Hiya... I live in scotland and I'm 14 (15 this year) and I want to be a marine biologist. Ive been to California twice and I just love it there, especially San Diego. I desperately want to go to Stanford.
1) Can anyone explain how the American uni magor/minor thing works - here we just have our degree name, do the classes for that degree. So if I wanted to be a marine biologist I would just do a marine biologist degree but I think its different there
2) approx. (in pounds preferably) how much would it cost me to study + live do you think?
3) what can I start doing now to make myself stand out? Im smart and do well in all my subjects, next year I'm taking; maths, english, biology, chemistry, modern studies and business. And I'm going to pick computing back up in 5th year. My teachers expect me to get A at Nat 5 and higher and some expect me to get A advanced higher. But I know that's not enough. I horse ride and have passed exams, I organise fundraisers at school every year, I'm taking part in a young scot project, I'm my classes pupil council rep, I'm currently taking part in the ypi scotland competition. Basically everything that comes up at school I throw myself into but what could I do out of school? Or in I guess.

Thanks. Sorry this is so long. Xx

I'm surprised that you are asking questions that are normally answered in every college online catalog.
Why not read all of it, and ask back what you are missing?
I can tell you that Stanford is a very top school, tough to get into, and tough to stay in.
It's located in a very expensive area, so I imagine that most students stay in dorms. Many schools require it for the first year.
US schools make you have a set amount of courses outside of your major.
(And of course marine biology includes many sciences, not all of them fun, such as chemistry and advanced math.)

All that and tuition costs and more are in the catalog.

One of my favorite movies is Local Hero... to my American mind, there should be at least one really good school right near your wonderful coastline. Not so?

• This year there were 42,167 applicants from 50 states and 62 countries but only 1,678 students were admitted. so not many are admitted from those that apply. Stanford is not cheap, it will take about $ 65,000 dollars for one year tuition and room and board for undergraduate study, Graduate study is about $80,000 per year.
• ]Also no idea why a major and minor is even a worry, I have a BA, and a BS, two Master Degrees and have never had a minor in anything. I could have had one in English but did not bother with it.

You pick a degree and work out a completion plan with a school counselor and work toward graduation

If you know some important alumni from the school that can give you a recommendation it will help

Stanford does indeed have a beautiful campus. But be aware it's no where near San Diego! It's in Palo Alto, which is about an hour's drive south of San Francisco, or about 8 hours from San Diego.

As others have noted Stanford is one of the premier universities in the US, and very competitive. In my experience students with the highest academic credentials usually have a better chance of getting into Harvard or Yale than Stanford, unless (a) they live in California, (b) are a legacy, or (c) are an athlete who is recruited. Nevertheless, it doesn't hurt to investigate. I suggest you do some on-line research, and perhaps call the admissions department to see what they they think of your credentials. Good luck!