Video summary

How I Got In #9 || Stats, ECs, Awards, Etc. (Stanford)

Main summary

Key takeaways

Educational

Main ideas / lessons conveyed

  • Why Stanford might fit her profile: She explains her background (demographics + academics), highlights extracurricular leadership and real-world impact, and concludes with relevant awards plus her application timeline.

  • Application strategy: She presents her Common App content by connecting:

    • What she took academically (especially AP rigor and language),
    • What she led/created, and
    • What outcomes resulted (program expansion, signatures, posters, finalist/international selections).

  • Evidence of sustained commitment: Many activities are multi-year (e.g., Spanish for 7 years, tennis for three years) and show progression (e.g., club creation → district/nonprofit expansion).

  • “Selectivity matters”: She repeatedly emphasizes that her roles/programs were competitive or externally recognized (e.g., selective leadership spots and finalist/prize outcomes).

Academics (courses, rigor, outcomes)

Current status

  • Freshman at Stanford (undecided); tentatively economics or public policy, with a minor in human biology.

High school context

  • Location: Superior, Colorado
  • School: Peak Peak Charter School (college preparatory; public charter)
  • Graduating class size: 136

AP course load and results (9 total)

  • Freshman year
    • AP Human Geography — score: 5
  • Sophomore year
    • AP United States Government
    • AP Computer Science A
    • (Scores: all fours for the rest)
  • Junior year
    • AP Chemistry
    • AP Spanish Language & Culture
    • AP Language & Composition
    • AP Calculus BC
    • (Scores: all fours for the rest)
  • Senior year
    • AP Psychology
    • AP Biology
    • (Scores: all fours for the rest)

Honors coursework

  • Took honors classes whenever available (when offered vs standard sections).

Language highlight (differentiator)

  • Spanish all four years + Spanish in middle school
  • Total Spanish experience: ~7 years
  • Note: languages were required up to about sophomore year, but she continued beyond minimum requirements through AP and further study.
  • Additional involvement:
    • Spanish culture class
    • Spanish immersion trip to Colombia (senior year)

Extracurriculars (Common App — in the listed order)

She presents extracurriculars in a numbered order that mirrors her Common App ranking, though she later suggests it may not be perfectly precise—still, the most significant items are likely near the top.

  1. Founded “Racial Student Allies” (middle school)

    • Started as a club; she created the curriculum to educate students about racism.
    • Curriculum/themes included:
      • what it means to be a bystander
      • critical terminology
    • Goal: address racial discrimination identified as a problem by the school principal.
    • Collaboration: worked with faculty and school administration.
    • Scale/expansion:
      • piloted for two years
      • then expanded through her school district and statewide/nonprofit partners, including:
        • Youth Celebrate Diversity
        • UNBC (Boulder chapter) (as referenced in subtitles)

  2. Premed-related internships + research/poster

    • Internship at a molecular biology lab (CU Boulder).
    • Another wet-lab internship related to retinal organoids (site name unclear in subtitles).
    • Completed a poster session and wrote/presented about results.

  3. Premed Club officer

    • Organized school events and opportunities, including:
      • shadowing and volunteer opportunities
      • dissections
      • guest speakers
      • coordinated the school hygiene drive

  4. “Pack Leaders” program (selective upperclassman leadership)

    • Comparable to Link Crew (per her comparison).
    • Reason for listing: selective (about 80+ applicants, 12 spots).
    • Responsibilities:
      • guide freshmen on the first day
      • plan/host social activities
    • Example (senior year):
      • drove freshmen (“pack kids”) to places like Menchies and Mod Pizza
      • provided prizes
    • She notes it’s worth listing if a similar program exists, but she’s unsure it generalizes.

  5. Muslim Student Association (MSA) secretary

    • Context: small local practicing Muslim population (around five, per her description).
    • Expanded the club’s reach.
    • Organized a speaker event with attendance of 100+ (subtitles suggest possibly 200+).

  6. Board member for a statewide Muslim association

    • Helped coordinate Ramadan and Eid events.

  7. Medical and surgical hospital volunteer (local hospital)

    • Assisted nurses with practical tasks (e.g., restocking, calls).
    • Worked with post-op patients and provided support.

  8. Varsity tennis + coaching/instruction

    • Varsity tennis team for the last three years of high school.
    • Tennis instruction:
      • started tennis in high school and progressed enough to reach varsity
      • won doubles; team went to state (details not quantified in subtitles)
    • Also served as a tennis coach, reflecting interest in teaching and growth.

  9. Board member: Colorado Student Leadership Institute (CSLI)

    • Described as Colorado’s “governor school.”
    • Experience:
      • about a month on CU Denver’s campus
      • took college-level courses
      • heard from student leaders, state leaders, and politicians
    • Initiative:
      • led a lobbying initiative
      • obtained 1,000+ signatures
      • sent results to Colorado senators

  10. Tutoring organization / pandemic learning platform

    • Built a tutoring platform during the pandemic:
      • matched students with tutors (subtitles show “two T’s,” likely a service name/emphasis)
    • Created an e-learning extension for elementary students:
      • worksheets for fundamental math and reading
      • managed the program component

  11. Internship at an oncology/cancer hospital in India

    • Duration: two weeks
    • Observed surgeries and procedures, including:
      • nephrectomies
      • sarcoma resections
      • “transplant plants” (wording unclear in subtitles)
      • robotic surgery

Awards (what they indicate she gained)

  • Princeton Prize in Race Relations Scholarship

    • $1,000 scholarship
    • Flown to Princeton to receive the award
    • Tied to her racial equity work

  • Finalist: Colorado Conrad Challenge

    • Innovation challenge
    • Her idea with a partner selected for international finals
    • Presented in Houston

  • Finalist: World Series of Innovation

    • International innovation competition where her idea was selected

  • AP-related + Spanish literacy recognition

    • AP Scholar with distinction (as she described it)
    • Seal of Biliteracy for Spanish

  • Grant: Taco Bell Ambition Acceleration Scholarship/Fund

    • She states she received a grant from this program (exact naming slightly unclear in subtitles)

Application detail highlighted (Stanford process)

  • Applied to Stanford Restrictive Early Action
    • Applied by: November 1
    • Decision received: December 15
  • She states she could not apply early decision to private schools, but Stanford was her top choice.

Speakers / sources featured

Speaker

  • Zeba Mhammed (Stanford freshman; also the narrator of the video content)

Organizations/programs mentioned (sources/affiliations)

  • Peak Peak Charter School
  • Youth Celebrate Diversity
  • UNBC (Boulder chapter)
  • CU Boulder
  • Colorado Student Leadership Institute (CSLI) (Colorado’s “governor school”)
  • Colorado senators
  • Princeton Prize in Race Relations
  • Colorado Conrad Challenge
  • World Series of Innovation
  • Taco Bell Ambition Acceleration Scholarship/Fund
  • Stanford admissions (mentioned indirectly via application type)
  • Local hospital (name not specified)

Original video