Case 1 from United States: From Ancient Persia to Silicon Valley: A High Schooler's Interdisciplinary Path to Stanford

Student Portfolio

• Name: Jack
• GPA: #1 in High School
• Test Scores: SAT 1560, TOEFL 116
• High School: The Second Affiliated High School of East China Normal University
• Research Program: Computer Vision & Ancient Persian Culture, with Professors from Top UK/US Universities
• Goal: To combine computer algorithms with linguistics to better preserve ancient human civilisations.
• Admission Result: Stanford University

For such a niche research topic, finding a qualified mentor is extremely difficult. In the end, thanks to this program, I was able to find a foreign instructor in Ancient Near Eastern History from the University of Chicago. It was my first time participating in humanities research, and the process felt both interesting and challenging. Over a year, I read more than 2,000 pages of text and gained tremendously from the experience. These readings not only improved my English reading speed and deepened my historical knowledge but also taught me how to analyse historical materials. It was precisely this humanities research experience that opened the field of linguistics to me when applying for college. Inspired by the deciphering process of ancient inscriptions like the Rosetta Stone, I hope to combine computer algorithms with linguistics in the future to more efficiently decode ancient texts, support historical and archaeological research, and better protect humanity's ancient civilisations. This is the goal I will continue to pursue.