True, it’s just busy work of copying and pasting the student’s answers and essays from one application to multiple application forms (since the student would have run out of space on the Common App pretty quickly).
I assume this student used the Common Black College Application which sends the app to the 67 participating schools for one $20 fee. No copying and pasting required.
Also now with direct admission on various platforms such as common app, Applily, and Niche, no application (or a very simple one) is needed for participating schools.
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Given that student is from GA that has Zell and Hope (that provide free tuition), and she did not get to UGA or GaTech (possibly did not apply) with her 4.0 and advanced classes; this is mostly PR.
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BTW, if I understand correctly Wheeler HS is the one from Marietta, GA in Cobb County. From that school (one of the best in metro Atlanta) going to Alabama is not a huge accomplishment.
She may have received more than free tuition at Alabama and/or perhaps admission to one of the “honors within honors” programs.
I have no doubt she is a good student who worked hard. It is just the whole article for some person who is familiar with that area smells wrong…And the way it is presented… she was so advanced with no classes to take at HS… And gosh, she took a class at KSU and got A in psychology… That probably was as difficult as to climb Everest. Sorry for sarcasm…
I agree with @somethings. Mixed feelings on this for the very reasons stated. I am discouraged, however, by so many negative comments on here from people who DON’T have mixed feelings about these stories.
My dear old dad, rest his soul, grew up in poverty. He spent his career in education and spent his retiremement heralding stories about low-income students who had “achieved” and his bar for what constitutes “achievement” was quite low, by my standards. Some student wrote a good poem? Achievement worth celebrating! Another student traveled out of state? Achievement worth celebrating! And so on. When I read these stories about millions in scholarships and dozens of acceptances, I think of him.
For some students just hearing that others like them are wanted and courted by countless colleges and offered extensive scholarships is incredibly empowering. Toward the end of his life I remember that almost everywhere we went people would stop him and thank him for encouraging them and making them believe that they could achieve something great.
As far as these stories go…the way I see it…If someone like them can get offered admission over and over again and earn a big college scholarship (need based or merit based doesn’t matter) over and over again, some kids will think maybe…just maybe…they can do it too. Hope can be so powerful. It may seem like just clickbait - or whatever negative thing you want to call it - to some. But I know from watching my dad at work for so many decades just what a huge difference these stories of hope can make for some.
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Agree completely.
At the school where I volunteer, it’s a big deal to go to any type of higher ed at all. Whenever a student is accepted to any school (barber school, the local open access community college, whatever) this gets posted on a special celebration board outside the Admin Office. Attending any school is such an achievement. And the merit aid vs. need aid distinction that those of us on CC obsess over? Completely off the radar of any family that attends this high school. Because essentially every family at this school lives in poverty.
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Wheeler is a magnet for some programs. You may be confusing it with Walton.
Wheeler is a magnet for STEM; the magnet school is ranked top 50 nationally. We once considered a move to that county and my D tested into the program so I’m fairly familiar with it from that time about 9 years ago. The magnet school is only a small portion of the student population which is one reason we decided against it.
I may have missed it, but I didn’t see in the article whether this student is in the magnet school or not. Based on her hometown I would typically assume she was part of the magnet since she is out of district, however, her mother works at the school so there may be provisions for the kids of employees to attend. If she did test into the magnet program, that is an accomplishment worth noting.
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