African student big challenge!

bluewhitebulldog
Sat, 27 Dec 2008 02:45:35 +0000

he siad BIG CHALLENEGE
I would as him for his essay and help him on it
Obviously, that is one less person to worry about competition

Tboonepickens
Junior Member
I doubt you know your stuff well. Let us not forget, our Senegalese friend here has had no help at all. He did not spell comedy with an ‘E’ between ‘d’ and ‘y’
Yale, Columbia, Harvard, Penn State, Swarthmore offer need based financial aid for all their students. Get your facts straight and do not tell him what you learnt from your school or choice.
Another fact, sometimes you have to pay attention to that fact that you may be pushing a nerve when you speak to someone. It is essential to master communication skills. This is someone who has spoken NO english and I was in his shoes one day, only worse. I spoke some language that you will never be able to pronounce, no matter how hard you twist your tongue. Would you be able to tell when you speak to me? I doubt.
He is trying to talk to you. I pray that you do not relate to internationals like that when you go to Cornell or I will have one more thing about Cornell on my mind.
If he has no chance, think of the students who have the chance here. In my school, people use iPods and stuff for leisure. They scored WAAAAy below his scores, and still went for SAT prep. How about them? How will the two of them look in an admissions officer’s eyes?
People have toiled to learn a little only for you to bash them and kill their spirit. That is weak. That is so weak. Do you want to know how I learnt english? I read books and watched the news. THAT IS IT! How did you do it? That is a no brainer.
How will we look on an admissions desk?
Even if he will not get in, speak of a good school that will help him out. Many schools out there do not teach anything. I attend a school where an admissions counsellor thinks I can send paper to a school and they will accept that as my SAT scores. That is how much rubbish is out there. I know of colleges that are practically 13th grade. How will he look when he is looking for grad school.
Make Senegal a better place? Pack the food that you throw aways and send it there. That could jumpstart his “Day of Making Senegal a Better Place”
American schools bring a different approach to learning. It is what the student knows and has experienced. Political science will not be interesting if the teacher stood up and told you all the facts of whatever and then left the place. That is what you get in Univ of Alabama, but at Cornell or Columbia, the student actually is able to speak and ask or say, “I think this dictator was thinking this because I am from Senegal and Diof did this to my country and acted this way when he came to my school.” It is not a one sided affair.
If he may not go to THE American school, recommend that he looks at a SUNY school (not CUNY). It would build him for what is ahead. Then, his essay will be stronger.

[ALL THIS WAS NOT SAID IN A TONE OF ANGER. PLEASE DO NOT TAKE IT AS THOUGH]