<p>I don’t blame the excited kid for agreeing to an interview. I do blame the contemptible losers who are eager to point out that “he’s only average, you know, he’s not that big of a deal” and are salivating to make sure he gets “put in his place.” Who wants to be that type of person? Why not just say “great for him, I wish him well” and move on? </p>
<p>@pizzagirl In my experience, “excited kids” are not so blinded that they can’t think straight. I got a 36 on my ACT as part of a state assessment about a couple months ago. This would have been a big deal had I released because my school is a below-average public school (not a big deal to you guys, though). ACT sent a letter to me on how to do a press release on my good news. This would have gotten me into papers, interviews, etc. I did not do a press release. Why? Because I knew that:</p>
<p>1) in the future, if I go to an Ivy, people will be turned off by what I did and it will be more difficult to assimilate because they will think I’m arrogant and flashy when they potentially have accomplished more
2) a 36 isn’t that big of a deal to anyone aiming for a top college
3) I don’t want to be that guy that shows off</p>
<p>On the other hand, a couple years ago two brothers, after getting a 36, did a press release and they got on the local TV and the newspaper. My parents told me, “Even if you get 36 when you eventually take the test, don’t ever be like those kids and tell everyone what you’ve accomplished. It sounds vain.” And so I did not.</p>
<p>I’m not one of your Siemens finalists or Intel winners, so I was excited about my score. But I knew that I had to stay humble or others would be ticked off. If I did the press release and, years after, made it into an Ivy, I would never forgive myself for opening myself up to judgement. You don’t give 17-18 year olds enough credit. Most of us, especially those of us smart enough to get 2200+ SAT and 32+ ACT, realize what the consequences of our actions will be.</p>
<p>EDIT: In addition, because I live in rather racist country, idiots would have started saying, “Oh, he’s Asian. It doesn’t count.” or “Wow, another Chinese kid is going to be accepted into good colleges. Shouldn’t only Americans go to American schools? (never mind that I’m a citizen).” I knew not to put the spotlight on myself and I don’t have any sympathy for those that suffer self-inflicted wounds as a result of wanting the limelight.</p>
<p>I do not blame the kid. He does not know any better. I blame the adults around him who allowed him to be manipulated in sharing the details of his application with the media. And if he was eager to do so, someone should have tempered his enthusiasm by pointing out that the scrutiny of his achievements will go beyond the “nice going and good for you” and range from the dubious to the caustic. </p>
<p>I know kids who have tried to undo the impact of similar stories after arriving at their college and even after graduation. The ego flattering fifteen minutes are not worth the dissecting that follows. And especially when it was prompted by the parents who failed to understand that the details of the applications should be kept private.</p>
<p>Getting into college is not an award or an athletic event that has to be aired. And especially not since the success of one creates much envy and animosity from the much larger group that was not as successful. </p>
<p>^^^^^The guy was accepted to ALL 8 Ivies. That, in and of itself, is extremely notable, regardless of his stats taken in isolation. </p>
<p>Jealousy is an ugly ugly thing. If any students at his Ivy have so much resentment for his brief time in the limelight, he’s well rid of those people anyway. He’ll find plenty of nice kids to hang with rather than those whose egos cannot withstand not being the smartest bestest most fantabulous guy in the room at all times. </p>
<p>I totally agree with PG above. Apparently some would rather have a root canal than just find a way to sincerely wish someone well.</p>
<p>Oh, please, Suchwowmuchcool. And xiggi. It reeks of sour grapes to harp on this kid’s decision to go on TV and use it to deflect from the huge accomplishment of being accepted to all eight Ivy League schools. To suggest that he is lacking in the ability to predict the consequences of his actions, and thus chip away at the idea that he was truly smart enough to “deserve” his admittances, is really bizarre.</p>
<p>If all super-smart Ivy kids were beyond reproach in their judgment, we would never see any of them get falling down drunk at parties, cheat on tests, or do any number of other dumb things that happen on a daily basis.</p>
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<p>@Suchwowmuchcool, if you talk about AA on this thread it will be shut down.</p>
<p>You know as well as I do that many people here consider even one Ivy acceptance a huge “accomplishment,” and that is why so many strive for them year after year. It’s actually good that you haven’t applied to colleges yet–since you don’t like the policies in place at some of the elite schools, you will now know to avoid them in favor of schools that better fit your values and your own definition of “merit.” Good luck to you.</p>
<p>@sally305 What is your definition of merit? To me, it’s pretty simple: weight of accomplishments taken in the context of any difficulties or hardships. How else can you define it?</p>
<p>This topic has been debated ad nauseum. It doesn’t matter what you or I think. The point is that eight prestigious colleges all independently found Kwasi Enin compelling enough to admit him on his many merits. Each of these colleges reviewed his application and decided he would be a great fit for their student body. They would not have admitted him if they didn’t think he could do the work or contribute substantially to the campus community.</p>
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<p>Say what? Sour grapes? Deflect the accomplishments! </p>
<p>First of all, read my post and notice I wrote about the involvement of adults and the sharing of … details. Details like agreeing to have his personal essays printed in the media. I happen to believe that NOTHING good comes from opening what should be personal and confidential statements to the prying eyes of strangers. And past history here and elsewhere amply support that the critics far outnumber the applauding observers. </p>
<p>At no time did I write anything that dismisses the accomplishments of the kid. Not here or in the related threads. I merely opined that it is a mistake to open up the DETAILS of the application. And further stated that the adults around him failed the kid in …protecting him. Just as it has happened in multiple stories that have been discussed here in the past decade. Remember the Indian kid from Austin (Navidad) or the Virginia one who plastered his picture next to a stack of SAT books and his smiling dad. Both forgetting that the details pointed to parental manipulation. And plenty more of the same, including last year’s supposed sarcastic essay about the plight of a BWRK who could not pretend to wear feathers or be disadvantaged. She too went on national TV to the delight of the crowd that will be prompt to attack the story discussed here. </p>
<p>All in all, deciding to climb on a pedestal comes with the risk that plenty will try to knock it down with glee and scorn. My point remains that teenagers should NOT have their life plastered in the news with revealing details about SAT scores, grades, personal essays, or income. The basic accomplishments could have been noted and celebrated without the details extracted by a sensationalist media. </p>
<p>Over the years, I have worked with plenty of kids who overcame disadvantages to land a spot in a CC prized school, and have seen plenty of commentaries that intimated the success were solely due to misguided holistic admissions. To the surprise of the kids who thought they deserved a simple kudo and not a … yes, but …</p>
<p>HTH </p>
<p>Yes, I agree the topic as been debated ad nauseum and agreement is never going to happen, as to the entire situation. </p>
<p>@sally305 said something very, very true - that he only had to impress the Ivy adcoms. I could not agree with that more. </p>
<p>Then, it does beg the question: why did he feel he needed to tell us, the public, since we had nothing to do with it and impressing us is irrelevant to the decisions? </p>
<p>And that I believe is the core of the issue. </p>
<p>The public who has nothing to do with the decisions were told, and then when the public reacts, it is told it has nothing to do with it. My position is if you do not want my opinion on something, then do not tell me, as I am not some passive non-thinking vessel. I believe others feel exactly the same way.</p>
<p>@xiggi is rather prophetic, it seems. Given what I heard first-hand being said at an admit day, he will have damage to clean up at whatever school he goes to. It is more of a joke than praise among students at this point; students who are into those very same schools. </p>
<p>Moderators - Thanks for letting the thread really explore this topic. You could have easily shut it down and did not.</p>
<p>May the young man do well and learn to speak and be praised through his actions and not via an over-hyped media using him for ratings. </p>
<p>OK, that is my last word on the issue. Over and out.</p>
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<p>But at the same time, I see threads here on CC and I hear grumblings among good students in real life about the fact that athletic accomplishments get praise and plaques and press, while other kinds of achievement go unappreciated. </p>
<p>Why do we cheer for the undersized runningback who gets multiple scholarship offers from top-10 football programs but scoff at the “average” kid (not really “average” at all , but that’s what he’s been called here) who gets into eight Ivies?</p>
<p>^^a</p>
<p>Not my point or same analogy. Awards and athletic wins are usually public in nature. They are not private per se. Different from opening the intimate details of an application.</p>
<p>How is a athletic scholarship different from an Ivy admit? (For some hooked athletes, they are actually pretty much the same thing.) Why is one inherently private and the other inherently public in nature?</p>
<p>What do you mean by intimate details? Am I the only one who reads the profiles of “academic all stars” in the paper this time of year that routinely list GPA, ACT and/or SAT, and a list of colleges to which the awardee has been admitted?</p>
<p>^^^
an athletic…!@#$ 15 minute limit on editing! </p>
<p>Our community papers love any and all stories of successful kids, even if it’s just to profile someone who got a good part in the local Nutcracker or who are National Merit scholars. Thanks to the internet, what used to remain “small” news now goes viral in a matter of minutes. And again–plenty of teens seek out fame via YouTube and other means of getting noticed more broadly than they would within their communities. Most of them are smart enough to know that they are opening themselves up to criticism and mean-spirited comments. For all we know Kwasi Enin was smart enough to anticipate the kind of reaction we are seeing here–but to still think it was worth agreeing to media interviews.</p>
<p>@EllieMom I agree with xiggi. Sports are spectator attractions, entertainment. You will see hundreds sit in the bleachers to watch a high school football game, and you will see thousands sit in a college football stadium to watch their favorite team. On the other hand, no one is going to spectate a person taking a standardized test or an academic competition. I see the national MathCounts competition is on ESPN3 every year, but I doubt anyone actually watches it. That’s the difference between athletic and academic accomplishments. Sports are public while academics is private.</p>
<p>As most of the posters about Kwasi are adults or students who are not currently on one of these campuses, I decided to ask my son, who is on one of these eight campuses, what (if anything) the current students were saying about this young man. There were discussions about him on campus. NONE of the kids with whom my son spoke thought Kwasi wasn’t a qualified candidate or was going to get his comeuppance on campus. Most of the kids thought that after you reach a certain SAT/GPA, it comes down to what else you have to offer the school and they didn’t question the fact that Kwasi had something to offer. As is the threads, there were kids that said he only got into all eight because he was an URM. There were both negative and positive comments (in the same vein as threads about him) about applying and getting in to all eight Ivies.</p>
<p>My son said that the bottom line is that all the kids said that if he ends up on their campus and is a personable kid without an ego, i.e. chill :), it is going to be a non-issue. </p>
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<p>Well, that’s just silly. Obviously sports are spectator attractions, and have been since ancient Rome and Greece. By their nature they are “spectacles.” Lab research or painting or musical composition or plenty of other impressive achievements are not public by nature either, but that doesn’t mean the results of important research doesn’t get published in national or international journals or paintings don’t get hung on the walls of public museum galleries or new music isn’t performed to audiences of thousands of people. The public consumption of these things just happens later on, not in real time as with sporting events.</p>
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<p>Pretty much what I expected. </p>