I have a problem believing he received a 30 or above on the
English Literature and Composition AP test.
Yes, I seriously doubt that!
I do believe he has come far and done well for the family background he describes, but I think we are getting a filtered, somewhat distorted view designed to make his “Affirmative Action” case seem more compelling.
I also think he does seem a lot more promising than many AA cases, i.e., where people are admitted to “top” universities even though they are nowhere near the academic level of peers in the entering class. Unless he is making it all up, he may well be academically accomplished in high school. He’s not a total joke for Stanford, as some AA admits probably are. Still, there are many thousands of applicants turned away from Stanford and the other colleges to which he applied who are almost surely more highly qualified academically.
Also, his self-described “extra-curricular” activities sound awfully light for what the most competitive colleges usually expect. One can argue about whether the “top” colleges should put the particular emphases they do upon grades and/or scores and/or extra-curricular activities, but for what places like Stanford look for this kid is on the weak side. It is his ethnicity plus “socio-economic” background that got him in, when thousands of otherwise more objectively qualified students are rejected.