vahart95

Just wanted some general interesting discussion to distract me from the whole essay writing process. Sure we could all use a creative break right?

Few scenarios I imagined, (totally fictional so don't get all technical on me), and wondered if everyone was benevolent or cutthroat-competative on this forum.

1. Your Sub-par application is accepted to #1 absolute dream school, (for most of you uninventive people it's Harvard, whatever), on the condition none of your friends get into their top 5, and likely have little to no opportunity to succeed in post secondary education.

2. Test scores are near-perfect, (mine are far from perfect in reality), but you really have little to no desire to do good, only to earn the money associated with higher edu. Your application is accepted over an underprivileged child's who has massive academic drive and passion to change the world, but couldn't find a way to get that 1600 or 36, and somehow if you decline ambiguous underprivileged saint gets to go. Feel free to fill in the details.

3. Parents have agreed to carry full burden of college. Put your financially limited parents into massive debt and go to your dream school at full tuition, 60,000+ a semester, or go to a financially responsible, but less glamourous school by your own choice.

MY ANSWERS
1. Going to the #1 school, who actually remembers high school friends except at reunions? Most of them are tools anyway they can figure life out without their top 5 picks.
2. Similar to question 1, the underprivileged kid would get kicked to the curb. I beat him fair and square in the admissions office, right?
3. Never been a fan of accepting charity, so I'd have to choose the less glamourous school. Maybe its an ego thing but when it comes down to it our own opinion of ourselves is all we have to live with.

Would love to hear any hypothetical ethical hangups that everyone else has considered and your answers.

Chingoo

1. I'll take my second, third, fourth choice like many others. There are a couple friends for which I actually wish they live successful lives.
2. I'll take the offer. I'll pay for the kid's kid's tuition after I make millions.
3. I'd rather go to the local community college than place such a large stress on my parents' finances.

T26E4

va: I hope the people who become your parents' and kids' teachers and nurses and caregivers have better ethics than you.

mmmgirl

1. I wouldn't go to my first choice. I wouldn't consider myself obligated to decline from an ethical standpoint, though. I would decline because I care about my friends' happiness and I don't deserve it more than them.

2. This is tricky. I'm not someone who only wants to go to college to make a ton of money and I can imagine someone who is would have very different ethical standards than me. Ultimately, if I were in this situation I'd take my acceptance. College admissions is supposed to be a meritocracy and if the other kid didn't earn his spot, it should go to the kid who did.

3. This is easy. It wouldn't be right to bankrupt my parents so I could go to a top school when there are plenty of great state universities.

halcyonheather

1. I'd still go to my first choice. I really don't have friends in high school (I'm shy and awkward and it's totally my fault). Me going to my second choice isn't going to help my friends get into better schools.
2. "an underprivileged child's who has massive academic drive and passion to change the world"
This person will likely succeed no matter where they go. Their success isn't dependent on what specific college they go to as long as it's a good college, and there are many of those. If they were thisclose to getting into that school, they probably got in somewhere else just as good. I'd still go to my first choice.
3. I'd still go to the private school, but I wouldn't major in something that doesn't pay well.