Nothing seemed to work this year at certain colleges, even wealth, legacy status or perfect scores. The phone has been ringing, and this is what people are saying:
1. "The college counselor told my son's friend that he shouldn't even apply to Stanford, and he got in. But nobody else did from his school, including the son of a big angel investor guy."
2. "Harvard was a big diss because she's not only a legacy, but someone who could absolutely do the work."
3. "He had off the chart scores and grades, and found out that he was 1/16 Mohegan, just in time to put it on his application. Got into Johns Hopkins, but waitlisted everywhere else."
4. "He never did anything interesting for summers, ever. But he got into Yale and a full scholarship at Annenberg."
5. "This is a kid who had 800s on everything, a debate champion and fourth or fifth generation at Princeton, he wasn't even waitlisted."
6. "In a four-hour period last Thursday she was shut out by four Ivies, as well as Williams and Tufts."
7. "I hope she likes Vassar well enough to stay on the wait list."
8. "He had over 790 on four SAT IIs, but was waitlisted at Harvard, Brown, Williams and Georgetown (which was her safety)."
9. "From our daughter's school, you need to play golf or water polo to get into Stanford."
10. "She was rejected, not even waitlisted, although she's written for TED and had a letter of recommendation from Arianna Huffington."
Depressing, right? Maybe not. According to top independent college counselor Kat Cohen, "While the admissions data can be intimidating, there is no need for students to panic. There are 3,700 colleges in the US, and more than 80 percent accept over half of their applicants. So while Harvard's 5.9 percent acceptance rate might seem discouraging, rest assured that there are literally hundreds of excellent schools you may never have heard of, which offer great opportunities to reach your academic and personal goals."
Wise words, Kat. But somehow I cannot imagine Harvard hopefuls ever reaching their personal goals - and those of their parents - at schools they have never heard of.
About those Harvard hopefuls and their neurotic parents -
I work at an educational company where I've noticed that the Ivy grads and grads of not-so-Ivy schools work side-by-side and make about the same. Sure, going to Harvard might increase your kids' chance of getting hired/making more/getting into grad school, but it's only four years of their life. They have a lot more time to build their reputation and work experience, which can hold more weight than a flashy degree.
And honestly, I believe that not having the "golden ticket" of an Ivy League degree will only improve your child's work ethic. Those who went to a prestigious university often bank on that tidbit in their resume and don't take the time to build up experience elsewhere.
I know plenty of those neurotic students who still live with their neurotic parents, as well :)
Posted by: Hannah | April 11, 2012 at 08:59 AM
ふうろう おてんば ひきがたり けしょうすい つくづく むはいとうほけん
なます かいごろし たてまし さいかく よみじ フロント ページ
ブーケ ペニシリン ギヤー はげる したたるい にくがん
せいぞろい あっしょう だきあわせ モデレーター ほしいまま しゅうきょく
ものがなしい せんばん さんいんどう めかくし むかいあい りょうぞく
かつりょく したあじ やじるし だいがわり ばいりつ わする
Posted by: AnesopeType | June 14, 2013 at 09:12 PM