<p>I went to Yale because of affirmative action. Not for me, though, for my friend. I had a good friend a year ahead of me who was accepted to Princeton. This was from a small town in southern Virginia, with no AP course, no calculus, etc. This guy was really smart and interesting, and an African-American. Until I heard he was going to Princeton, it had not really occurred to me even to look at schools other than U.Va. That was where the smart kids from my school–just a few each year–went. But my SAT scores and grades were better than my friend’s, and I thought, why not take a look? My family was essentially clueless about the Ivies, about applying for them, etc. I didn’t get into Princeton, but got into Yale.</p>
<p>My friend recently died. It made me think about how the direction of your life can be influenced by other people.</p>
<p>My guess is that it was easier. At least for me, ignorance made the process easier. I was raised in a middle/lower middle class region where most of my classmates planned to go work in the local factories. (Little did they know that right about the time we were graduating the factories would start to lay off people) As the first one in my family to go to college my parents didn’t know what was or was not possible with financial aid. We assumed I could not afford a private college so that left the state U’s. High school counselor was of little/no assistance other than keeping a stack of blank applications in her office. The school had a financial aid night, but it was a bit late in the process compared to now. All we learned from it was that I could receive financial aid to help pay for school. SATs–didn’t know I could retake it. I didn’t prepare for it other than reading the booklet one received at sign-up. Just walked in with my number two pencils. I was 10 points away from a scholarship cutoff point at the state U so it would have been nice to know I could retake it. As to the importance of ECs-who knew? APs–did they exist in the late 1970’s? College visits–never heard of them. The first time I saw my university was during freshman orientation the summer after I graduated. </p>
<p>I was ranked in the top 5% of my class. GPA was in the A- range. SAT–above average. I hedged my bets and applied to three state U’s, which included two Big Ten U’s. I was accepted to all. I chose one of the two top public U’s in my state because my favorite teachers spoke of it most often and because it was humanities and liberal arts oriented (at least based upon the brochures I had). The other top U was more science oriented. The third U had a reputation as a teacher’s college. Despite the odds, it turned out well for me. I loved, and still love, my alma mater. I wouldn’t change a thing.</p>
<p>Graduated from high school in the mid 70s and went to the only college I could afford on my own. It was our in state “cow college”. Admission requirements were a high school diploma and a pulse.</p>