Even though he graduated with an impressive 4.42 GPA and a near perfect SAT score, Bay Area high school graduate Stanley Zhong was surprisingly rejected by 16 of the 18 colleges he applied to. Despite the unexpected setback, his skills caught the eye of one of the tech industry's giants, Google, who hired Zhong as a software engineer without him ever having gone to college.
Zhong’s story has sparked discussions on the college admissions process. Allen Koh, CEO of Cardinal Education, wasn’t surprised at Zhong’s rejection, noting that the teen’s focus on computer science might have hurt his chances. “They want to see that you are well-rounded,” Koh says, “That you have other pursuits."
Both Koh and Zhong are now calling for transparency in the college admissions process, but Koh is quick to point out that people shouldn’t discount going the community college route. “You can be a very competitive engineer by going to a community college and then transferring to a [state university]," says Koh. Zhong had already decided to enroll at one of the two schools where he was accepted, but he’s now put that on hold to take the offer from Google.
Source: ABC 7 NEWS