Hired by Google as L4 but rejected by top colleges

[Anonymous]

Something about this story doesn't add up. I can't believe all those California state schools rejected a California resident with those stats. Either those really aren't his stats, or he can't write an essay, or his teachers hate him, but there's something else going on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Something about this story doesn't add up. I can't believe all those California state schools rejected a California resident with those stats. Either those really aren't his stats, or he can't write an essay, or his teachers hate him, but there's something else going on.

CA schools basically take the top 6% of students in the class. This kid went to Gunn HS, I believe, which is in Palo Alto. His stats are great, but not super spectacular. It's possible that his stats weren't high enough to be considered top 6% in his HS. This is where you want to play the DEI game using the geography diversity. He should've transferred to Redwood HS in Redwood City where they don't have as many super high performing kids.

CS major is super competitive. My DC had a higher GPA than this kid and got rejected to those schools, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm starting to wonder if the people who operate the Common App screwed up somewhere? With all of the less qualified kids getting in (even other Asian boys interested in CS) it seems like they should be asked to show their hand?

you are assuming it's all based on stats. It isn't. Even UCs can use something else to bypass Prop 209 to get the DEI they want.

Not at all. This kids stats are as perfect as they come. I am looking for where all of the rejections / reasons for rejection converge.

Either all 16 colleges don't like this kids for the same reason. Unlikely
All 16 colleges don't like this kids for the 16 different reasons. Less likely.
The Common App screwed up and sent incomplete or bad data. Seem possible
He is super unlucky and or actually cursed. Unlikely

The UCS don't use the Common App and I believe U of Washington didn't last year.

[Anonymous]

In the video, the kid and dad refuesed the bait the anchor was dangling, and both said they want "transparency". They are right.

The only reason that his home state pubic college rejected him is because he isn't good enough (obviously absurd) or they don't have enough seats to educate their high potential students (obviously unacceptable) or they think he should be in grad school not undergrad (they should say that if so).

[Anonymous]

Haha Hacker News banned us
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37783167

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Something about this story doesn't add up. I can't believe all those California state schools rejected a California resident with those stats. Either those really aren't his stats, or he can't write an essay, or his teachers hate him, but there's something else going on.

CA schools basically take the top 6% of students in the class. This kid went to Gunn HS, I believe, which is in Palo Alto. His stats are great, but not super spectacular. It's possible that his stats weren't high enough to be considered top 6% in his HS. This is where you want to play the DEI game using the geography diversity. He should've transferred to Redwood HS in Redwood City where they don't have as many super high performing kids.

CS major is super competitive. My DC had a higher GPA than this kid and got rejected to those schools, too.

It's 9%. His weighted GPA puts him in the top 10% https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1696538432/pausdorg/vkkgz0nal1ardiyajxr6/gunnprofile2023-202410-5-23.pdf

[Anonymous]

Gunn has an average SAT of nearly 1500.

This is what happens when students are compared to their classmates. In a typical American high school Zhang would be SO far above everyone else. But at Gunn he doesn't stand out.

I think that needs to be discussed. 1590 is incredible no matter where it comes from. Why give brownie points to kids that come from worse high schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Gunn has an average SAT of nearly 1500.

This is what happens when students are compared to their classmates. In a typical American high school Zhang would be SO far above everyone else. But at Gunn he doesn't stand out.

I think that needs to be discussed. 1590 is incredible no matter where it comes from. Why give brownie points to kids that come from worse high schools?

Because he already has enough and doesn't need more. He already has everything a college could give him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Gunn has an average SAT of nearly 1500.

This is what happens when students are compared to their classmates. In a typical American high school Zhang would be SO far above everyone else. But at Gunn he doesn't stand out.

I think that needs to be discussed. 1590 is incredible no matter where it comes from. Why give brownie points to kids that come from worse high schools?

But is that the reason he was rejected by mid- lower-tier UCs? Also His GPA is at least 9% at his high school

[Anonymous]

Colleges - esp the mainstream ones he applied mostly for (albeit tops) - are looking at formulas. There's a zillion candidates and they look at the TOP candidates. His GPA was not all that. He had a lot of awards but you don't know how his recs/interviews/essays went. The competition is epic at a lot of these colleges. Everyone is smart and accomplished with high GPA/test scores. Then you have to look at nationality/legacy/location of applications.

When I do campus recruiting of MBAs, EVERY ONE of them is tops. You have no idea how competitive it really is. It's about a formula and a popularity contest that will get you in. It's not how real life works which is why Stanley is going to be successful sans college

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Colleges - esp the mainstream ones he applied mostly for (albeit tops) - are looking at formulas. There's a zillion candidates and they look at the TOP candidates. His GPA was not all that. He had a lot of awards but you don't know how his recs/interviews/essays went. The competition is epic at a lot of these colleges. Everyone is smart and accomplished with high GPA/test scores. Then you have to look at nationality/legacy/location of applications.

When I do campus recruiting of MBAs, EVERY ONE of them is tops. You have no idea how competitive it really is. It's about a formula and a popularity contest that will get you in. It's not how real life works which is why Stanley is going to be successful sans college

I think it's eye opening for some people to see how competitive CS admissions is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He applied to too many. That's my theory.

I've noticed when these kids post their accepted/denied/deferred/waitlisted videos on social media each spring, it's always the kids with amazing stats and ECs that applied to like 15-20 schools that get sh!tty results.

No one needs to apply to 25 schools. Applying to 25 schools tells me that you don't care where you go to school, you just want to get accepted to college, preferably a T20-25. Applying to all Ivys tells me that you don't care which Ivy you go to, you just want to go to an Ivy.

Kids are no longer selective. They don't show interest in one school and they don't make that interest known like they used to.

DS has lower stats than Stanley Zhong but expressed his interest from the start in attending Cal Poly. He was accepted and is in his second year there. DS only applied to 6 schools and was accepted at all: Cal Poly, U Mich, UCSD, VT, Duke, and UNC.

Schools don't know how many you apply to. And with results like this of course kid are applying widely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Haha Hacker News banned us
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37783167

i guess it's not tech related? why would they flag it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Something about this story doesn't add up. I can't believe all those California state schools rejected a California resident with those stats. Either those really aren't his stats, or he can't write an essay, or his teachers hate him, but there's something else going on.

nah, California schools receive too many applications - mistakes will happen, especially the people who read your essays are all temps.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gunn has an average SAT of nearly 1500.

This is what happens when students are compared to their classmates. In a typical American high school Zhang would be SO far above everyone else. But at Gunn he doesn't stand out.

I think that needs to be discussed. 1590 is incredible no matter where it comes from. Why give brownie points to kids that come from worse high schools?

Because he already has enough and doesn't need more. He already has everything a college could give him.

Can you say this to billionaires that they already have enough, so they should not get any more $$$? Or you yourself probably have enough than the homeless on the street, so you do not need more and please give your properties to the people in poverty.