why Stanford REJECTED me | a "star" student

why Stanford REJECTED me | a "star" student

This video is a reflection of things I would change if I had to re-apply to college, using Stanford as a specific case study. I wanted to share in case it might help anyone applying now. Also, definitely check out wAmy's video if you haven't already!

Also don't worry, I'm super at peace and incredibly happy with where I ended up going! This video was meant as a reflection to help other people applying and serve as a "what not to do" video of all my "mistakes" looking back - where I could have done better, and what I would tell someone to avoid if they came and asked for my advice, using my experience applying to Stanford as a specific example.

I’ve also received many comments saying that I would definitely have gotten in if I was a different race, or that colleges “only want a certain race these days,” and wanted to say a few things. I specifically never mentioned race in my video as I viewed this video as a “what not to do” video, and if I were to go back and redo this process, being Asian is not something I can or would ever want to control, change, or “not do.” I also firmly believe in the importance and necessity of policies like affirmative action, and believe it to be separate from things like the effects of stereotyping and biases on Asians in education, ex. Harvard’s “personality scores.” As such, I find comments along the lines of “colleges only want a certain race these days”, and “you were the wrong race” to be offensive, unproductive, lacking in nuance, and targeting the wrong issues.

On a significantly less important note, relating to this video's title, I also want to make it clear that I never in my life have considered myself a "star," and in high school and while applying to college, was honestly depressed at times to the point I sincerely believed I had very very little worth, both as a student and a person. I hope it is obvious that I do not refer to myself or think of myself as a "star," and that I just meant it, somewhat sarcastically, as a generic description of having hit some benchmarks typically associated with high academic achievement in high school.

~ Inspo ~
wAmy - Why Stanford REJECTED me, the "perfect" student
*(   • Why Stanford REJECTED me, the "perfect" st...  )
^ definitely go watch! full of good information

~ High School Stats ~
I didn't go too much into my high school extracurriculars and leadership experiences but I talk about everything here:

how I got a full tuition scholarship to Vanderbilt
*(   • how I got a full tuition scholarship to Va...  )

~ music ~
frumhere, kevatta - warm feeling
*(https://thmatc.co/?l=6E21E4AE)
Mr. Chase - Heaven
*(https://thmatc.co/?l=10ECB292)