First off, my goal is to transfer to Stanford (which I understand is extremely difficult due to acceptance rates for transfers being close to 1%). Now I know this seems extremely unlikely, but I’m hoping with enough hard work and the right mindset I’ll be able to achieve this goal. I would love to eventually make it into the Graduate School of Business program, however transferring as an undergrad is my first goal. I’m now in my third year at a Community College (College of the Canyons in Valencia California), I will have completed 66 credits after this semester (some being honor courses), and I have a 4.0 GPA. I was the farthest thing from a spectacular high-student, as I had little drive to further my education, and severely lacked in applying myself in my studies. During my senior year in high-school, I decided to work a little bit harder when it came to my studies, and was surprised at my ability to achieve higher grades than I expected myself being capable of, however it was still sub-par, as I didn’t achieve a 4.0 GPA. Nevertheless, what I learned from this experience was that if I simply applied myself, I could accomplish tasks I previously didn’t ever see myself completing. Shortly after high-school, and during my first semester in college, my mom was diagnosed with bile duct cancer. She was given approximately six-months to live. I had always lived with my mom, as my parents were separated, therefore this was easily the hardest moment of my life. Coming to the realization that I was going to lose the most important person in my life was devastating, however, it drastically changed who I was as a person. It really opened my eyes to an obvious aspect of life; it ends to soon. From this, I decided that I would show my mom, in what little time that she had left, that I was going to excel in my education, despite my lackluster high-school performance. I wanted her to pass away knowing that I would go on to accomplish extremely difficult educational feats, and eventually be able to consider my life a success. Despite her extremely short prognosis, she lived for just about two years. I’m so grateful for this extra time, as it allowed me to show her my full potential, and achieve the grades I was striving for. As I mentioned before, I have 66 credits (after this semester) with a 4.0 GPA. I haven’t retaken any classes, and have finished all of my GE’s. I was initially an aerospace engineer major, yet I’ve always wanted to be a business owner (and the fact that that I will inherit my dad’s business one day is also a strong influencing factor), so I decided to switch my major, and pursue a business degree. I’ve worked at my dad’s business (which is a dental lab consisting of approximately 40 employees) for four years now, learning and performing many of the tasks within the business, as well as participating and collaborating on many of the business decisions he must make regarding all aspects of the business. When doing research into Stanford, their Graduate School of Business states (and seemingly recommends) that students often times take a year or two off of their education in order to work and attain the skills involved with the actual work place, before continuing their education in the graduate program. I have constant and somewhat more in depth work experience (when it comes to my role in the company) than most do, due to being extremely lucky and having a father who is a business owner. Basically, I feel I have some good reasons for Stanford to possibly consider me as a transfer, however I know I’m lacking in certain areas. While my mom was sick, I was her main source of assistance, as I was the only person able to be by her side on a day to day basis. Because of this situation, if I wasn’t working or at school, I both wanted and needed to spend my time taking care of her. Long story short, I lack much in the way of extra curricular activities, as I felt I was juggling a lot between helping my mom, working, and maintaining a 4.0 GPA. Basically I didn’t want to potentially bite off more than I could handle, as the fear of ruining my GPA due to having too many commitments scared me. In retrospect, I probably could have squeezed in some extra curricular activities, however this isn’t the case. I realize how important EC’s are, and have decided now is the time to get more involved within my school and community. Everything I’ve previously stated is basically my college story, and I wanted some feedback from others as to what they think I should be doing to better my chances at achieving this goal of mine. While it’s undoubtedly going to be extremely difficult to accomplish, I truly believe that everyone has the ability to achieve whatever they want, as long as they’re willing to put in the effort required. That being said, I’m willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish this, as I’ve got the memory of my mom constantly motivating me. I truly can’t describe how much accomplishing this would mean to me, and if anyone could give me any bit of advice, I would greatly appreciate it.
That’s the kind of compelling story that can be successful for transfer to Stanford…
My advice is to polish your writing skills. You’ve got a good start, but it needs polish. And paragraphs. 
Spend your Summer writing and writing and writing (you will need professional feedback), so some kind of an essay writing class would be good.
If you have Stanford quality SATs, fine, but if you think you can improve them, too, take it again as they will select your best. Mind your test dates so you don’t miss the deadlines.
First off, thank you for your advice! It means a lot that you would take your time to read my giant wall of text. I’ll definitely take your advice on improving my writing skills, as well as introducing the idea of paragraphing into my posts. =))
In regards to my SATs, well, they’re non-existent. I knew I was going to a community college out of high-school, therefore, I decided not to take them. I guess I’ll have to buckle down and take those, and hopefully I’ll be able to score competitively.
Anyways, thanks again for the input. It definitely helped!
P.S.
Now that I’m re-reading my post, I’m noticing multiple grammar errors, alongside simply forgetting to finish the word I was writing. In particular, I wrote, " I was the farthest thing from a spectacular high-student," when I meant to say high-school. I guess trying to share my life story while simultaneously writing an essay for class will be my excuse this time. B-)
You might as well take the SAT sooner, rather than later. I’d suggest a quick SAT orientation course so you know what it’s about currently and then take a stab at it. You have to get in the neighborhood of Stanford-quality SAT scores or there is no point.
@mjh994. First of all…sincere condolences for your loss. Your actions speak louder than words! You have a very compelling inspiring “backstory” and potential application. Yes, it is extremely difficult to get into Stanford as a transfer…but in recent years they have** favored** admitting more CC and ex-military students (outside the box) who have traveled the less-likely crooked road to success…
…in the short vignette you have given…much can be appreciated and looked upon as significant “positives”…work on your SATs or ACTs (whichever you feel you can do better in) and work on perfecting the essays and getting great recommendations…and best wishes!
@mjh994. One more important point. The choices you made to spend all or most of your time with your terminally-ill parent speaks volumes about your CHARACTER and INTEGRITY…too often I have seen family members/and so-called friends make the wrong choices in life when faced with similar situations…
…do not fret about not having been able to do any extracurricular activities of note during that phase of your life…LOVINGLY taking care of someone dying is a FULL TIME JOB for most…not just physically but mentally…regardless of one’s age. Keep doing what you are doing…whether you get into Stanford as a transfer or Stanford MBA in the future…is but a small blip in your development and growth as a caring human being!