Undergraduate in the USA: Unconventional Way to Top High Schools

I read a couple of articles ( one , two ) on Habré after following the link from a third-party resource and somehow I felt sad, since I myself am studying at a top university in the USA and know several from Russia.



However, my story is not quite standard and it seems to me that is the reason that I passed. I remember Habr some time ago had a system of invitations. It was stupid, but to each his own. IT never interested me and I bypassed this resource. If I had not seen the links (which are above) on one well-known third-party resource, I would hardly have come here. But after reading the articles, I decided to write my own to help those interested, especially the girls.



As I already noticed, I was not interested in IT. In a secondary school in central Russia, there were no computers. I didn’t have a computer. And interest, respectively, did not arise. I won the Green Card Lottery and at 19 left the second year of the Faculty of Geography at a regular Russian university and rushed to the USA. I did not want to be a geographer, but passing points on it allowed me to pass easily. Having moved to the USA, I stayed with friends in Wisconsin. The first couple of years it was all a cultural shock. I knew the language very poorly. The emphasis is still terrible. I did not think about education and the like. I just wanted to survive. For 2 years she worked in a Volmart-type supermarket as a cashier-seller. Then I got bored. There was a rented apartment, there was a car and there was still a little money left, but I was bored. At the age of 21, I decided to consider options with a local education, but after research on this topic, she bent down. As in Russia, US universities are mostly aimed at applicants after high school or high school. It frightened and bothered me. I could not imagine how at the age of 21 I would be in the same class as 18-year-olds. I called, wrote to local schools, and most of them recommended starting with the community college. Now I’m thinking how they were right. I went to talk to people from the community of the college, but on the way to their office I came across a recruiter from the fleet, who gave me noodles as good as being in the fleet. I chatted with him and left my phone number. It interested me. The recruiter called me the following week and I agreed to enroll in the fleet. I passed an Aykew type test, then another strange test for fictional languages. Having received the results, he told me that I am passing the results of a test for all specialties, but since I didn’t have citizenship, this was a problem. For permanent residents, they have specialties where access to military secrets is not needed. I chose logistics, but this is not so important.



At first I did not like the fleet, but then I got used to it. Citizenship is issued quickly and free of charge. I did not like living in a "hostel", but it was not boring. When they began to pay me for knowing the Russian language and grew up in rank, I decided to go for another contract, and then another one. 9 years in the Navy, and it bored me too. 3 six-month tours to the Persian Gulf. Money suited me. I liked the east coast. But the body began to fail. Plus, I had a child by that time and a husband (!) But a former one. Stress was also tired and I wanted my family at 30 to see more often. I decided to leave the fleet and told the commander about it. He turned out to be a Harvard graduate and, having talked with me, recommended going to college and using my legal benefit Post-9/11 GI Bill. The state gives money to veterans for training. It is not that important though. The commander helped me with the submission of papers. I already knew English reasonably well and applied to 20 different colleges from the top 20.



Passed SAT twice. I didn’t have time to prepare, but I had to turn in. Plus it cost me nothing thanks to the state. The first time received 1360 (math 720, words 640). Second 1480 (math 800, words 680). Not the best results, but quite suitable. What can I say on the test? Statistics say that if you take it more often, then the chances rise to a better result. Due to this, those who have money for tutors and to take the test many times can get a better result. Those. WASP with money has a better chance than others.



Of the 20 colleges, 10 entered. 3 asked me for a ride. 7 immediately refused. Out of 20, I had all 2 of the so-called “safe” options in Wisconsin - UW Madison, Marquette. For some reason I was sure that I would probably go there because of their statistics. It was only later that I found out that my status as a veteran of the armed forces and a girl helped me a lot. I chose one institution from the ivy league, which I do not regret.



About financing: I did not use GI Bill. They threw so much money at me. I don’t need to work. The child goes to school. I live in my house with my neighbors with children (graduate students housing). I didn’t have to worry about anything. No one realizes that I am 10 years older because I look young and still go to the gym. I don’t even worry about my military experience because of my age. After you go on tours to the Middle East, somehow all the little things in life remain little things. The rest of the students are VERY worried because of grades, do not sleep at night and learn constantly. For example, I took a course in computer science. Got a grade of C, but was constantly engaged in homework. 50% of the course flew out of their own accord, because it is very fast and heavy. Python begins with the basics and towards the end of the cryptography training course. Exams on paper. Tin. Average mark B. After that I did not take IT / engineering courses. Mathematics seemed simple enough even at the level of abstract algebra. I did not study in Russia and I can not compare, but again, not everyone is given.



Takeway: Girls do easier. Veterans of the US Armed Forces easier to do. Ivy League and TP are actively looking for minorities. You need to have your own story to tell it. 800 on the test is not interesting. I read those two articles and I understand that these comrades are smart, but boring. Now, if they were both world-class athletes or were born on the moon, then that would help them. My opinion is different, as I have citizenship, but I met students from other countries in Russia, Ukraine. My verdict: they know how to present themselves beautifully. This is a combo of emotional intelligence and IQ. If the applicant has money, then it is much easier to do. I met children of billionaires who donated 10-20 million dollars even before the child submits documents. And if the competition is 10 people per place and 10 applicants have 800 points on the test, then they will choose an athlete, the son of a billionaire, with an ideal score from a private school, he has all the prerequisites for success. And this is prestige, because then these graduates give money back to their school when they themselves come to success. If the presidents of the United States, CEO F100, etc. are educated in the Ivy League, this is a symbol of the high chance that graduates are on average ready to succeed. Again, this is not a 100% guarantee but increases the chances.



Also, a bachelor's degree at a prestigious college is MUCH more prestigious than a master's / PhD. Explain laziness. This is a pedigree with which it is much easier to go to any master / PhD. Many people go to the master's program in top schools to get a name on the resume. Those who went there for undergraduate studies already have this name and they often can, and so where it is necessary to climb. And the chosen specialty also plays a LESS role than the name of the school. Talents are everywhere, but roughly speaking, those who went to a state school in Wisconsin will have to work a lot more than those who are at Harvard if they are interested in working in Google / Microsoft / Goldman / and so on. Google comes to our campus and regularly hires a lot of people on IT and roles in supporting the business. It is not necessary to specialize in computer science if you are at Harvard, but for example, you will have to go to a state college in Nebraska and this does not guarantee anything. At the same time I met people who work as engineers in Google, bankers in Goldman, partners in makinzi and specialization here they had biology, comparative literature, and so on.



In before it is not interesting for me to enter into disputes. This is my private opinion as an insider. I decided on a specialty only for the third year and it seems to me that little depends on it. Of course, if you do not want to go to PhD.