1. Have a 20.0 gpa 2. Have a 1601 SAT and 36.1 ACT 3. Get a 6 on all your APs 4. Be a perfect academic robot 5. Mad legacy: mom, dad, grandpa, grandma, sisters, brothers, and dog went to Stanford
Word of advice for seniors, don't be afraid to go to community college and transfer with an AA or AS! For a lot of people, there's a stigma with not going directly into a University but who cares! You can end up in the same place as anyone who went directly to a 4-year and you spend SIGNIFICANTLY less money! No shame cause you come out with less debt and a pretty much equal foot as everyone else!
Definitely! I went to community college first and loved it. Had the best experiences and met some of my closest friends. People give community college a bad name, but it is what you make it!
I just commented this on someone else's comment! Community College gets such a bad reputation but it is so much cheaper and doesn't diminish your chances of being a successful student. I got my AA first, then my Bachelor's, and now I'm working on my Masters. And I only felt compelled to get my Master's because of the lack of student debt from undergrad. Plus if you're not a good standardized test taker (SAT/ACT) or have a poor high school GPA your AA and community college GPA trumps all of that.
this comment is positive and optimistic, but not entirely true. unfortunately, branding DOES matter when you apply for a job or a long term career, and another candidate that went to a well known university will have a better chance at getting the job than someone that went to a community college, assuming all other qualifications are the same. the good news is that there are MANY universities that do not require extremely impressive stats like this girl, and offer many financial aid opportunities. yes, your degree is still valuable at a community college, but, unfortunately, it does not give you equal footing.
How come? Also the original comment is pretty old, but in terms of grammar I would only change one thing - remove the "a", it just doesn't seem like it should be there.
Random Person well she doesn't need to have great grammar skills. This is the freaking comment section in RU-vid, she's just trying to voice her opinion or her thoughts. Don't worry about grammar girl, just show colleges who you truly are and it'll be okay if you don't get accepted into you're "dream" school. If you get accepted into another college, just know that you'll have the time of your life there and that no matter what school you go to you will always be able to get where you want to go in the future.
hey I feel you man I started off with a 2.50 my freshman now I am a junior with a 3.59 trust me just because you started off wrong doesn't mean you have too stay there
I look up to you! You are my number one role model. You work hard, balance school and RU-vid all the while topping it off with other extracurricular activities. You are amazing!
Thank you SO much for these tips Rach!! I loved these so much! Ah it's crazy for me to be approaching my senior year and thinking about college applications and such. I really hope I can include my RU-vid in my essay as well :DD Good luck at Stanford, you'll rock it there!
Congrats on Stanford, Rachel!! I got so excited when I saw the tree on your thumbnail. I'm currently a sophomore there, so if you have any questions about anything at all (campus life, classes, etc.) just hit me up! :)
I don't know how to DM on here but Stanford is my dream. Any tips, I am a sophomore, I don't have great GPA (3.8 out of 4.5 kinda messed up in 8th grade) but I am in so many extracurculars, and I am class treasuar. Keep in mind that I am currently trying to raise my GPA and I am only starting my sophomore year. Is there any advice that you can give me that will help my chances? What can really make me stand out? What did you do? thanks
Dang girl, STANFORD! I'm so happy for you :D also~~ Tip for anyone thinking of/taking the Math 2 SATii -- Try getting Dr. John Chung's SATii Math 2 prep book. I used it, and though I didn't learn anything new (was taking calculus that year...) it was REALLY good review, and compared to Princeton Review/Barrons (I actually returned my Barrons book when I found 3 errors in the conics section, 4 in the probability, and then information about things that are NEVER on the test...) /other prep books, I found the practice test questions to be the closest to the real test. I passed my book on to 3 underclassmen, and they told me the same thing: closest to the real test, concise and organized information and tips. Also: the best way to study (even if you think you know all the knowledge already!) for these exams is to PRACTICE, because sitting down and taking a boring test and not getting distracted or making silly mistakes is the hardest part! (also I swear this message is not sponsored, I just really liked the book. for anyone curious, I got a 800; of the 3 underclassmen, 1 got an 800 and the other two both got above 760 c:) GOOD LUCK with college applications to all the rising seniors, and ENJOY your last year of high school!!
This is by far my favourite video on tips when applying for college. She's so relatable, relaxed, chill and humble. She makes the whole process seem more real and less stressful. Thank you Rachel!
Thank you so much! I was literally just trying to start my applications today and I started freaking out so I kind of gave up on them. But seeing your video help take away a lot of the stress and I feel a lot better about doing them now.
I'm currently a junior and i really nervous about my senior year. I definitely learned a lot from your video and I'm really thankful that you put up a video like that. I believe these tips will be really useful to me next year. btw CONTRATS!!!
Congratulations on getting into Stanford!!! I love all of the school spirit! As a graduate student I'm definitely beyond the undergraduate application age/phase but it's exciting to see someone getting ready to start a new academic journey!
I really like how after graduation you are still going to college even though you have a big RU-vid channel and preparing for your future. it's really inspiring
Girl you have no idea how thankful I am to listen to this video! I'm starting college apps today and I already feel the anxiety. The most anxious part of trying to think about applying to schools is thinking about the drawbacks (ex: my AP Scores aren't that great). But after listening to your tips, it made me feel like getting into my dream college is possible and I'm going to work really hard on my apps to do that. At first, I lost a bit of motivation just because of my areas of weaknesses but you encouraged me to still do my best! I always also stressing about starting the essays but I'm good and ready! TYSMMM I LOVE YOU AND YES YOU GIRL GETTING INTO STANFORD 👌🏻😄😊❤️❤️❤️
Oh my god! My cousin went to Stanford and graduated with a degree in business; we were born four years apart, so he was graduating from Stanford when I graduated from Emma Willard, i.e. my high school alma mater. I was really annoyed with how long the application process took when I was applying to college, but I was grateful for the preparation and assistance my school gave me with my common app essay and prepping for the SAT (I took this test three times in addition to two subject tests.)Best of luck to you Rachel, and a shout out from a recent Bryn Mawr graduate (I graduated in Dec. 2015, but my ceremony was in 2016 like yours.) for doing this video. Current high school students, and college students looking at graduate schools, are grateful to you, myself included.P.S. My problem when writing a personal statement, and still talking about myself in writing now, is being too humble. Because of rigorous grammar lessons, and absorbing an advanced vocabulary, I considered myself a self-proclaimed "grammar Nazi" by the time I was 18, a bit like you.
I really could have used this advice last year while I was applying to college 😆 but I can completely relate to this as I spent weeks writing the perfect essay to get into my dream college this fall. You're such an inspiration for me, good luck in college!!! ❤️
as an incoming junior, this is incredibly helpful. also i love to write and can get pretty formal in my essays, so thanks so much for letting me know to keep it a bit more personal than strict. and I've never actually thought about including my failures, that's definitely interesting. again thanks a lot and congrats on getting into Stanford!
Hi Rachel! This video really helped me out because I am a senior this year and I've been getting stressed out for applications, especially because my sister got into a pretty nice college which raised my parents expectations for me almost sky high. This video really gave me motivation to do the best I can this year and to not stress out so much haha. Thanks so much for this video and good luck at Stanford!!!!!!🙌🙌
Yay!! I'm so glad it helped you out! And I know it's hard, but just try to focus on YOUR story and remember that it's totally normal and likely that you and your sister will have different paths - and that doesn't even depend on what college you go to! :D
I really appreciate this video, ESPECIALLY the tip about not taking College Confidential too seriously. I'm in my junior year, and I go through cycles where I look at forums, read a bunch of super serious and scary comments, and then completely lose faith in myself. It's pretty much been happening once a month since I did my SAT. But I never even realized that those comments could be from bitter students and parents who just want to scare other students away from applying.
Congrats girl!! Welcome to the Stanford fam!!! Go Card, fear the tree! And you take the gap year if you want to! I took one and it ended up being the best thing for me. Ugh yesss!!
This was extremely helpful! I am working on my Common App and essay questions right now, and hearing this advice is incredibly reassuring and comforting. Hope you can upload more vids like this alongside your baking ones!!
I'm glad it was helpful! :D I knew something like this wouldn't get as many "views" as a baking video, but I thought it was worth it if it helped one person :-) I was thinking of doing more videos like this too - glad you enjoyed it!
Good Job on Stanford! But here's a tip, Don't take the gap year. If anything, just take a semester off. A gap year is too long of time and it'll be a bit harder to get back into the grind of school :D
I wanna say thank you. I am going to be trying to go to college next fall and the whole college admissions had been a bit intimidating. Thank you for the tips!
I'm glad! It really shouldn't be toooo stressful of a process, especially if you break it down into smaller pieces (brainstorm essay ideas, rough draft, meet with counselor, etc.). I applied regular admission to all of my schools last winter :-)
+kawaiisweetworld do you make ns doing a tip video on choosing a highschool next school year I'm going to be in eighth grade and I want to know if there are any tips I need to apply to a high school. Also CONGRATS!!!
omfg CONGRATS!!! Im ur age and I've been thru the college admission process already, but u should totally do a study tips video or school typa videos!!
This video actually really helps me. I also just graduated high school and when i was in the process of applying for scholarships and colleges, my father insisted on reading everything i wrote. I let him at first, but the paper would always come back completely different from what i had written. He used words i would never use and made the paper extremely formal. When i wanted to change it to something closer to what i would do he got angry saying how he is a college professor (part time online one for a military college.) and he knows the admissions better than i do. My father did agree to my points though about the essay being my voice, but what he did was just take a blue pen and mark everything he wanted me to change and he refused to let me send it before i did. In the end, I refused to let him see my papers which got him angry. He told me that if i didnt let him read and edit them then he wont pay for anything. Me being the stubborn person i am said, "okay, ill just stop applying" (thinking back that was a bad idea). So pretty much i didnt get to apply for any of the colleges i really wanted and i have to take a Gap year because he kinda did the same thing for scholarships (i got mad at him rewriting everything, he said he'd do it himself then, i said okay, he didnt do it). I am happy with the college i got into and its cheap but i plan on transferring to the ones i really wanted later on.
This was really helpful! Many other college advice videos I've seen have a lot of the same basic content, but this gave real and useful advice. I'm in the midst of the application process, so thank you and good luck this year!
I'm a junior in high school, and somehow I stumbled across this video! I loved it and your personality! Definitely subscribing😊 Congrats on getting into Stanford!
What?! I'm so proud of you for getting into Stanford. I have some of my friends that are going to be freshman as well. This video is perfect for me because I'm doing college applications now!! Thank you and wishing you the best in your future
i think this video just saved me. it's already the end of october and i haven't started any of my UC personal statements due on november 30 because i'm so intimidated and scared, but hearing this is motivational, thank you Rach, i hope i can get through these next few weeks
You have num noms!!! And one of those awesome typo soda can drink bottles. I love your baking ideas and you are so creative!! I love you and your videos!!
Congrats on Stanford!!! That's amazing! My brother is a senior this year and that's his #1 choice (praying he gets in!) it's also my #1 choice XD but I still have a few more years. Love your channel!
THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS! I have to pick a college to go to by the end of this school year which is my junior year of high school and I was very interested in going to Stanford for medical, so I really appreciate this video it does calm me down a bit more and really does help ❤️
Hey Rachel, I just want to say that I love your videos. They are really geeky and cute at the same time and you are going to Stanford next year! Congratulations and all the best Rachel!
Thank you so much for the advice! I am actually starting off with college applications tomorrow so this really helped me to relax a bit. Thank you!!! oh and congrats on getting accepted to Standford!! Wish you the absolute best!!!!
I have no self confidence in myself (as well as anxiety issues) but after this, I know have self confidence in applying for high school. thank you Rachel!😀😀😄
Hi Rachel, been following ya ever 50K, and I LUUUV this new direction (& u) that you're taking with your videos -- you're definitely showing us more of yourself as well!!! AH THANK YOU :')
I'm so happy that you got into such an amazing school! I don't mean to sound rude but as someone who is actually working on my college applications now it's kind of intimidating to see you flash so much college gear in your video. But I guess that it just means that you know what you're talking about! I
Stanford and Harvard are my dream schools but my grades and scores are just average. I'm not exactly sure how I can make myself stand out of the crowd other than being average...any tips???
This was such a helpful video, thank you Rachel! I'm going into my junior year and I'm already anxious about the college application and essay process. Also, a big congrats on getting into Stanford! I'm so proud & happy for you, I wish you the absolute best!! (-:
Ahhh thank you so much for this video Rachel :) This came out at the perfect time! I'm going to be a senior in high school applying to colleges soon so these tips are really going to help me. And congrats on getting accepted to Stanford! Hope you have fun there :)
Woah. I didn't realize that you're only a year older than me. I thought you were at least 21 or 22. Also, this helped me so so much! I don't feel anywhere near as anxious about college applications now! One of the colleges I want to go to next year, I can apply in September as soon as I start grade 12. This video helps me so much for applying. Thank you!! And sorry my comment is such a mess there:p
thank you so much because my family is stressing out like crazy for my brother's college application. btw, congratulations on getting into Stanford, it's quite close to house :D
Congrats on Stanford :D. I'm in my 2nd year of a local community college and I'm enjoying it so far. Thanks to something called the Tennessee Promise, look it up if you're in Tennessee, my family doesn't have to pay anything for 2 years while I get an associates degree. This next year, I'm going to apply again to a 4 year school to continue the education to get a Bacholer's Degree in Interior Design. I can't wait to go to that school because they have a giant wood working shop and a swimming pool. I wonder if they have a class on how to properly swim...
Congratulations! Such a good video too, I think this would have really helped me when I was applying even though I went in England. I've started a new channel too 😊 croissants, macarons, marshmallows etc the simple way!
i'm a few months late to this video, lol. but i really enjoyed this! it felt so warm and inviting and gave me hope. it was almost like having a conversation!! i'm only half way done with my sophomore year so i'm worrying about college a little early lol. but thank you for this video i loved it!! please talk more about what it's like at stanford :)
Rachel, you're an angel! Thanks for lending out your tips with your subbies! I've been definitely thinking about college applications early, and I'm not gonna lie but choosing classes and picking opportunities (joining clubs, doing extracurricular activities, etc.) has been getting a little hectic. How do I know if taking AP/honors classes will benefit my college acceptance or doing extracurricular activities will make a difference? Ive also been told that community service & internships make a difference. My apologies if my words are not too clear haha! Anyway, I would love to hear your advice or opinions! Thanks!💓
I'm so glad this video was helpful!! I would say to take the AP/honors classes that interest you, and maybe push yourself to take 1-2 throughout high school that are totally new since you never know what you might be interesting to you! You want to take a challenging but not overwhelming courseload. So in my case, the main class I never took that's considered a "big" AP is AP US History since I already had a full schedule + didn't want to go crazy junior year haha :-) I'm sure community service and internships can help too as long as they actually relate to things you enjoy. Colleges can likely tell if you're faking interest in a field - ex. if one of your relatives gets you an internship that you don't particularly enjoy, but take anyways just for your college resume. Hope this helps!!
You are awesome for getting in Stanford! Congrats!!!! I'm only 12, but I dream of going to Stanford for its amazing medical program. I want to become a surgeon. I don't know what field though. Originally I wanted to go into Cardiothoracics, but I was also thinking about orthopedics or obstetrics. Well, mainly, congratulations for getting into Stanford!!
I started thinking about college recently and I told my mom about Stanford and I really regret it. She's pressuring me so much, she won't let it go. I'm halfway to depression and it's only my sophomore year.
I'm looking back on my high school life (I'm almost graduating) and i feel like i should of tried a lot more and have done more. If you're a freshman this year please actually try. Get involved with school and stuff. I don't have much to talk about now for college essays :\
please do more of the college entrance related videos. id like to know about the whole process because im a junior and my school hasnt covered anything about the process of attempting to get into a college😓 thank you!
Do scholarships. It's never to early. File for Fasfa I think that's how it's spelled. Always do your applications earliest when possible. I believe there is some thing called early bird (?) idk but DO IT
Omg Stanford Rachel you go girl! I'd love to see a video of dorm tours or how Stanford is, that'd be cool! I know you do baking though haha but it'd be cool to see!
I want to apply for a university but my parents are set on me living with them and going to my local community college when I want to go to a university that isn't in my city. I'm lowkey thinking about not telling them about me applying honestly
If you want to do it then do it! But remember about the financial responsibility of going to a school away from home, your parents might not help you with money if you leave against their wishes so good luck!
Personally I wanted to go straight to University after high school. However, I wound up having to go to a Community College first for two years to get my general education classes out of the way and I'm actually glad I did it that way. It's cheaper and is very helpful in getting used to the transition from high school to University. It's not the conventional way but I wound up being able to graduate with my bachelor's last year with no student debt because the grades I made while in community college trumped my SAT scores and high school GPA so I qualified for some awesome scholarships. Just an idea!
If you do apply to a university, it's not a good idea to hide crucial information like that from the people who could basically help you save money on room and food. Make a list of points about why you would want to go somewhere else and not the community college. Research the local college and figure out if there are any benefits, and see what's worth it. Ultimately though, it's your future, not theirs, but don't hold any information back just to spite them. You want to handle things in a mature and honest manner, and with integrity. After all, that's what people want when they hire you for a job, right? Good luck with whatever happens!
Thanks for the advice everyone! hopefully you guys wouldn't think I'm dumb enough to hide getting into a university in a whole? I just didn't think my parents would let me even apply so I want to try, if I get in I get in if I don't I don't, but if I did get it id tell them and see where it goes from there.. but honestly I still doubt they'd let me go to one
Even though you are going to college do you mind doing a advice video for highschool? I am going to be a freshman this year in an art school and I am so nervous, I don't know what to do and how to act. Btw I love your videos and have been watching you for years, you are truly an inspiration. Love you and good luck in college❤❤❤
