How I Got In #8 || Stats, ECs, Awards, Etc. (Stanford)

Main ideas / lessons conveyed

• Purpose of the video: Jaylen O (a Stanford freshman studying data science) shares an overview of his Stanford application—including stats, AP courses, and especially how he structured activities—with advice aimed at helping viewers improve their own applications.

Academic profile + school context

• He attended a typical suburban public school (not highly competitive) with a large AP offering and no IB program.
• He emphasized:
  • Strong grades (4.0 unweighted)
  • Competitive test performance (top 10% rank; valedictorian; SAT 1540)

Course rigor (AP strategy)

• He took 13 APs total across high school.
• The video includes a year-by-year AP list with scores to show academic consistency and challenge.
• Some APs had lower scores (e.g., physics, seminar), but he still maintained a rigorous schedule.

Activities strategy (Common App positioning and writing style)

• He frames activities as the “rocks” (the foundation) of the application, but not sufficient on their own.
• He argues essays are “bread”: essays connect everything into a cohesive narrative that supports admission.

Essays strategy (what to emphasize and what to avoid)

• He strongly encourages a humanities-focused narrative.
• He advises avoiding extracurricular mentions in essays, because admissions officers already see them in the Activities section.
• Each essay prompt should be a solid story/anecdote explaining interest and motivation, not just achievements.

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Key methodology / detailed bullet points (activities + essays)

A) How to build the “final milestone” activity (Common App Activity #1: passion project)

• Choose a culminating project that represents the “final milestone” of high school.
• Invest in high weekly hours (he suggests and demonstrates large time commitment).
• Quantify impact clearly, including:
  • Specific outcomes (e.g., drafted/edited/published a novel)
  • Distribution/scope (e.g., “selling on 14 platforms”)
  • Recognizable platforms (e.g., Apple Books, Barnes & Noble) to add specificity
• Example time commitment he used:
  • ~30–40 hours/week for 16 weeks
  • Hours increased in summer between junior and senior year

B) How to write activity descriptions (general writing mechanics)

• Use action verbs and short fragments rather than full sentences.
• Common App text fields are limited, so he recommends keeping descriptions easy to scan and brief.
• Quantify wherever possible:
  • Numbers of people (e.g., 15 writers)
  • Frequency/level (e.g., districts, state, occurrences)
  • Direct outputs (e.g., published, organized, planned, wrote 10+ short stories)

C) “Make it fun to read” for admissions officers (journalism internship)

• Avoid making the description generic (“everyone knows what that looks like”).
• Add specific, interesting details, such as:
  • Unique interviews (e.g., interviewed a local Jeopardy contestant)
  • Unusual observational elements (e.g., listening to police scanners)
  • Concrete outputs (e.g., co-wrote articles that were published in a magazine)

D) Use arts/music to support a thematic application focus (humanities emphasis)

• He consistently positions multiple activities as supporting a humanities-focused theme, including:
  • Orchestra (cello) for all four years
  • Creative writing and a later college-level writing class

E) Use relationships and recommendations strategically (letter of recommendation)

• He emphasizes that strong admissions stories often involve at least one deep teacher/faculty relationship.
• Strategy he used:
  • Took the same English teacher multiple years
  • Structured senior-year coursework so that teacher taught a relevant class (creative writing)
  • Believes this deep interaction led to a stronger recommendation

F) Handling a “college class” in the Activities section (despite guidance)

• He notes Common App typically discourages listing college courses as activities.
• His approach:
  • He still listed it to strengthen his narrative.
  • He argues it’s worthwhile if the description explains:
    • Why he took it (e.g., preparation for novel drafting)
    • Quantified output (e.g., 10+ short stories)
• Otherwise, he suggests the “impact” may get lost if it’s only listed briefly under Education.

G) Community service positioning

• He listed multiple service experiences separately and included:
  • Ages served (e.g., 7–11)
  • Skills supported (e.g., social/communication)
  • Program role details (e.g., youth board running local events)
• Focused on organization and event execution

H) Swim club as an activity with appropriate placement

• He placed swim lower because it ended after 2.5 years.
• Still quantified:
  • Approx. 20 hours/week
  • Skills gained (discipline, work ethic, teamwork, competitiveness)
  • Athletic qualification (regionals)

I) Final concluding frame: activities vs essays

• Activities: “Rocks”—necessary foundation, but not the whole story.
• Essays: “Bread”—connects classes, activities, and experiences into one narrative.
• Essay content guidance:
  • Emphasize why you’re interested in the relevant theme (he focuses on humanities)
  • Use personal anecdote/story per prompt
  • Avoid repeating what’s already in the Activities section; instead explain motivations and significance

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Stanford application elements he shares (structured)

1) Personal background / school

• Korean-American; born in the United States.
• School context: class size ~500; generally not too competitive.
• Strong academic offering: many AP classes; no IB.

2) Academic stats

• GPA: 4.0 unweighted
• Class rank: top 10%, valedictorian
• SAT:
  • 1540 total ( 770 Math / 770 English )
  • Took once in late August
  • Prep described as roughly June–August, with about 4 hours/day of studying during summer

3) AP courses and scores (13 total)

• Freshman year
  • AP Environmental Science: 5
• Sophomore year
  • AP World History: 5
  • AP Physics (exact course name not specified): 3
  • AP Seminar: 3
• Junior year (5 APs)
  • AP Biology: 4
  • AP Calculus AB: 5
  • AP US History: 5
  • AP Psychology: 5
  • AP Language: 4
• Senior year (4 APs)
  • AP Statistics: 5
  • AP Government: 5
  • AP Calculus (described as “calc 5”): 5
  • AP Literature: 5

4) Non-AP / other courses and involvement

• Orchestras: cello for all four years
• Foreign language: 3 years of Spanish (stopped after sophomore year)
• Creative writing: taken partly in the context of maintaining an English teacher relationship for a recommendation

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Speakers / sources featured

• Speaker: Jaylen O (Stanford freshman studying data science)