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THREAD: the summer after i got into stanford, i had a friend who congratulated me on my acceptance, and then proceeded to tell me how i was going to live the life they had always wanted—to leave mississippi and attend an elite institution. “you really made it,” they said. https://twitter.com/danasawan1/status/1276724797007958016
i told them—“hey, you can do this too if you really want! but even if you don’t, i thought you loved the state school you got into? you’ll find your place there!”
i love stanford, and while i understand that being a stanford student gives me a certain privilege that others
i love stanford, and while i understand that being a stanford student gives me a certain privilege that others
don’t have, i would never think of myself as above anyone else because of it. but my friend seemed to think i did.
they responded by saying they would never get into a school like stanford. they congratulated me again and then said, “i’m a good student, and hardworking. but i
they responded by saying they would never get into a school like stanford. they congratulated me again and then said, “i’m a good student, and hardworking. but i
just don’t have a story like you do”
confused, i asked them to explain. they then drifted into a lengthy monologue about how they were white and, although they had faced adversity, they couldn’t write a personal essay like the one I had written for my application.
what?
confused, i asked them to explain. they then drifted into a lengthy monologue about how they were white and, although they had faced adversity, they couldn’t write a personal essay like the one I had written for my application.
what?
“well, yeah,” they said. “you’re mexican and i’m white. it’s different.”
i was heartbroken. knowing they had read my application, i couldn’t understand why they would say that.
they couldn’t describe the fear of losing their father to deportation, like i had? they couldn’t
i was heartbroken. knowing they had read my application, i couldn’t understand why they would say that.
they couldn’t describe the fear of losing their father to deportation, like i had? they couldn’t
describe having to take the stand 3 days into the start of their senior year of hs, like i had? they couldn’t describe the panic and anger of having a prosecutor argue their father was nothing more than an ATM and once they graduated hs they wouldn’t need him anymore, like i had?
they couldn’t describe the sadness of knowing there was a high possibility their father wouldn’t be able to be a part of their life, like i had?
there was so much more to my application than this one story i wrote about, but my friend had already decided that THIS was why i was
there was so much more to my application than this one story i wrote about, but my friend had already decided that THIS was why i was
accepted. and that THIS is why they wouldn’t be accepted.
and despite this being a story that people of all different races have, they had decided it was one that only benefited Hispanic people.
my friend said “sob stories” (as they put it) were beneficial to POC and that all
and despite this being a story that people of all different races have, they had decided it was one that only benefited Hispanic people.
my friend said “sob stories” (as they put it) were beneficial to POC and that all
POC had an automatic advantage in the admissions process.
this friend really made me question if i deserved to go to stanford. had i just been an AA case? i took that doubt with me into my frosh year, and imposter syndrome hit me hard.
going into junior year now, i’ve learned a
this friend really made me question if i deserved to go to stanford. had i just been an AA case? i took that doubt with me into my frosh year, and imposter syndrome hit me hard.
going into junior year now, i’ve learned a
first, admissions is a wholistic process. when i looked at my admissions file, the reviewers commented on everything from my school to my grades to the area i grew up in. what they didn’t mention? my ethnicity.
second, a lot of the learning at stanford happens outside of the https://twitter.com/danasawan1/status/1276710218567737344
second, a lot of the learning at stanford happens outside of the https://twitter.com/danasawan1/status/1276710218567737344
classroom. there’s more to an education than numbers and test scores. community and overall educational environment benefit students more than you’d probably like to admit.
third, minority students are JUST as qualified as any other student at stanford. my class had an
third, minority students are JUST as qualified as any other student at stanford. my class had an
acceptance rate of 4.29%, the lowest yet. OF COURSE, there were intelligent, qualified students who weren’t accepted. with nearly 50,000 applicants, stanford can’t accept and accommodate all.
does that diminish the work those students put into their education and application?
does that diminish the work those students put into their education and application?
absolutely not. but it also doesn’t diminish the fact that minority students who were accepted EARNED their spot and DESERVE to be there.
you seem to have all the facts but have shown any proof. can you give me any
you seem to have all the facts but have shown any proof. can you give me any
evidence that minority students at stanford underperform? or that anything other than their merit largely contributed to their admission?
