Five questions for a lifetime

Parent Cafe
1

<p>Buck grew up in Concord, GA, a small town due south of Atlanta. He grew up in the middle-class part of town with his parents and two younger sisters. Buck was never a sports kinda guy, but he did play Little League baseball and church league basketball as a kid. But, he always did well in school. Until his senior year in high school, he received straight A’s(damn AP Bio and Calc). To some, he was a geek; to others, he was just intelligent. He preferred the latter. </p>

<p>Buck, unlike other kids his age who preferred professional athletes or rock stars, aspired to become an attorney. He loved listening to his father tell him about civil rights cases during the 1960s. He dreamed of practicing law and protecting the rights of fellow citizens. He worked hard to accomplish his dream. He took the most demanding coursework possible and was ranked 4th in his class of 89. </p>

<p>Late in his junior year, Buck told his guidance counselor about his future plans. The GC told Buck that the sky was the limit for him since Buck had scored a a 210(73 CR, 72 W, 65 M) on his PSAT(a school record). GC told him that lower-end Ivy league colleges were perfect for him. Buck thought so, too.</p>

<p>He soon became fixated on Brown. He loved everything about it, especially the change of location. Altogether, he decided to apply to 5 colleges, two of which were safeties.

  1. Brown
  2. Cornell
  3. Notre Dame
  4. Georgia Southern
  5. Georgia State</p>

<p>Buck entered his senior year thinking it was his last in Georgia. He decided to take the SAT in December. The test was administered at his local high school. Little did Buck know that 5 questions would change the rest of his life.</p>

<p>Section 1 - Question 9
Knowledge cannot thrive where there is ___________.
a) protocol
b) neoclassicism
c) parturition
d) nescience
e) anarchy
------- Buck knew it wasn’t protocol, neoclassicism, or anarchy. Knew it was worth a shot and took ‘C’. Guessed wrong.------------</p>

<p>Section 1 - Question 11
Being a man of maxims, he was ___________ in what he said.
a) sentient
b) sebaceous
c) transmogrified
d) sententious
e) diliberate
------- Buck knew it wasn’t ‘E’, and didn’t think it was ‘C’. Took ‘A’. Again, wrong.---------------</p>

<p>Section 4 - Question 13
The __________ was very informative during the trip.
a) cicerone
b) centaur
c) burgeon
d) censer
e) customer
-------- Ruled out ‘E’ off the bat. Had a feeling it was ‘A’ or ‘C’. Guessed ‘C’, the wrong answer.-----------------</p>

<p>Section 4 - Question 17
John realized that he had been ______ in his duties. If he had been more ____, the disaster may have been avoided.
a) irreproachable…careful
b) arbitray…interested
c) neglectful…insensible
d) derelict…vigilant
e) unparalleled…careful
-------- Narrowed it down to ‘B’ or ‘D’. Took ‘B’. Shoulda gone the other way. ----------</p>

<p>Section 7 - Question 6
The __________ of war is death and cruelty.
a) quiddity
b) beldam
c) rutabaga
d) sirocco
e) demarche
-------- Had no idea. Took ‘D’. Wasn’t his lucky day. ---------</p>

<p>Buck anxiously anticipated the results. He knew that they would be posted early on January 7. He stayed up all night waiting. The refresh button had to have been worn out. Then, he saw it: “Your December SAT scores are in!”. A chill went through his body. What would he get? 1450? 1500? He clicked. They came up. He was stunned. The 680 Math was somewhat expected, but the 690 Verbal shocked him. How could this have happened? The answer, although he didn’t know it, was 5 questions(and a brutal curve).</p>

<p>Needless to say, Buck didn’t get into any of his top three, not even waitlisted. But, he did receive a full academic scholarship to Georgia State in Atlanta. Having no other outlet, he accepted.</p>

<p>Buck was heartbroken when the thin envelopes came from his top three, especially Brown. It seemed so perfect for him. But now, instead of heading over a thousand miles north, he was heading about 35 north to Atlanta.</p>

<p>His performance suffered his freshman year. He receive the first ‘C’ of his life. He just didn’t have the drive. But towards the end of the year, he managed to salvage a 3.1. He ended with a 3.19 after his 4 years. He prepared for the LSAT and did above average on it. But that wasn’t enough. He applied to six law schools(one safety). Yet again, the safety lived up to its name. Another few years in Atlanta. This time at the GSU College of Law. He passed the bar and was registered in Georgia. He applied to a few firms in Georgia and even one up in Providence. All politely deferred. </p>

<p>So, Buck started his own practice with a buddy he met at law school. Sure, he was lawyer. Sure, he was making a good living. But these weren’t the type of cases he wanted. He wanted the important ones. He wanted to make a difference in people’s lives; a big one. And he didn’t feel like he was. Buck is still practicing law in Macon, GA.</p>

<p>If only Buck knew that five questions changed the course of his life.</p>

2

<p>Buck’s ignorance in choosing safeties for undergrad and law school seem to have changed his life a helluva lot more than the questions did. Seriously, do you really think that getting a 1370 on the SAT is the stuff that melodrama like this is meant for?</p>

3

<p>Sounds like Buck is good at blaming circumstances for what is really his own fault. First, he should have taken the SAT earlier, so he would have a chance to retake. Second, he should have chosen more than one safety. Third, he could have worked his tail off in college and gotten into a top law school. Fourth, there is no reason he can’t work to help protect people’s rights and help others in Macon, Georgia. I’ll bet there are plenty of ways an attorney could make a difference, regardless of what school he attended, plenty of organizations that could use the volunteer services of an attorney.</p>

<p>I think Buck needs to shed his victim mentality and make something of his life.</p>

4

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<p>And he blamed this on not doing well on the SAT? Gimme a break.</p>

5

<p>I like the “lower end Ivy League colleges” phrase as well. LOL. FWIW the OP apparently does feel like this drivel deserves dissemination, seeing as how he’s cross-posted it to three other forums.</p>

6

<p>There is a lesson in Buck’s soapy tale. </p>

<p>Heralded, straight A students from small towns often underestimate the true level of competition. </p>

<p>Bucky has no one to blame but himself. He heard “No” and took his toys home to Macon. Cry me a river. There are a hundred ways to make it up to the Big Game. It appears that Bucky doesn’t have what it takes, academically or otherwise.</p>

<p>I was rejected by dozens of leading firms before I was finally hired by a leading firm in New York City.</p>

7

<p>Sounds like an urban legend to me. Paging Snopes!</p>

8

<p>Gosh Buck, I’m sorry you are so unhappy, but your life didn’t turn on five questions. There is always a plan B (or C or D) that will get you where you want to go. The SAT defeated you only because you allowed it to with your subsequent actions and choices.</p>

9

<p>I have noticed that a few lucky vs unlucky guesses can radically change the reported SAT score. When I went over my son’s PSAT results it was clear that he “shoulda coulda” gotten all of his 5 missed questions correct. But I would never dream of subjecting others to a lengthy tortured tale of woe to make that point! :slight_smile: Or was that your point? The story actually reads more like a script for a Kaplan preptest commercial, ie “Don’t let this be you!!!”</p>

10

<p>Five questions on the LSAT - where that can be the difference between Harvard level and second-tier level - I could understand. Also doesn’t look good to take that one more than once.</p>

<p>Five on the SAT? Nah. Take it again, transfer, do whatever - but you can fight your way through that.</p>

11

<p>Took the SAT for the first time in December of his senior year?? The title of the thread should have been, “The best reason to take SAT’s in the Spring of Junior year”.</p>

12

<p>I think NJres got it right: betcha “Buck” aka quarterstop13 works for Kaplan or one of its competitors.</p>

13

<p>Buck is a ver-r-r-ry slow learner. [ul][<em>]Approach to choosing colleges: id the difficult to achieve dream; throw in a loser I will be severely disappointed in. [</em>]Approach to choosing law schools: ditto [li]Approach to beginning his law career: apply for a few ideal jobs. No go; instead start handling cases which aren’t “the type of cases he wanted. He wanted the important ones. He wanted to make a difference in people’s lives; a big one. And he didn’t feel like he was.”[/ul][/li]There is most assuredly a valuable life lesson here. And it has nothing to do with the absurdity of some SAT questions (some are); the difficulty of the curve (sometimes it is), or the way sometimes things don’t work out as you plan (they don’t). It has to do with what “changes your life.” We change our own lives. We learn to plan more realistically (I hope he’s finally learned that). We learn that if Plan A doesn’t work out, we move on to or create Plan B or C. Buck dropped down to Plan X and is crying in his beer.</p>

<p>If OP’s point was to teach this lesson, good job. If OP’s point was “poor Buck,” I’m with Susantm, Buck needs to stop being a victim and make his own life.</p>

14

<p>I am probably too young to be saying this but I find it true, “life is about how you deal with disappointments”. Some would use a setback as catalyst to move them to higher things. </p>

<p>Second, taking SAT in the dec of senior year says a lot about lack of planning and perhaps over-confident. And the 5 q’s, how many he guess right? You have to take the misses in the context of the entire test. Sure I feel sorry things don’t turn out. Like the Sinatra songs, “regrets, I have a few, but then too few to mention”. Thanks old blue eyes.</p>

15

<p>I guess I’m supposed to find something tragic here. But he went to college! and was able to pay for it! And he went to law school! and was able to pay for it!</p>

<p>About all I’ll grant is that he’d likely to have had a higher GPA at Brown (grade inflation). </p>

<p>The only college-related moral I can find is: don’t just find a safety. Find a safety that you LOVE. It should take at least three times as much time and energy as finding a reach, for most people.</p>

16

<p>Oh - and P.S. - since so much of civil rights law, etc. is pro bono, why would he think he’d have an easier time being able to do it if he worked for a big law firm? Maybe he needs a career counselor?</p>

<p>I’m sure he eats pretty well. There are a lot of hungry people in Georgia he could be helping…</p>

17

<p>A safety you can love, would that still a safety ? :)</p>

18

<p>Brown is a quantum leap from Concord, GA. Concord appears to be a small,very rural town, population about 350, in central Georgia, halfway between Atlanta and Macon. And while this may sound harsh, Ga. State isn’t all that academically challenging in many areas. So if the GPA there was a 3.1, poor ol’ Buck might have been looking at academic probation at Brown. BTW, is buck using this as his college essay?</p>

19

<p>Too bad Buck’s GC didn’t tell him in his junior year to take the SAT early and often. Just getting used to the test could have added those mythically important points he felt would have changed his life.</p>

<p>But what really killed him was his lackluster performance at GSU. There are lots of kids who go to an instate public so that they can have $$ to go to grad/law/business school. You just have to do very well undergrad, which Buck didn’t.</p>

<p>This IS an advertisement for an SAT prep company, right?</p>

20

<p>I finally checked and found this cross-posted on several forums. It is fictional (big surprise!) and apparently is an essay which was supposed to highlight the importance of SATs and good safeties.</p>