Two brothers, one 18 and one 16, got in Harvard and Stanford, respectively! Grew up under significantly financial hardship and succeeded in spite of the obstacles in their way. A nice feel good story for these young men.
Question: I watched in fear, hoping Ellen wouldn’t give the mother any money (maybe send them on a summer family summer vacation instead) so that they can keep their full-ride financial aid package. She got $20k from Ellen. What is the likelihood this hurts their financial aid in the future?
Thank you for posting this. I watched both videos and found them very moving - not only the joy expressed by the successful applicants, but the joy and excitement of the other students surrounding them. I love the enthusiasm of kids this age. In my experience, some (not most) parents are hyper-competitive and resent success of kids not their own, but the kids are happy for one another. They seem to have no trouble accepting the fact that another student might be stronger academically.
I didn’t realize that checking for acceptances was a group activity! My DS and I checked together, and I will never forget the look on his face as the completely unexpected acceptance letter from his ED school came up on the screen. I can’t imagine him doing this in a group of kids.
I also watched the Ellen video. The mother has done a spectacular job. I imaging these two young men will have no trouble navigating college and careers; besides their intelligence and work ethic, they are both confident, outgoing, and charming.
How sad that the younger brother died!
I can’t imagine that $20k and some gift certificates for dorm room items will affect financial aid awards in this case. Clearly the family is very low-income.
@NYMomof2 I, too, was surprised that they videoed acceptances with such a large group, but apparently the school has a great track record.
2016: 8 students went to Harvard University, Yale University, Columbia University, Brown University, Wellesley College, Syracuse University, St. John’s University(2).
2017: 13 students went to Columbia University, Harvard University, Cornell University, George Washington University, New York University(2), St. John’s University(4), Pace University and Southern University(2)