Does Holistic Admissions Come Thru?

Talk about a condescending comment…

I went to a hyper-competitive school. At the time, it was a top 5 (public) school in the US (I think it has slipped a bit since then, but is still top 20 last time I checked). It was crazy stressful, I get it, but it also was an amazing privilege. Yes, we had to work very, very hard just to keep our heads above water there, but we had amazing teachers (much better than the local district schools), classmates who constantly raised the bar (making everyone better than they would have been without the challenge), class discussions with true intellectual engagement, course material of greater depth than at the local schools, top notch counselors intimately familiar with college admissions, including T20 competitive admissions, who felt personally invested in the success of their students, much as the teachers did, too. And if that’s not privilege, I don’t know what is.

Just because you are asked to work hard, doesn’t mean you aren’t incredibly privileged. In fact, sometimes being asked to work hard is privilege in itself. It is not condescending to point that out: it is just acknowledgement of fact.

And, as I said, I see your judgmental attitudes towards your classmates to be far more problematic and, well, condescending.

But I realize you’re a teenager. You still have some growing up to do, and that’s OK. That’s normal. But a great way to do it would be to open your mind, listen to other views, and be willing to see things in a new way that challenges your previous assumptions. That would be a great perspective to gain before starting college. Good luck to you!

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