A final letter

Colleges & Universities University of Chicago
1

<p>Here’s the last letter I sent to my Admissions Counselor. It’s a bit personal, but I’m reprinting it here, since perhaps some of you can benefit from my mistakes.</p>

<p>Jerry,</p>

<p>I realize you are probably enjoying time with your family like a
normal person, so I don’t wish to pester you with another e-mail, but
this is a letter of a different sort, one that I feel I needed to get
out in the open–to you, to the Dean, to whomever will read it.</p>

<p>If you reference my first application essay, I stated that, because
the U of C is such an ideal fit for me, “it is the ONLY University
I’ve applied to. So rather than toe the line further, I can summarize
with one statement: My desire to attend and excel is absolute.”</p>

<p>Because of this admission process, and by seeking the wisdom of those
much smarter than myself, I realize now that this was stubbornly
elitist, if not downright idiotic. For one, it is my desire to learn
that is absolute, not to attend the University of Chicago. The U of C
merely provides, in my eyes, an arena well-suited to this goal, in a
city I love. In truth, I will excel at any college, not because of
values like “prestige,” but by blood and sweat; the time and effort
required to learn and do well.</p>

<p>I was guilty of seeking external validation, worried about checking
off the boxes that read “find the right school,” “get the right job,”
and so forth. I then realized that I am not that person–I seek
discovery and internal truth, not ephemeral and ultimately meaningless
goals.</p>

<p>So, even though I may well be rejected, this experience has been a
profoundly important and rewarding one for me. And I look forward to
whereever I may attend, though it will be another year until I can do
so :)</p>

2

<p>Did you get in?</p>

3

<p>Probably not, since this is a final letter. See I got into Chicago without the interview and without contacting the admissions people at ALL.</p>

4

<p>MengYang, you can be a real jackass. But everybody already knows these things.</p>

<p>Btw, debaser is on the waitlist.</p>

5

<p>

MengYang, maybe it was better for you that you did not interview. However, as a first year you will learn a great deal about academics as well as how to live within a community of scholars.</p>

6

<p>Debaser,
thank-you for having the fortitude to reprint your letter. You are an interesting and thoughtful person, and I have the feeling that something positive is going to come from your educational tangent. Please make sure that you read andi’s gap year threads on Parent’s Forum as that will provide you with some valuable insite on managing a gap year - if that is what you are going to do:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=192395&page=1[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=192395&page=1&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Please keep in touch and let us know how things are going.</p>

7

<p>Ohio_mom:</p>

<p>Thanks for the link, I am reading it right now.</p>

<p>Whether I get accepted or not, I’ve been designing an MIT OpenCourseWare curriculum for myself for awhile now. Obviously, the time devoted to it will be weighted heavily upon my admission results :)</p>

<p>For those of you that haven’t seen it, check it out. It’s remarkably comprehensive. A feast for the mind–especially my own, seeing as how I’ve been out of school for several years.</p>

8

<p>By the way, here is my first essay, the one my quote is in reference to. I can’t remember if this is the final draft or not, but it’s the only one I could find:</p>

<p>I was once a champion of indecision.</p>

<p>Months ago, my girlfriend asked if I wanted fried chicken for dinner. An easy question, one that can only be answered correctly in the affirmative. Especially for me–I love fried chicken. None of that “chicken and waffles” crap, either–I don’t care how tragically hip you are. Pair it with hot sauce, and leave it to its own simple beauty.</p>

<p>But I was hesitant to reply. I knew that, given a small investment of time and the internet, I would procure the “best” example. Moderated by self-preservation, I realized the absurdity and meekly replied, “Sure.” A subtle, yet defining example, since it became the catalyst for investigation. Why did I react this way?</p>

<p>I broadened the stroke: Why was my life characterized by indecision?</p>

<p>I wasn’t interested in college after I graduated. Living with my alcoholic dad and manic-depressive mom, I steeled myself with ambivalence. So much so that it bled into every aspect of my life. I diversified my hobbies to create a veneer of interest, because I had no idea who I was. Without passion, there’s boredom–my ambitions were in constant flux, and I was racked with doubt. </p>

<p>Over the past year, my family life has brightened. My dad sober, my mom a renewed spirit, and through the slow shedding of naivety, I have unveiled personal truth: I lack challenge, I’m missing the rigor of a classical education and, though I am proficient in certain areas, I often lack breadth of understanding.</p>

<p>It is this breadth that I seek in the University of Chicago. The curriculum offered is remarkably comprehensive and cerebral–exactly the atmosphere of learning I want. So much so, in fact, that it is the ONLY University I’ve applied to. So, rather than toe the line further, I can summarize with one statement:</p>

<p>My desire to attend and excel is absolute.</p>

9

<p>MENGYANG-</p>

<p>please get your head out of your----</p>

<p>btw…most students get in that way- you’re not special.</p>

10

<p>I would have thought that his head being in a position like that would have been best…you know, what with him being unable to speak.</p>

11

<p>Mengyang, </p>

<p>I realize that you’re trying to reinvent yourself as “cool” after four no-doubt awkward years of high school.</p>

<p>I assure you, you’re failing miserably.</p>

12

<p>I find him charming.</p>

13

<p><<see i=“” got=“” into=“” chicago=“” without=“” the=“” interview=“” and=“” contacting=“” admissions=“” people=“” at=“” all.=“”>></see></p>

<p>Zhao, would you like a medal? Or perhaps a monument?</p>

<p>Esquared, my ex used to find my dog’s stubborn refusal to crap outdoors charming. Most of Zhao’s posts are along the same lines.</p>

14

<p>debaser, you’ll succeed in all that you do because you have the right attitude.
zhao, your attitude sucks. what’s the point of bragging about that?</p>

15

<p>hilarious i agree with you all. except mengyang.</p>

<p>

robertson, maybe he should just keep his head in his—.</p>

<p>

Mmmhm. knew it from the first post he put on the uchic forum.</p>

<p>

i think he wants a big fat ol trophy. sorry to break it to you meng, but no ones gonna give it to you with your attitude.
and pip, its not MOST of his posts. more like… all of his posts?</p>

<p>meng dude youre going to have basically no friends if you keep up that kind of attitude of yours.
even in your other forums youre being quite sour.
even on the myspace groups you feel the need to **** off everyone.
i think we can all live without your being so pretentious.</p>

16

<p>Meng has a gerund-face.</p>

17

<p>*** is a gerund-face?</p>

18

<p>

</p>

<p>…so I was walking out of the dining hall during school, and my friend said that “although gerund-face makes no sense, it is still an excellent insult because it sounds like one.”</p>

19

<p>Oh…That’s sort of…disappointing, in a way.</p>

20

<p>Stop replying to the ■■■■■.</p>