Stanford Kids

Ok so today I went to an Orange County Stanford Acceptance meeting. Basically anyone that had been accepted to Stanford already met in some community recreation area in Huntington Beach and got to know each other. So all these high school seniors who had been accepted on Early Action met and talked about a variety of things, mainly school related.

It was an interesting group of people that created very interesting conversations. Yet I noticed a couple things in common with the majority of these kids.

Firstly, as expected, these kids were undoubtedly smart. They were using big words and subtly bragging about their accomplishments. I didn't mind, I mean I played that game too, but they definitely had some knowledge or achievements. Not that I expected to be, but I will definitely not be the smartest person at this school. There are some really brilliant kids, and I only met the ones from OC.

Secondly, they all seemed to have money. They were complaining about how high the tuition was and how it was going to rob their wallets and their parents wallets as well. I, on the other hand, am going to be receiving a very significant amount of financial aid in order to attend this institution. This means that the difference in the salaries of our parents is fairly different. And by fairly I mean very largely. These kids' parents are making a lot more money than mine. Also a lot of them went to private schools or more academically focused schools than Tustin High. Which implies that they are either more financially well-off or have parents that make more money to live in nicer areas with nicer schools. Point is most of them were wealthy, or wealthier than my family and I are.

Next point, a lot of them were Asian. I have nothing against Asians, I am simply stating a fact. Probably 50% of them were Asian. Which is a lot.

Also, they seemed to have parents that were very tight on them. Like the now infamous "Tiger Parents." These parents seemed to have large amounts of influence and involvement on the academic lives of these kids. I can honestly say that my parents are not that involved in mine. I go through my studies with little to no interference or guidance from my parents. I do it mostly by myself. But I have a feeling that despite these kids being very smart, they have their parents constantly watching over their shoulders when it comes to schoolwork.

Overall, I found myself to have a lot in common with these kids (besides obviously the above points.) I learned a lot more about Stanford and am absolutely positive I will love my four (+) years there.

By the way, University had at last 5 kids get accepted Early Action to Stanford. Thats a lot. Like wayyy too many.