AAR: Did Badly in High School? Go to Stanford Anyway!

Check out this inspiring story about former Marine, Chris Clark.  Although he did terribly in high school, he is currently entering his last semester at Stanford with a 3.96 GPA and has secured a job on Wall Street in sales & trading with Citi.  How did he do it?  Planning, Networking, and Hard Work.

Planning – Chris started planning for college 8 months before he separated.  Similarly, if you want to leave the military make sure you have something lined up.  Be it a job or school, do not wait until the last minute.  Chris also planned to attend a community college first.  He knew his high school resume was not so hot, so he made the right decision to start at Diablo Valley College before applying to more prestigious institutions.

Networking – We’ve mentioned networking before, but the importance of establishing connections cannot be emphasized enough.  As Chris says, “Finding other veterans on campus is the surest way to get to know the college process, and they are the best resource for figuring out how to navigate the academic system.”  He did not stop with winning admission – while on campus Chris continued to network with veterans.  He found a mentor in George Shultz, a WWII veteran who served as Regan’s Secretary of State and took a course taught by William Perry, an Army veteran who served as Clinton’s Secretary of Defense.  All it takes is an email or a phone call to set yourself up for success.

Hard Work – Of course, planning and networking will not pay off without hard work.  Chris maintained a 4.0 at Diablo Valley and has been maintaining a high GPA at Stanford ever since.  Of course, coming from the military, hard work is the easy part.

School is not right for everyone, but whether you want to go to college or get a job planning, networking, and hard work will help you get there.