<p>Greetings everyone, my name is George and I am new to this forum. I am 25 years old and have been writing software ever since I was 12 years old. After high school I was recruited by a software company during the Dot Com boom... And have been working ever since. Basically I have about 7 years of professional work experience and over 14 years of software writing experience. Recently I felt a void in my life because I did not go to college. I have my heart set on Stanford but let me tell you about myself. My High School grades were very average, I was a student who was very bored with school and was just very interested in writing software. I have never taken my SAT tests. So basically all I have going for me is my work experience and extensive knowledge in my field. I would obviously like to major in Computer Science. I am looking to start school as soon as possible but I think its too late now for next year. Please everyone all the advice you can give me I would appreciate it very much. I really don't know what I am doing when it comes to this stuff.</p>
<p>I am not sure that Stanford is the right place for you even if you could apply and get in (which I am not sure you can, or at least it will not be easy – what are you going to do about teachers' recommendations, counselor recommendation, test scores, etc.?), do you really want to live with a bunch of 17 year olds? You'll feel like a fifth grader in kindergarten!</p>
<p>Look for a school that has many adult students.</p>
<p>I have to agree with nngmm that I don't think that a regular undergrad college like Stanford is the right place for you either, even if you could get in (which I doubt). Whether we like it or not, Stanford and schools of that caliber want you to have 'played the high school game', which means having extremely strong high school grades, top test scores, strong teacher rec's, and the like. Frankly speaking, you don't fit the mold.</p>
<p>Furthermore, given your unique experiences, I don't think you'd want to fit the mold anyway. I would look to a school that caters to more re-entry students, i.e. a night school. Finish that up quickly and with strong grades, which you probably can, and you can make yourself eligible for graduate school, including possibly grad school at Stanford, which would probably be more aligned with your interests.</p>
<p>If you already have seven years in the industry, wouldn't an undergrad CS education be a little rudimentary for someone like you (not to say Stanford CS isn't rigorous, because it is)? If you're already successful in the field, you don't really need a degree. If it's for the personal satisfaction, I completely understand, but I wouldn't really recommend it.</p>
<p>Why not MIT or Caltech?</p>