Another applicant rejected from all Ivies. - Page 16

marite · 04-23-2008, 01:41 PM

I don't want to comment on Ghosh here, but I take exception to posts suggesting that having an incarcerated father is a hook. Mr. Tubbz had an absent father and a mother who, though hard-working and loving, could not help him much because she herself was not a college grad. He writes that she was passed over for promotion three times because she did not have an AA degree. By his own work, he overcame these problems and wrote an essay that brought tears to my eyes. He did not just devote himself to academics but was involved in quite an array of community activities. I believe adcoms at many colleges, like many of us on CC, saw something truly admirable in this young man. He will achieve much, go far, be a role model (he already is) and contribute much to his college and to society in general. We cannot say that of every admit at top colleges.

Dad II · 04-23-2008, 01:46 PM

o.k. guys, don't push me.

Re #221. I would not rob a store -

Because I think that is a felony.

collegealum314 · 04-23-2008, 01:49 PM

"...but I take exception to posts suggesting that having an incarcerated father is a hook"

Well, it's listed under his hooks section...I didn't make this assertion--he did.

katliamom · 04-23-2008, 01:53 PM

Incarcerated father as a hook -- why not?

The highly qualified student whose father is in jail has to show far greater drive, resiliency and character to achieve as much as the student whose own father quits his job to ferry him from one EC to another.

je_ne_sais_quoi · 04-23-2008, 01:54 PM

HYPS "by hook or by crook".

Northstarmom · 04-23-2008, 01:55 PM

If "hook" means having a characteristic that colleges want to have in their student body, all colleges want students with the brains and character to overcome difficult odds. Consequently, a student who has done well in terms of academics and ECs despite having an incarcerated father would have a hook.

Narcissa · 04-23-2008, 01:55 PM

This article might be quite exaggerated.
The father might deliberately quit his job JUST to shuffle his kid around, or he could have told that to the newspaper to increase the sensationalism and shock-factor of the article. Like, he could've not had a job in the first place, or was about to be laid off anyways, and so made the best of his unemployment to help his son. He might also have been a helicopter parent, but that doesn't mean his son wasn't or couldn't be as qualified or intellectually passionate enough to go to a top school. There are many stories like this, so it's not unusual that a "perfect" applicant gets rejected from most colleges.

Besides, the people who are criticizing him for touting his perfect SATs and ACTs should realize that even though it sounds like he thinks that they are everything, it may not be true at all. This is a newspaper article written for mostly people who are not as familiar with college applications as we on CC are, and perfect numbers (2400, 36, only 4 in the state, etc) stand out more than, say, he was extremely passionate in biomedical engineering and created a premed club, etc.

However, there was probably something wrong with his application to be turned down from even the easier colleges/programs.

If he truly was a finalist in usnco, then how much could he have done in order to stand out? It seems like his helicopter father was a dealbreaker, and that with his "resources" he should've achieved more...but how much more is possible, honestly.

BTW that yale student who got rejected from princeton is now at harvard. i find that funny^^

xiggi · 04-23-2008, 01:59 PM

Didn't the student post his essay to offer some background on his life? The essay was also in a direct response to the prompt, "How I changed my own life."

The mere fact that his father was incarcerated is not the hook; the fact that the student was able to break the chains of bondage and the more insidious ones of low expectations and unending poverty cycles IS the hook.

The story of Mr. Tubbz is not only real but also extremely rare.

Narcissa · 04-23-2008, 02:00 PM

haha tubbz is a cool last name

nngmm · 04-23-2008, 02:21 PM

Quote:

I don't think that is true at all, quitting ones job is not admired in any culture, even to help your child, there are other ways to help a child.

I totally disagree. Quiting the job to take care of a child is pretty much expected from the mothers - mothers who are professionals with full time jobs have to constantly defend their decision NOT to quit their jobs and are often snubbed by our society. It is only when the FATHER quits his job it is all of a sudden unacceptable.

pipmom · 04-23-2008, 02:22 PM

Do we know that the schools knew that his dad quit his job? It is quite possible that there were other factors surrounding the unemployment that didn't make it into the newspaper.

Further- so what that he quit his job- he thought it was the right move and obviously could afford to do it. We don't know what the mother does for a living and we don't know that the student then had to file for financial aid. They could be independently wealthy.

JHS · 04-23-2008, 02:24 PM

Re: using your father's incarceration as a hook.

Finally! A rational explanation for Elliot Spitzer's behavior! Having been told by their college counselor that his daughters were not slam-dunks for Princeton solely on the basis of their accomplishments to date and his (a) alumni status, (b) wealth, (c) prominence, and (d) high elected office, he did the only honorable thing and assured their admission by giving them the ultimate advantage: a disadvantage to rise above!

owlice · 04-23-2008, 02:30 PM

Does that count as falling on his sword?

Northstarmom · 04-23-2008, 02:30 PM

"Do we know that the schools knew that his dad quit his job? It is quite possible that there were other factors surrounding the unemployment that didn't make it into the newspaper.

Further- so what that he quit his job- he thought it was the right move and obviously could afford to do it. We don't know what the mother does for a living and we don't know that the student then had to file for financial aid. They could be independently wealthy."

The father has posted on an Internet site that his son applied for financial aid.

Given the father's discussing his job situation with the newspaper, I think there's a good chance that teachers, GCs, and the colleges involved know about his situation.

Since the father was driving the son around, and also seems very involved in S's applications, there's also a good chance that the dad met the interviewers and may even have told him that he quit his job to assist his son.

"I don't think that is true at all, quitting ones job is not admired in any culture, even to help your child, there are other ways to help a child."

Doing so is almost universally considered admirable if it helps a kid who is seriously ill or handicapped, and needs lots of parental assistance to live or to live anything approaching a normal life. Parents' quitting a job is sometimes is considered admirable if it helps a kid to sports superstardom or entertainment superstardom.

Parents' quitting a job to help a smart student have the best chances of getting into Harvard, however, is something that most people who are born in the U.S. would think is way over the top.

Columbia_Student · 04-23-2008, 02:38 PM

Quote:

I totally disagree. Quiting the job to take care of a child is pretty much expected from the mothers - mothers who are professionals with full time jobs have to constantly defend their decision NOT to quit their jobs and are often snubbed by our society. It is only when the FATHER quits his job it is all of a sudden unacceptable.

Especially for Indian culture. I know more mothers quit their jobs than fathers. In fact, most Indian husbands often urge their wifes to quit their jobs to take care of the family. But there is always an odd case here and there.