Getting into Stanford University as a transfer student was amazing, hands down one of the best experiences of my life. However, what made the acceptance so much more meaningful, was the note my admissions officer sent me through the mail.

Each of the things listed on my note has special meaning, and each directly connects to a piece of my personal story and Stanford application.

I transferred into Stanford, a school with a notoriously low transfer acceptance rate (~1.6%). How did I do it? Well, below I have every component of my application and how I maximized my chances to get in!

Stats:

Extracurriculars, Awards, Publications:

Although the Lunar Eclipse was over a month ago, I forgot to post my observations of it for my Optics and Modern Physics course.

At WingStop, I observed the Lunar Eclipse outside. Although my iPhone wasn't that good at capturing the moon, I was able to see it in person. I was able to identify the Penumbral Phase, Partial Phase, and Total Eclipse. I left a more detailed version of my report below, to see all the photos I took with descriptions.

Since watching the hit show Person of Interest, the episode 2πR has stuck with me since. This episode highlights one of the main characters, Harold Finch, as a high school teacher. In this episode, Finch states the following:

Pi. The ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter—this is just the beginning. It keeps going forever without ever repeating.

Contained within this endless string of decimals is every other number: your birth date, your locker combination, your social security number—it’s all in there somewhere

And if you convert these decimals into letters, you would have every word that ever existed in every possible combination—the first syllable you spoke as a baby, the name of your latest crush, your entire life story from beginning to end. Everything we ever say or do, all of the world’s infinite possibilities, rest within this one simple circle.

Now, what you do with that information—what it’s good for—well, that’s up to you.

This quote has served as an inspiration to what the universe holds for us. Similar to Pi, the universe is infinite and holds many unknowns. Mathematics, like the universe, is a language of patterns—an intricate web of connections that governs everything from the motion of planets to the algorithms that shape our digital lives. Just as Pi encodes infinite sequences, our own lives are shaped by infinite choices, each leading to different paths and outcomes. As we progress through life, we continue down this infinite path of knowledge and understanding.

The concept that space holds solutions to problems on Earth sparked my passion for engineering, and I have Mark Rober’s video, Is NASA a Waste of Money?, to thank for that. His breakdown of how space exploration drives innovation made me realize that engineering is not just about building things—it’s about solving real-world challenges in ways we never imagined.

Engineering became my foundation, leading me to the Center for High Frequency Electronics, where I honed my mechanical problem-solving skills. There, I worked on refining precision components and troubleshooting complex systems, learning how small adjustments could have a significant impact. This hands-on experience strengthened my ability to think critically and approach challenges methodically.

Yet, I soon realized that technical expertise alone wasn’t enough to drive progress. Policies, funding, and advocacy play a crucial role in shaping the future of aerospace. This understanding led me to explore governance and public policy, where I saw how decisions made at the highest levels influence scientific advancements. Without proper advocacy, even the most groundbreaking engineering innovations struggle to gain the support they need.

Merging these two passions—engineering and policy—I aim to contribute to the aerospace industry by championing both technological advancements and the policies that sustain them. By blending technical expertise with strategic advocacy, I hope to help push the boundaries of space exploration, ensuring that humanity continues to reach for the stars.

I used to believe my extracurriculars and awards were unique enough to get me into college. From designing an app to being an Eagle Scout, I thought I was “well rounded” with a spike in engineering. However, as I opened my decisions in High School, I got almost all rejections with a singular waitlist opportunity. This led me to Community College which has been great, but at the time I was very disappointed in myself.

I guess it’s something that every high school senior and prospective transfer has to understand, and it’s that there will always be someone “better” than you. In my case, I might be an Eagle Scout but another Scout probably has all the merit badges. Or in the case of the App I helped design, we made it to the State competition but my competitors made it all the way to international. Point being, there will always be someone better than you, and although it sucks it’s the truth.

The sooner you realize this truth the sooner you’ll do better. I accepted this fate in the summer after my Senior Year, and spent it having a good time but also bettering my resume. This website I created is somewhat just me writing down my thoughts, and the other part is talking about STEM. Although this website isn’t that good, it’s something that I like and have that is special to me. At the end of the day, I believe that’s all that matters in the college admission process.

Even though someone will be better, do your best within the opportunities that arise. I ran for and was elected to be the Student Trustee, the Student advocating for a Community College District. It wasn’t easy to make it to this point, but it’s possible to make it here. In other words, take risks and do your best to make your extracurriculars the best you can.

It’s been about 5 months since I’ve said anything. People have been wondering where I’ve gone or what I’ve been up to. Truthfully, I just needed a break and just explored the world. I spent my summer with the friends I grew up with, now that they’re back in our hometown. I went to Mammoth, went out so many late nights, and even got an internship and special accelerator program at UCLA. I’ll write about those experiences later, but for now the main idea of this article is a reaffirmation of dedication.

The theory about habits is true. Once you start, it’s hard to stop. Not only was me taking a break a major reason behind my absence, but also my increasing duties as the El Camino College Student Trustee. It’s not an easy job, meeting after meeting, lot’s of agendas to review in advance, and dedication to our Associated Student Government that can take up to 40 hours per week. It’s a lot, but I ultimately can’t complain as it’s the role I chose to pursue and the one I ran for during the election.

Not only that, but this semester has been extremely challenging. Electromagnetism is one of the two physics courses I’m in, and it is extremely difficult. I believe I underestimated its difficulty as I did poorly on the first exam but I brought it back with the second one. Hopefully I get an A, but only time will tell.

Ultimately, I just needed a break, but now I’m back for the rest of this year and beyond, because I have a lot of plans for this website and I won’t let my ideas stay as just ideas.

I just ended my second semester of college, and it was probably my most difficult semester. I took 27 units, which was a lot. Some days, I was there from 8AM to 11PM which were long days. I took the following classes, and I listed by brief thoughts about each:

MATH-270, Differential Equations with Linear Algebra:

• I loved this class, it showed me so much about higher level mathematics that I never thought I’d learn. Even though it was challenging, I enjoyed it so much.
  

CHEM-1A, General Chemistry I:

• Chemistry is difficult for me, but this class was alright. It was a long class, with a total of 10 hours per week between lab and lecture. Overall, It was just alright to me.
  

PHYS-1A, Mechanics of Solids:

• I love physics, so this class was a blast. I didn’t really learn anything new as most of the physics I remembered from high school, but it was a nice refresher and I enjoyed the labs.
  

CSCI-17, Computer Programming in MatLab:

• MatLab was pretty fun, I enjoyed coding in it because it felt more mathematical. I enjoyed it, and I loved seeing the graphing aspect.
  

ETEC-15, Aerospace Engineering:

• Aerospace Engineering was enjoyable as it is a subject I thoroughly enjoy. I enjoyed the labs we did and projects we worked on during the class as it was very hands-on.

ECON-101, Macroeconomics:

• Learning how economics is impacted is a useful skill for life, so I’m happy I took this. It will also help me if I ever want to get an MBA later down the line.
  

COMS-100, Public Speaking:

• Not much to say about this one, it had a few speeches and a couple speech analysis papers. It felt very laid back compared to my STEM classes.
  

It’s been a while since I’ve updated this website, but I’ve been taking a nice-ish break since the semester ended. I’m currently in 22 units over the summer, so that’s been taking up my time. However, I look forward to the next two semesters when I finally dip my feet into core engineering classes such as statics, dynamics, circuits, and materials.

I’m done with Linear Algebra, and it was an interesting journey. Fun fact, I’ve been looking forward to this class since around 10th grade, when I first heard the topic mentioned somewhere (I don’t remember when exactly). And it took me 3 years to finally reach that goal and now as I reflect on linear algebra I gained an appreciation of all of math that came before it to culminate in one of the most difficult math courses during my life.

So the question that many may be wondering: What is linear algebra? Well, if you google that, the internet states, “Linear algebra is the branch of mathematics concerning linear equations” which isn’t particularly helpful. The way I see it, linear algebra is the study of all the math that came before it, but using the idea of matrices and spaces to describe the ideas we already know. For example, a system of equations solvable through the elimination method can now be solved using linear algebra through matrices. Another idea of this is vector spaces, which are actually just collections of objects that follow certain parameters.

Linear algebra is used to not only solve these, but understand different dimensions and spaces in mathematics. We can begin to understand higher level mathematics and its uses in physics and other sciences to model phenomenons. And of course, we cannot forget proofs which are such an integral part of linear algebra. Proving something whether its an equation or an identity to be true is huge in linear algebra, and is one of the most difficult parts to many students.

So if you couldn’t tell already, I quite enjoyed linear algebra. Although it was home to some of my lowest math exam scores in a long time, the ideas behind it were enjoyable and I felt that the wait was worth it. It’s a subject that is challenging in nature, but fun to understand.

If you go to college or university, you’ve probably heard that the introduction statistics class is one of the easiest higher level mathematics courses. I know for some students, all math is hard and statistics is no different. However, statistics is still considered easy by the bulk of all students. I’ve found that this idea is caused by the fact that its competing against the calculus series as the freshman level mathematics courses at most universities, meaning statistics isn’t necessarily “easy” it's just “easier than calculus”.

Statistics is the study of probability and its impacts on different situations, which is something that comes up frequently in life. Rolling dice in a board game, or betting in blackjack are examples of how statistics is used. As compared to calculus’ uses, which tend to be more niche comparatively. Calculus is often used in physics and engineering, along with some business applications which are rarer than gambling or board games. I believe a part of statistics' “easy” reputation is its common prevalence for the majority of people. Everyone has been introduced to statistics through one way or another, making it seem easier because of our experience with it. However, the same cannot be said about calculus. The limit of functions or the rate of change or even accumulation aren’t as easily seen in everyday experiences leaving students feeling less exposed to the ideals of calculus.

So I guess what I’m trying to say is that being exposed to something although not officially defined is what helps us as humans understand school topics. Which does make sense in my mind, and I’m sure that it does for everyone; it's just people don’t realize it as often. Maybe that’s just the way I think about life. Although many people may not see it the way I do, their actions and understandings of certain topics is what proves this theory.

One of the most critical components of a STEM undergraduate’s life is research. Majority of STEM majors at universities do some type of research relating to their major or their personal interests. However, at the community college level, research opportunities are scarce and limited to a few students per laboratory. But why are research opportunities for us community college students so rare? It’s because the professors at our colleges are there to teach, and not research coupled with the competition we have with students from universities all gunning for the few opportunities we get.

The major reason why community colleges lack research opportunities is because our professors are here to actually teach us. The common theme between universities and community colleges is that professors at universities are brought on to do research for the university to discover new things that would increase their endowment. Because of this, these professors will always need help and will often look to their classes and students at their universities to assist them in their endeavors. Without professors dedicated to researching, community colleges are left without research within their schools leaving students feeling unsatisfied.

For us students motivated enough to look beyond their community colleges for research, we are met with extremely competitive programs that would take place during the summer. These research opportunities over the summer are offered at research institutions, and have not only community college students all across the nation applying, but undergraduates from all universities applying for new experiences or a chance to research at a better institution. Even though community college students are driven and motivated individuals, they lack opportunities which leads to disadvantages when applying for jobs and internships.

I have a confession to make, I never did Calculus 2. Well, traditionally at least. I went through AP Calculus BC which does encompass Calculus 2, but it's very different to what is taught at the college level. Calculus 2 through AP is a simpler, dumbed down version of what’s to come. The “real” Calculus 2 has been regarded as the most difficult math course of the lower division requirements, and I think it's due to the change in the way it approaches problems towards the end of the course.

Many of my comrades in the Associated Students Organization ask about my experience in Calculus 2, and I always tell them it's alright until you get to Series and Sequences. Series and Sequences is the unit that deals with convergence and divergence tests, basically seeing if the graph goes to infinity or it goes towards some other number most commonly 0. Series and Sequences to me was the most difficult portion of the class, and this sentiment was shared among many people I know. Why is this portion so difficult? I think it's because up until that point students have been doing integration for such a long time, so once they get to series and sequences it's a completely new topic and idea that requires a different way of interpreting and going about problems. Not to mention, there’s so many tests you have to know how to do, some of which can be difficult to spot immediately causing students to have to go through numerous tests to finally find which one is applicable to the problem.

Out of the main four math courses at my college (Calculus 1, 2, 3, and Differential Equations with Linear Algebra) Calculus 2 has the highest drop and fail rate due to its difficulty for students. I have always blamed Series and Sequences for my difficulty in Calculus 2, and I’m so glad that it rarely comes back in later courses because truthfully, I barely remember any of it.

As of last Thursday (April 18, 2024) I was elected to become the next Student Trustee of El Camino College. It was something I’d wanted since my boss said she could see me as the Student Trustee, and I’ve been thinking about running for this position since I entered the Associated Students of El Camino College. Yet, I can't help but feel imposter syndrome with the knowledge of what’s to come in the near future.

The Student Trustee is a very heavily involved position in the politics of the College. They sit on the Board of Trustees, and have to work alongside not only the board but the Campus Administration to ensure the goals of the college are defined and met. The Student Trustee’s role feels more in line with a Political Science or even a Business Major’s interests, and yet the Student Population decided an Engineering major should take up the challenge.

I shouldn’t feel this way, because my two predecessors for the last two years were both engineers. One civil, the other computer, but I know that when I begin to go to conferences with the other Student Trustees from across California, I will face a lot of Political Science majors. It’s not a bad thing, in fact I think its good for them to explore their interests, but I can’t help feeling I don’t belong with them as I come from a completely different area of study which has very few to no overlaps.

Ultimately, the student population saw something in me that I can bring to the table. And although I feel I might not belong with the others, I know that eventually I will overcome this feeling and step into a role where I can positively benefit El Camino College for the years to come.