http://finance.yahoo.com/news/perfect-sat-scorer-got-rejected-130557875.html
While I agree with your premise, this is not really the best example since the kid went to Yale to work on an MBA.
torveaux…I agree you are not wrong but…the lesson is his life did not end with an undergrad rejection from the elitist group of schools…aka the ivy league.
LOL. The best thing that could happen for all bright students is for large numbers of them to stop even applying. It has become a sort of ‘throw a dart at the wall’ sort of exercise. Many students apply with no intention of ever going, just to see if they would get accepted. This just drives down the acceptance rate and boosts the ‘rankings’ of those schools.
torveaux—amen!!
imagine all those high school students taking 1 or 2 less AP classes a year, no SAT prep classes etc…and all the mental stress saved by applying to any of the other 1000x of colleges in america where you get the same education and can meet really neat students and professors (at an LAC you may actually get to know your professors…imagine that)
not to mention…no more need to be the founder of and president of the club to prevent homeless gerbils from getting lice.
grades 9,10,11,12.
one can only dream!
I got to know my professors at - gasp - an Ivy League school. Plenty of small seminars and I worked intensively on my senior thesis with two of them.
And my kids got into Ivy Leaugue or equal schools getting 8 hours of sleep a night, plenty of time for video games, no SAT prep. They did what they liked and it was good enough.
I think the idea that a kid cannot be successful unless he/she goes to one of 8 colleges (or any other small number of schools) is crazy. And dangerous. If you have raised your kid to think they cannot be successful or will somehow be a failure of they do not go to an Ivy League school, I think you have failed as a parent.
Yes, this poor guy had to settle for a BA/MD program at USC. Oh the inhumanity of it all.
And I got to know my professors at - gasp - a very large state flagship. Once I hit junior year, there were loads of opportunities to work on research and other projects with some of the most respected, dynamic academics in the country. It’s up to the students to figure out what they want to do; they can make things happen almost anywhere.
The truth is, people are deluded to think that these opportunities are only available in the small band of schools with which they are most familiar.
I think the point is not to get in a war of comparisons but admit that it’s the student and their focus or lack thereof that makes the difference. I went to a smaller UC and my son willbe attending Yale. I’m happy for him but know he will only get out what he puts in, and the same could be said if he ended up at my UC.
I agree. Getting to know your professors has more to do with the personalities of the students and professors in question. I used to be that guy that went to class and then went home. The professor could have been a robot for all of my interactions beyond responding in class. Then, I got married to a woman who was the opposite. She ‘worked’ her professors for the help it would give her grades. Not that it makes a huge difference, but it feels like you get the benefit of the doubt when you build a personal relationship with the professor.
How do I join the Society for the Prevention of Lice in Homeless Gerbils? SPLHG? Sounds a lot like being the Director of the Invisible Rainbow Daycare.
Society for the Prevention of Lice in Homeless Gerbils…is a highly selective club… you will need to submit an application and go threw an initiation. (no gerbils involved)
Please be sure to take the appropriate advanced courses and test prep before attempting to become a member of the super selective SPLHG 
Wow. Maybe those early rejections fueled the fire? Love stories like this . . .
Again, this is such of a six of one half dozen of the other story. There is no privation in “settling” for a USC BA/MD versus an Ivy.
And of course, all of us are going on Shark Tank.
Great this worked out for this very bright and motivated student. Sounds like he was going to grow wherever he was planted.
Of course they have a future. So do 1800 Ivy rejects.
Getting a 2400 on SAT’s is not all that meaningful in terms of admissions. There is really no difference between, say, 2250 and 2400. Both meet the benchmark and then the schools look at other things.
Basing a business on a perfect SAT score is not something I would admire, no matter how profitable ultimately. It is preying on the ambitions and insecurities of parents who feel that top scores are worth almost $1K for 6 weeks and are able to pay. There are actually students who get a 780 out of 800 who keep taking it to try to get 800, which is actually in my opinion, troubling behavior.
He is clearly still confused and wants to be a doctor due to family pressure and/or prestige while doing an MBA and starting a business. I agree he is not committed as yet, to any path. If money is his goal in life, he should leave med school and continue to base his income on that silly premise of “perfect score=success.”.
“Character” is often listed as the most important criterion at elite schools . Patel seems immature even at this age.
So his 2400 didn’t get him into the elite colleges he wanted and now he’s trying to profit on parents who believe that he can get their kid a 2400 so that their kids will get into the elite colleges the parents want? Interesting.
no ivy league and still successful! (not a big surprise…wish more people would avoid all the ivy league stress in high school…just hoping to get the name brand validation)
on a side note
I love shark tank (even if it is a “little” staged)
No point just being a member, only leadership matters. It’s not about the gerbils you know.