Another applicant rejected from all Ivies.

lunar_years · 04-22-2008, 10:55 PM

Perfect college entrance exam scores don't help student who dreamt of the Ivy Leagues

Being on this site has pretty much desensitized me to SAT shock; I hear about someone getting a perfect score, and I think, "Whatever. Cool." But this kid is insane-- perfect SAT and ACT scores, one of only five kids in his state to get the latter. He's a pianist and an advanced martial artist. Does research at a university. Did some Googling; he shows up on Quiz Bowl winners' lists and the local news. I'm thinking... How bad must his essays have been for none of the Ivies to give him a second glance?

I feel bad for him (and bad for myself, next year, when it'll be me in his shoes :P). Sure, it looks a little weird to apply to all eight Ivies, but he's clearly intelligent and driven... I guess this just reinforces how competitive admissions have gotten.

marite · 04-22-2008, 11:04 PM

I'm not too sorry. He did not get into his dream school ( like 93% of applicants to Harvard) but he got into Caltech, Duke and Rice. Not a bad result!

tokenadult · 04-22-2008, 11:09 PM

Thanks for sharing the link. There are some valuable quotations in there about admission trends and about what Harvard looks for. Best wishes to the applicant who got so many rejections.

curmudgeon · 04-22-2008, 11:13 PM

uh-oh.

Quote:

Originally Posted by article

Ghosh's father, Nirmalendu Ghosh, said he is also upset about the slew of rejections. He quit his job three years ago so he could help shuttle his son to extracurricular activities, including to work at a UT research lab that he knew would impress college admissions officers.

"My son was devastated, and I was really sad," he said, recalling the day they got the letter from Harvard. "My son told me he could not study any more and went to bed. I could not sleep that whole night."

What was the over and under on that bet?

coolweather · 04-22-2008, 11:19 PM

Is it possible the colleges expect a lot more from him because of the involvement of his parents in the process? I just wonder, no agenda.

cartera45 · 04-22-2008, 11:21 PM

I hope he didn't write his essay about his dad quitting his job 3 years ago to shuttle him to extracurricular activities that they thought would increase his chances of being admitted. That would be the spoiler for me.

korektphool · 04-22-2008, 11:23 PM

he quit his job to get his son into a good college?? absurd.

nngmm · 04-22-2008, 11:24 PM

Quote:

The first rejection came from Stanford University in California, but the hits kept coming. From the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. From Ivy League institutions: University of Pennsylvania, Princeton and Yale, where he was wait-listed. But the biggest disappointment came from Harvard University, which Ghosh had chosen as his "dream school" based on the course offerings.

He did not apply to ALL the Ivies - seems that it was just HYPSM + Penn. So the rejections are less surprising...

cartera45 · 04-22-2008, 11:24 PM

Tell me I'm not the only one who thought "Oh my Ghosh" when reading that article??

coolweather · 04-22-2008, 11:26 PM

Nothing wrong with shutting him to EC activities. Maybe it's the question whether he could get the most out of the resources available to him.

Northstarmom · 04-22-2008, 11:26 PM

Haven't yet read the article, but I'd bet money that the fact that his dad had quit his job to devote his life to helping his son get the stats and ECs to impress top colleges was what deep sixed the student's application.

Savvy admissions officers and interviewers could see that the student's achievements weren't due to passion or innate intelligence, but due to having presumably good intelligence, and a parent who was devoting their life to getting the student into an Ivy.

Gifted kids shove parents so the kids can pursue their intellectual passions. Ivy-enamored parents shove their kids so their kids can get Ivy trophies.

Now I'm going to read the article to see if what I've speculated here is correct.

BunsenBurner · 04-22-2008, 11:28 PM

cartera, you need to warn people - now I need to wipe red wine off my keyboard!

cartera45 · 04-22-2008, 11:32 PM

Sorry Bunsen -

Northstarmom · 04-22-2008, 11:35 PM

"The college-bound LBJ High School Liberal Arts and Science Academy senior racked up more than 400 hours volunteering in local hospitals and libraries. He plays the piano, is a first-degree black belt in Kung Fu and got a perfect score on both the SAT and ACT college entrance exams. Ghosh had mailed out all of his college applications and was just waiting for the acceptance letters to come pouring in.

But the letters that began filling his mailbox were of a different kind.

The first rejection came from Stanford University in California, but the hits kept coming. From the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. From Ivy League institutions: University of Pennsylvania, Princeton and Yale, where he was wait-listed. But the biggest disappointment came from Harvard University, which Ghosh had chosen as his "dream school" based on the course offerings. Even the Plan II honors program at the University of Texas turned him down.....

"It was disappointing to know I did my best on those two tests, got the best possible score and it still wasn't good enough," said Ghosh, who is fourth in his graduating class. Ghosh, who is interested in biomedical engineering and medical school, said he is seriously considering CalTech and Rice.

Ghosh's father, Nirmalendu Ghosh, said he is also upset about the slew of rejections. He quit his job three years ago so he could help shuttle his son to extracurricular activities, including to work at a UT research lab that he knew would impress college admissions officers."

His father quits his job to shuttle him around, presumably also pays big bucks for test prep and other services, and the kid is only 4th in his class?

Presumably the schools that rejected him also could see that the student didn't have as much on the ball as did students without that kind of intensive parental help.

Also, why would anyone need to quit their job to shuttle their student to an EC? Presumably, any fulltime job would allow the parent to pay for someone to drive their student if transportation truly was the issue.

I'm also wondering why the Plan II honors program at UT turned him down. Such programs usually accept strictly by stats. I guess being 4th in one's class isn't good enough. I'm curious about where #1, 2, 3 got in.

midmo · 04-22-2008, 11:35 PM

I missed the pun. Time for bed, I guess.

I just took a look at Univ. of Texas Plan II. The entering class last year is overwhelmingly female, this guy's stats are way above the average, he has several ec's, his teachers speak highly of him (to reporters). Ivy and Stanford, well, nothing there is a surprise anymore, but a public honors program? No, I don't get it.