Posted on 04/03/2013 8:09:12 AM PDT by TSgt
Like me, millions of high-school seniors with sour grapes are asking themselves this week how they failed to get into the colleges of their dreams. It's simple: For years, theywewere lied to.
Colleges tell you, "Just be yourself." That is great advice, as long as yourself has nine extracurriculars, six leadership positions, three varsity sports, killer SAT scores and two moms. Then by all means, be yourself! If you work at a local pizza shop and are the slowest person on the cross-country team, consider taking your business elsewhere.
What could I have done differently over the past years?
For starters, had I known two years ago what I know now, I would have gladly worn a headdress to school. Show me to any closet, and I would've happily come out of it. "Diversity!" I offer about as much diversity as a saltine cracker. If it were up to me, I would've been any of the diversities: Navajo, Pacific Islander, anything. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, I salute you and your 1/32 Cherokee heritage.
I also probably should have started a fake charity. Providing veterinary services for homeless people's pets. Collecting donations for the underprivileged chimpanzees of the Congo. Raising awareness for Chapped-Lips-in-the-Winter Syndrome. Fun-runs, dance-a-thons, bake salesas long as you're using someone else's misfortunes to try to propel yourself into the Ivy League, you're golden.
...
Then there was summer camp. I should've done what I knew was bestgo to Africa, scoop up some suffering child, take a few pictures, and write my essays about how spending that afternoon with Kinto changed my life. Because everyone knows that if you don't have anything difficult going on in your own life, you should just hop on a plane so you're able to talk about what other people have to deal with.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
A lot of the problem with college admissions is that so many students apply to as many as 50 schools -- online makes it easy, and costs less. When my son was at a prospective student group meeting at a good university, we overheard another prospect say, "I don't get it -- I was accepted to Harvard, but I couldn't get into Wake Forest."
When we went on the tour of another good university, our guide was a foreign student whose SATs were more than 100 points lower than my kid's -- but mine didn't get in. Mine got waitlisted at his choice, even though his creds were outstanding; but then went in and asked for a personal interview, and that did the trick -- he got in. Did it help that the interviewer was a young woman and he is an attractive guy? Who knows.
In my opinion, too much of it is a pure crapshoot. So, if your kid is going through it, just keep it in prayer.
And let me add that when I participated in a panel discussion for prospective students as an alumna of my small undergrad school, which had eleven majors, eight of us out of the eleven on the panel had migrated from our major to another field; and several had gone on to get unrelated masters'. So take it as it comes. It's often easier to transfer into a coveted school in soph year after doing well in freshman year somewhere else.
Oh! Oh...I know!
Spoiler alert. My dad worked at a foundry where they made manhole covers, so I didn’t discover this on my own.
Manhole covers are round so they cannot fall into the hole they are covering.
I think the guy in Soul Man was already accepted at the college and actually made himself "black" for the scholarship money. Anyway, 20+ years later C. Thomas Howell got the more interesting role as "The Reaper" on Criminal Minds. I love that show.
Beat me to it. Exactly the same story here. Our kid's first college assigned roommate was an illegal (yeah, I'm using AP's shunned word) who had a free ride just because she was illegal whereas our lily white kid had to study to rank 3rd in HS just to get in and now works 30 hrs. a week just to stay in.
LOL! No. I just figured that we talked past each other.
“I want to vomit whenever I see pictures of my affluent suburb friends and their children on some 3rd world country excursion they’ll quickly forget about to make the world better.”
I know many in my church that do this on a regular basis. If you haven’t put a smile on someone’s face, gave them hope, fed or provided for those less fortunate, you are missing out on one of the greatest joys you can have in life. People do it for reasons different than what you think. Most don’t broadcast it because they are not seeking reward in this life.
True, but one must still "apply" to the appropriate nominating authority to be considered for an appointment.
I’ve heard of kids applying to as many as 20 schools, but not 50. Our older son applied to eight, and in hindsight, I think that was too few. Our younger son will likely apply to around 15 next year.
There certainly is an element of luck and seeming randomness in the process. But as things have evolved, it’s gotta be. Harvard’s announcement day was last Thursday. Out of over 35,000 applicants, ultimately, a little over 2,000 were accepted, or about 5.8%. The other top schools are trending in that direction. Less than a decade ago, Harvard admitted 10% of applicants, and THAT was considered extremely selective! You’re right that part of the driver is the ability to apply on-line.
But great grades and test scores are still required. It's just that at this point, they’re just the prerequisites.
sitetest
Author should just put “Lesbian” on her application. In like Flynn.
lol...I remember that, the female lawyer berating her cleaning lady who was teaching a class of educated useless idiots.
I drill it into my kids heads every day - “Go to college if you wish, but let it be for something USEFUL!”
...because manholes are round....
Best answer I ever received to that question!
Starbuck’s needs baristas too, kid.
LOL! I don’t care who ya are, that right there’s funny.
Go to a good community college and transfer in year 2 after all the "diverse" students drop out and the schools are desperate to fill up the sophomore class.
-PJ
IIRC, there was no “he” as a author.
This was done as a group project for a college class and each chapter was written by a different person.
That’s how “he” was able to figure out so many scenarios.
He used to tell the other players in high school that they would go faster if they really pumped their arms.
The fact that he got a spot on a D2 school was a great accomplishment for him.
He was really fun to watch though when he ran and played defense on the basketball court.
Colleges favor any applicant that is part of a politically subsidized social class which, via admission, will earn the college the most amount of federal aid and grant monies in addition to tuition paid by the student.
A white non-athletic high school graduate with two married parents (of opposite sexes) probably has no chance.
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