
Sorry I didn't mention what they were on previous comment ...The factors that got her in were: Besides the obvious perquisites ...My parents hired a PHD Stanford Alumni(very expensive!!) to coach and mentor her once a week, she was accepted to Stanford's HS Summer program , kept a daily journal online, mastered a musical instrument(NOT Piano or Violin) , and founded her own charity organization in the area of her study and ran it and scaled it up successfully for 3 years straight during HS
How did her parents find a Ph.D. Stanford Alumni, how did they contact him?
Could you tell me how she began her charity and the steps she went about to get it out there? I’m interested in starting one myself but I’m unsure where to begin. I’d love to hear back!
Could you tell me how she began her charity and the steps she went about to get it out there? I’m interested in starting one myself but I’m unsure where to begin. I’d love to hear back!
The lengths you need to go to get accepted to these schools while being asian is wild. If only she wasn't asian
My SAT was 940. Verbal was 320!!! And I was accepted to Stanford. You have a much better chance if your major is music. I excelled in music performance.
I want to major in Physics and/or engineering but I play instruments, do I have a chance if I minor in Music? I know I'm not good enough but I just play music for fun and have been planning to create my own.
@ maybe major in music history or composition to get in, and then change your major. You can always take physics classes even if you haven’t declared it as your major. You have to meet a general requirement for any degree program. I took a class called physics for poets and a computer science class when I was there. I also took freshmen calculus classes. The calculus classes would be a requirement for a physics degree anyway if you didn’t take take AP math in high school
Can you tell me if i Fail or get low marks in sat / act but if i have strong portfolio all lrequirement can i get selected?
When I applied in 1973, Stanford accept 9 under special considerations. Most,if all those slots were taken by football players. So my SAT scores and grades were not a factor in me getting accepted.
@@emmanuelvacakis4463 it's very very different now
Don't worry you deserve something too better.
I applied to two graduate programs for Political Science: Brown and Stanford. I got both of them and graduated from Stanford. Occasionally you win the big prize despite poor planning.
you're incredibly self aware wow, but this is scaring me lol...
C'MON! We ALL know EXACTLY why you were "rejected"...and so do you.
I think you're an angel. My brother is a Professor of Medicine at Vanderbilt;
that's why I'm so upset for you.
?
what
Why’d she get rejected
I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU ARE SAYING 💯💯💯🗣🗣🗣🗣
Indeed. LOL at the people pretending they don't know EXACTLY what special brand of leftist racism caused this deserving candidate to be rejected. I'm a liberal Democrat but there really is only one explanation for this nonsense.
A lot of under qualified students get into Stanford for the sake of equity. They struggle to stay in and if they make it to graduation, they have very low GPA's. Most don't make it but being accepted helps Stanfords's numbers showing how woke they are.
Define "woke?" You silly conservatives say you believe in merit and yet you support one of the most meritless people in American history. Donald J (Jailbird) Trump.
The average stanford GPA is a 3.96/4. Please, no students at these top schools, NONE are under qualified.
@@mishaf19 If the average GPA is that high, then they have grade inflation. This is much like Harvard where almost everyone graduates with honors.
This is stupid. You lack basic intelligence
bullshit. nobody is underqualified at stanford. the difference is between two highly qualified people: one who ad to work through discrimination, poverty, language barriers, etc, and another who waltzed through life with rich parents. A 1550 SAT is very different between two people
My daughter is at Stanford. Getting in is not guaranteed for anyone, no matter how good. You can be amongst the very best and just didn't get lucky that day. What is assured is that you will be successful no matter where you go to college, and you have a promising life ahead of you. WAY too much emphasis is put on a small number of elite colleges these days. Honestly, it is counterproductive and should stop.
The truth is in AO pov your academics plays only 35% for acceptance , they see overall like Extracurricular, researches,character, interest in college. Just scoring perfect score is definitely not enough
You did not do anything wrong (regarding 3:41). I actually felt the opposite of what you felt -- that my application gave the impression that I'm too serious even though in reality people often say to me "You're a riot. I had no idea you had such a quick wit under that shy persona." Ironically and in contrast, my friend, who is normally straight and serious, wrote a humorous essay and got accepted. I often regret why I did not show my true humorous self and thought that was one big reason I got rejected, although some people did plant the seed in my head that it was mainly because I'm from an over-represented minority (the one everyone says is overrepresented) while my friend claimed to have 1/16th Native American blood even though he appears to be a straight Mayflower Pilgrim White Male.
My daughter visited Stanford years ago and could not stand the vibe of campus. Loved UC Berkeley, UCLA, Washington, and other schools. Came down to UC Berkeley and Washington. She chose Washington.
One of my friends goes to UCLA and my other friend goes to Stanford. My UCLA friend says the culture their is great and very friendly. My Stanford friend says it's extremely competitive and NOBODY helps each other.
UCLA has the best mathematician on earth.
Just know you an amazing person for sharing this with us
make more vanderbilt content!!! I'm attending in the fall and I want to know more about the school :)
@Thread WTF
3:12 this reminds me of the interview in hunger games when Katniss internally thinks that she only got a little bit of depth talking about her sister and the rest was her being extremely surface level
Great advice, and I think that Stanford especially is looking for change makers and innovators with deep, demonstrable interest in a particular area. Those interests can't be cultivated overnight. They still reject many of those specialist types because they have to fill particular departments and not everyone can be an engineer.
You didn’t share your financial situation. Schools are not blind to how much money your family could pay. In fact, some kids get admitted without even applying due to their family wealth.
You know for a fact that wealthy students get admitted without applying? Applicants have preferential status if they are family members of alumni or big donors, but they still have to apply. These elite private schools provide A LOT of financial assistance to students in need. I know a few students that will graduate from Columbia and MIT paying less tuition than going to state universities. These top schools have so much money in endowments that paying full tuition for a couple of hundred students each year is nothing. They know that their brilliant students will make it big in the future and donate hundreds of millions of dollars back to the school. What I am saying is, if a student is what the university wants, money is not an issue.
@@JackChiu-se2nm Yes, I know for a fact. They get offers from multiple schools before they even apply. It is a disgusting practice and should be illegal.
A great education is available at most colleges. Even more important is the application of the student to take advantage of the college. Don't set your sights on just one college. Wherever you land will be just fine--so long as you work hard.
you're correct on most colleges can provide a great education, but most colleges cannot provide the connections and career opportunities that an elite university can. Also, when an elite private university accept a student, they will provide you the financial assistance needed for you to succeed. A middle class student going to Columbia or MIT can graduate with less student loan debt than going to a state school.
You will never truly know why that happened, which honestly really doesn't matter.
An easy tip you can use in almost any situation is to just take a moment. Step away from what you're doing to take a breath and just look at the bigger picture, often times we become hyper-focused and lose sight of something else that is just as important. This is the same with what you said in the video, just because we may not get into a certain school doesn't mean all of life is over, we just need to look at the bigger picture.
I am still 4-6 years to applying to college this really helped thank you so much
It really is a crap shoot. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason why colleges reject students with off the chart stats, and accepts others with lower scores.
I can verify that this happens (as an instructor) - I don't know why either
She blames herself, but we all know the real reason.
Honestly, you lucked out from the rejection. You will be fine, anywhere you go.
Last year in a classroom lecture video at Sanford Sam Altman told the students not to bother with school, just start working in your field, you will learn more.
My oldest daughter graduated from Stanford this year, and now she's in their School of Medicine. One of her sisters just started Duke. As someone who didn't even graduate high school due to bullying (Class of '99 would have been me), it is so wonderful to see my own children grow far beyond what I could have ever been.
The selection process is not transparent. It's really depending on one or two people who read your application, which is subjective instead of objective. Also, one also has to fit into overall social representation. Honestly, anything can happen in this process.
Who is gonna tell her?
Been unsure on Major Selection, late submission of application, Art to be included, flaws in essays have out weighs your grades, GPA and SAT scores.
Planning wasn't there and little reckless approach cause your rejection!
Don’t doubt yourself, you are too good for them
when there are so many different activities and pursuits listed on the application, it seems that someone is trying to tick off as many checkboxes as possible. If I was a reviewer, I would wonder if an applicant has a genuine and natural passion for any of these activities, or engaged in each of them mostly because they thought colleges want to see a very long list.
Regardless of what she did right or wrong, Stanford's admit rate is only 3.7%, among the lowest in the country. On campus housing is a constraining factor. Also, each application goes through so many readers who weed out the best of the best. Schools like Stanford and the Ivys are great schools to aspire to, but there are so many public schools that are just as good. Degrees only get you in the "door" for a job, what you do and where you go after is up to the person.
This is a very thoughtful video and postmortem. You are incredibly mature. You will go far :-)
Seems to me that you’d be successful no matter what because of your drive and the constructive criticism that you give to yourself. I wish you were my parent or older sibling when I was 18.
Since the top schools are oversubscribed, admissions become quite unpredictable. Therefore, apply to as many as you can. The main benefit of a top school is the connections you will make there. Stanford is especially good for those who will go on to work in Silicon Valley or the like. However, it's a big world, and there are many ways to your path. Stanford only boosts your initial credibility. After that, it's all you, and believe me, you'll be perfectly fine.
I'm so curious what your mother's idea was for the short essay answer if you don't mind sharing :)
The fact that it's not merit based admissions, is crazy.
Thanks for sharing!
Relax, chill, you are fine. Stanford gets a mountain of Asian race applicants. Stanford limits the fraction of student of Asian genetic background. Right or wrong that is just a fact of life. You have the drive and intellect you can be fine in life. Do not expect "the system" to serve you. Make your own way.
Omg CONGRATULATIONS 🎉🎉🎉🎉
playing background music makes it harder to understand what you are saying
Well if it makes you happier, I thought at least one Stanford grad student say don’t go to Stanford for your undergraduate degree. Instead go to a small liberal arts college. The problem with big-name schools is you don’t get the professor with the Teaching assistant.
What is the Demand for applying to Master's degree in Stanford?
I think you were rejected because of DEI. They prioritize unqualified students because you didn't meet the DEI points.
It isnt at all offensive or lacking nuance at all to say race is a huge factor for these ivy leagues. These universities literally have affirmative action policies in place, you must know about the huge supreme court decision against Harvard regarding race-based admission and how much it influences admissions. You can say its 'unproductive', but that doesn't change the fact it is happening.
I feel this. I had a similar experience applying to schools like Berekely and UCLA even though I had a 3.8 GPA and weighted 4.3 GPA
Did you get into either of them?
@@user-ld6is4ni3d Nope! I went to CSULB though! Graduated from there
Legacy status and grandfathered in is still a big issue imo from all the friends I know who had family get into Stanford. I wish you the best of luck ❤️ in your future choices.
Can anyone tell me if i Fail or get low marks in sat / act but if i have strong portfolio all lrequirement can i get selected?
Don’t blame yourself for not getting into a racist school. You just happen to be the wrong minority in their perspective.
your stats only is really far from "star" students comparing lot of Asian kids
You need international science Olympiad HAIYA WHY NO INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE OLYMPIAAAD
Stanford is a very underwhelming place when you visit.
REA only increases your chance slightly. The biggest reason I think why stanford turned down your application, is because you are only a good student. In other words, you are good at study, and maybe not so good at other things. In the eye of stanford AO, it's the other things that count, not study. Almost everybody who has the audacity to apply to stanford are terrific students. But stanford can only accept a few amongst them. So what else you do really matters. For example, my oldest kid is applying this year. She's not as good as a student as you(but quite close), but she's a nationally known athlete. Her academics are ok, maybe only at top 5% of her high school. But in addition to that, she's a star athlete who plays in Division I and has a national ranking. Very soon I'll find out how her application go. She's applying ED to an IVY(where her athlete friend is going) and EA to MIT
Does anyone know what the percentage of a 3.98 GPA would be?
I’m also a star student that got rejected by Stanford my teacher gave a me a star sticker for not talking during silent reading in 1st grade
The real reason she was rejected: the "crime" of being Asian.
There's no such thing as "positive discrimination". That's just a deceitful euphemism. All discrimination is invidious discrimination.
Sorry you didn't get into your first choice, but it's their loss, not yours.
I think we know why she was rejected. Change her race and she would have been an automatic admission.
Nope-it’s not that simple. I know an underrepresented minority who had similar stats (actually more AP courses) and who was still rejected. Did they complain that Stanford is ’racist’ and favours other candidates due to their ‘privileged majority’ status? Lmao. Don’t expose your ignorance. It’s frankly embarrassing 😅
@@a.r.7885 and what minority would that be? What OP said is literally true.
@@chrispirilloisebooIa That minority is: black (African), of recent immigrant status, with one parent born + raised in France and the other educated there. The child’s first language is not English. How much more underrepresented can a minority be? Btw, this person began taking university courses prior to entering high school and was studying differential and integral calculus by age 14. Reading Shakespeare and Racine by age 9. Depressed by age 12. Parents essentially raised them with the philosophy that if you don’t earn at least 98% on exam, then don’t both coming home (if you want to live). Being the single top student in the school was not even good enough. Believe it or not, such standards are rather universal where l’m from. Having toxic immigrant tiger parents who worship HYPSM, striving for excellence, and subsequently experiencing rejection does not belong to any race or culture.
Getting Rejected from your Dream School sucks! Sorry to hear that…
Asians have to toe a higher line, it's literally that simple. It is what it is. That said, I think getting a full ride to a top-tier school like Vandy is still the best choice vs. having to go into debt, even for places like Harvard, Yale, Stanford, etc. After a while, you realize that where you went for undergrad, up amongst those levels, doesn't really matter anymore. Work experience, grad school for JD/MBA/etc. have much more impact that whether your undergrad was at a Stanford or a Vandy. All the Ivy League Asians are stopped by the Bamboo ceiling anyways. Better to be a non-Ivy League Asian, and have enough street smarts and people wisdom to eventually get into a position of senior leadership. Going into debt for Stanford isn't going to get you there anyways.
Hey Joy, how are you doing ? I am a stanford applicant majoring in AE. What is your major in Vanderbuilt university and which state are you from?
I am from ny in class of 2023
Hi!,can I Apply for an early action and a regular action at the same year?thanks in advance
The problem is that you didn’t identify as African American, Native American, or Hispanic on your application.
The other issue is that your parents haven’t donated a large building or obscene amounts of money to the alumni association.
My stats were pretty similar and I got denied too, but I transfered into georgia tech so idk 🤷♂️
Feels like my son will be rejected at Stanford and MIT and end up at Carnegie Mellon or Georgia tech. He will finish 12 college Math/CS courses when he finishes 11th grade in 6 months. Currently taking CS 479 AI/pattern at university as an 11th grader. He is a calculus tutor in college and is a researcher assistant for a college CS PHD program.
He finished 253 out of 6,000 competitors in collegiate cybersecurity competition. 10th grade he got all 5s on AP calculus, AP physics mechanic and electricity. Top 8 finishes at the IPPF debate at NYU
He is 4.0 gpa, by the end of his high school, he will finish about 16 colleges with all As. He will be taking the SAT/ACT in the 2nd half of 2023.
Do your stats similar or better than my child!?? I know there are a lot of kids who are gifted.
My son was denied at Stanford. Went to Georgia Tech (for free). He will be graduating soon and is going to accept an offer from Stanford for his PhD (for free).
Good advice 👍
Stanford uses calculators to do addition and subtraction of 1+1 and 2-1. Jeezes man even for me I have a hard time doing it but stanford you tuition cost that much to use calculators for simple math.
Could be you forgot to account for the "applying while Asian" dei-duction. But seriously, choosing your major to get into the school?? What do you actually want out of life? To score high on someone else's game. Why not pursue what you are interested in rather than trying to "fit"?
Schools want diverse student backgrounds. My guess was a they already accepted a bunch who mirror yours. It's about grades--but ALSO about being unique and offering something DIFFERENT to the academic community. After all, so much of college is peer-to-peer learning.
So what college did you go to?
Where are you going now?
She seems coached up on college admissions. Which is sad. Stanford has 6 essays, and with a 3 % acceptance rate... Why do you think you are able to get into Stanford?? So many parents are delusional and you suffered from the weight of expectation.
An obvious negative: Joy speaks far too fast, with little emotional variation. She speaks at her audience, not to her audience. A 'star' student must 'shine', not just emit words.
thank you for your valuable insight. your judgement of an 18 year olds speech pattern is greatly useful for society
I think that anyone going for CS the last five years are making a bad choice. Electronics and digital design is much better. I have a major in that and have a good job without the turbulence in many software companies right now. Avoid areas that are hyped and go for what your passion leads you. Inside engineering there are so many other fields and they all pay very well. An experienced radio designer get much more than a coder and isn’t out of job after ten years because some new programming language is the fashion of the day.
I wonder if a 1600 SAT would have gotten you in...
Watch the video
The harsh truth is that there's thousands of applications like you who apply to t10 schools. You are the top 0.1%, unfortunately so is everyone else who's on the bubble.
The other harsh truth is that affirmative action means that people who look like you and me are going to be hurt. Some people may try to rationalize that, but it's the truth no matter how you describe it.
Here is me starting my application on the day it’s due
It is very Difficult to get into Stanford. My brother got admitted. By the Time he finished high school he had taken all the most difficult courses that were available to take by his junior year. Algebra 1 and 2, Geometry 1 and 2, Trigonometry, Elementary analysis, Linear equations, Chemistry 1 and 2, Biology 1 and 2, Physics President of the NHS 4 years straight. Competed in Math and Science. Was taking university courses his senior year, Got Who is Who awards in Math, Science and English, Spoke Fluent English, Spanish, French. Graduated as Valedictorian. We also came from very poor background. Universities pay attention to adversity and what you can accomplish with what you are given. My Brother Graduated Top 1% from High School and Stanford. Eventually became a Doctor. The more you are given the more they expect for you to accomplish. Those Essays are taken very seriously and are no joke. You have to not waste their time with humor. My brother Ended up Getting accepted from every major school. Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Oxford, MIT, Brown . I competed in Biology and was a state Champion in Texas compared to him I would consider myself a moron. HAHAHA Yes that is how smart he is. Don't take it personal Those schools look for the best of the best.
A star student is crazy
Lol this video reminds me of what happens inside my brain if I get rejected from somewhere. The reasons you got rejected may have had absolutely nothing to do with any of the so-called "flaws" you identified in your application. Unless you actually spoke with the admissions committee and they told you these were the reasons you were rejected, I don't think you really need to be making this sort of video as advice for what not to do. Maybe the adcom actually liked those things that you list in your self-critique! The reality is that these big-name colleges inevitably have to reject a lot of stellar students for random or "other" reasons. Legacies get priority, or someone whose parent gave a big donation, someone who plays some sport that they need players for, for instance. And these students may not be nearly as stellar students as you, and not had much introspection in their essays. Also, as much as you may have dreamed of going to a certain university, it may also be that there is a certain "culture" on campus (that you may not even realize) that perhaps the adcom didn't think would be a good fit for you, not because there's anything wrong with your application or you, just personalities are personalities and it's important to be in a milieu where you fit in well, for your own happiness. But guys, please stop making videos like this as advice about why you didn't get in somewhere. What I saw in this video was merely brainstorming and self-critique of "where I could have gone wrong" and "how I could have made my application more perfect" from a fellow perfectionist like myself, and not necessarily truly the reasons you didn't get into Stanford.
What school are you attending?
Can you confirm what you did for the arts portfolio?
I wonder if your electives and coursework reflected the competitiveness of an EECS major, don’t know if did some math competition AIME/USAMO, CS competitions. Just based on your initial stats in your video, it seems you might have had a better chance as a liberal arts major.