[2 for 2028]

I came from a small town without many examples of scholastic success, and orientation was exhilarating but also intimidating, as I discovered the incredible achievements of my fellow students.  It is very hard to go from effortlessly being the best in every academic subject to suddenly having to work hard to be average.

This really resonates with me.  I came from a small town in Indiana -- certainly no Stanford students before me and I doubt any since. 

I'm class of '96, so a different era, but I remember a dorm Q&A session with someone in admissions early fall quarter.  We were told that each application gets two numbers on the first pass: one for academics, one for "other" (I now forget the word they used), both out of a maximum of five points.  If the application didn't get a certain number on the first pass, the applicant was out.  Someone in the group asked the admissions person if she could give an example of how someone would earn a 5 in the "other" category.  Straight-faced and without skipping a beat, she responded, "For example, if you won a gold medal at the Olympics."  I will never forget that moment.

[2 for 2028]

I came from a small town without many examples of scholastic success, and orientation was exhilarating but also intimidating, as I discovered the incredible achievements of my fellow students.  It is very hard to go from effortlessly being the best in every academic subject to suddenly having to work hard to be average.

This really resonates with me.  I came from a small town in Indiana -- certainly no Stanford students before me and I doubt any since. 

I'm class of '96, so a different era, but I remember a dorm Q&A session with someone in admissions early fall quarter.  We were told that each application gets two numbers on the first pass: one for academics, one for "other" (I now forget the word they used), both out of a maximum of five points.  If the application didn't get a certain number on the first pass, the applicant was out.  Someone in the group asked the admissions person if she could give an example of how someone would earn a 5 in the "other" category.  Straight-faced and without skipping a beat, she responded, "For example, if you won a gold medal at the Olympics."  I will never forget that moment.