'It's a crap shoot': Father of girl who wrote scathing letter to Ivy League colleges

Applying to College
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<p>While the piece had potential I just didn’t find it to be that funny. I think that a humor piece based on rejection of any kind is a tough thing to pull off. Her sister is a former WSJ editorial assistant which probably explains how it got into the right hands and was picked for publication.</p>

<p>I saw her interview on The Today Show and it is obvious that the girl is a force. She will no doubt do well wherever she ends up. I just wish she had written a great piece of satire. I needed a good laugh.</p>

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<p>As a student who JUST went through the whole admissions process, I personally believe there is truth in it and it’s funny. No, no one is entitled to any spot at any college, ever. However, sometimes it truly feels like “Yes, be yourself…but be your best, smartest self.” Whether there is any truth in that or not, that’s just how it feels. We will never fully understand and explain why certain people do and do not get into some schools.</p>

<p>On the other hand, so what? So what if it’s how she really feels? At one point throughout this process I could’ve identified with many things she wrote. It really was just teenage frustration, that’s passed now… She just happened to put those thoughts and feelings into words and make it public. I get the feeling it wasn’t meant for deep analysis though. </p>

<p>Either way, it reminds me of a sarcastic piece someone would write on a SparkNotes blog. They write a bunch of pieces with this tone. By students for students kind of thing. She should write for them.</p>

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<p>She’s an over-entitled wealthy young woman who is in no position to talk about these things, even if it is a humor piece.</p>

<p>She certainly had the time and opportunities to accomplish about half the things on that list. Then her sat score looks pretty low based on her families income, if they paid enough she could have hired a tutor from Yale. Then all she did on a daily basis was go to school do her work go home study/do homework. Aside from that nothing was done on her part to make herself stand out (if they are closely tied to the Republican Party she could have definitely gotten an internship).</p>

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<p>donaldb- what’s with the bitter post? Maybe you’ll feel the same way this time next year when you fail to get into BU or your other target schools. Do you have chip on your shoulder for some reason?</p>

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<p>LC_“I doubt many serious candidates for the top schools don’t focus a TON of time on their essays. I think it’s fairly superfical to judge someone by a 300-500 word essay and a few short response questions in any case. The fact is there are just way to many highly qualified students trying for a small number of spots. A clever, whitty, off-beat, genuine, etc. essay can as easily help a candidates chances as destroy them - it depends on the quirks of the specific reader you get and they don’t all like the same things. In the end, it is a crap shoot and probably has to be given the numbers of applicants involved.”</p>

<p>Sorry, I don’t know how to do the quote box :(</p>

<p>I feel essays are an area in which you can showcase who you are and allow the admission staff that has so many amazing candidates to choose from, a glimpse into the person and not the only stats.
My daughter had good solid stats (great GPA, good solid test scores) but not a standout when compared to a lot of great students.
Her strength lies in her writing; she can paint in words who “she” is to the reader. It is highly personal and revealing and it bears her soul. It also takes guts. Whether you like her as a potential candidate or not, you know who she is. In her case this was an asset in obtaining acceptances.</p>

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<p>Her letter was definitely satirical; although it exaggerated, she’s correct that affirmative action may not always be fair. I do believe that with so many applicants, these top-tier schools are a crapshoot. If you don’t get into one, you’re not necessarily worse than those who did. In the end, (and beginning this fall if you keep a good attitude,) you can be just as happy and successful as if you went to Harvard.</p>

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<p>I don’t see how bearing your soul in an essay, or pretending to, really shows much about a person. An essay can be easily faked, ghost-written or exaggerated, and I don’t buy the BS about the all-knowing admission officer (like the all seeing eye) who can tell which essays are “genuine.” </p>

<p>Maybe it makes people feel better but IMHO it’s hogwash.</p>

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<p>I do think that “crapshoot” is an accurate word to describe the admissions process.

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<p>Applying to a selective school, or even just a school that is a reach for one particular person, is an uncertain matter. Getting one’s heart set on definitely getting in to a reach school is definitely risky.</p>

<p>There is SO much that goes into these decisions. As someone who just went through this a few months ago with a twin who also went through this simultaneously, I’ve experienced it. </p>

<p>One thing that is really important: ESSAYS. Just as Connor said, a good essay that reveals the person behind the application can make all the difference. I got in to 7 out of the 8 schools I applied to (wait-listed at the 8th), with huge merit scholarships at each of them. I didn’t even expect to get accepted at half of them because my SAT scores sucked. Guess what made me stand out? MY ESSAY. It was funny. It was clever. It showed admissions officers who I really was.
(I’m not discussing elite schools here, but that’s because I’m not an elite candidate for admissions in any sense of the word. The most prestigious school I applied to was Gettysburg College, which was where I got wait-listed.)</p>

<p>Another thing that sometimes influences decisions: your intended major.
At my high school, I know of 3 people who applied to University of Delaware. One was around 17th in our class, one was in the low 30s, and the final, my sister, was around 35-36. Only one got accepted. Guess which one? My sister. The one with the least impressive academic record. Why? She applied under a Wildlife Conservation major. The other two had fairly common interests, like Journalism. </p>

<p>It really is a crapshoot. No matter how hard you try in high school, there will always be hundreds of other kids just like you. People just need to learn that there are good schools that aren’t elite ones! Sure, it’s good to dream, but there’s no certainty in admissions anymore. Finding schools you’ll fall in love with that aren’t necessarily the most well-known schools in the world isn’t as hard as you’d think!</p>

<p>I used to think that prestige was so important. I wanted to apply to Yale (although I was realistic and assumed I wouldn’t get in) and thought I would have to settle with Swarthmore. Soon afterward, I realized the two were nowhere near what I was capable of achieving. I didn’t even waste my time on applications.
Now, I’m going to be attending Muhlenberg College in the fall, and I couldn’t be happier with my decision. My sister also turned down UDel, which is somewhat well-known, for Albright College, and she couldn’t be happier!</p>

<p>I’m getting very rambly. My advice: look beyond the big names. Maybe look at a few of the annoying letters you get in the mail. You might just find a less popular school that is perfect for you. The schools my twin and I are both going to attend wouldn’t have even been considered if we weren’t pestered via e-mail and the mailbox.</p>

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<p>My S just got six rejections from the usual suspects (Stanford, MIT, etc.). He scored 35 in ACT, 2220 in SAT and another 2350 total in three subject tests. He’s also a national merit scholar finalist. I thought he was good enough for the applications but I was very wrong. We are an Asian family and don’t have one of those other qualities (single parent, hardship and other unusual situations) they seem to be look for. As an Asian male, I later found out he was in one of the toughest categories to get into one of those top schools and shall I say this is so unfair? The sad thing is there’s nothing he could do to correct any of these. Some of his school friends who are in the same “category” and did get accepted to the top schools have SAT scores north of 2300 and couple of them with the perfect 2400. Anyway, I’m happy that he did get accepted to the state school but I find the whole process somewhat bizarre.</p>

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<p>What’s truly humorous to me is that there are, er, more qualified rejects that could have written this letter more plausibly. </p>

<p>Imagine being an African-American friend of mine who was denied in the range (2250+, 4.0 UW) even though he was being recruited for track. Now that would seem more crapshooty than usual. </p>

<p>For my own part, the Ivies were the only schools that rejected me. I tried not to give them a second thought after applying, but one can always dream. Because all four denied, rather than waitlisted, me, I can’t help but think that they made the right decision. After all, I would assume that the best admissions officers know what their doing. Quite honestly, I wouldn’t admit me after seeing how impressive every else is. </p>

<p>So, in a way, I am glad that the process is holistic. Those who deserve it will get in, and everyone else that deserves it will end up at the Michigans, Virginias, and Vanderbilts of the world.</p>

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<p>I agree that it is a crapshoot. The above definition is exactly what it is. My D was accepted to one of the top schools, waitlisted at two others, and rejected from all of the others. She thinks the school accepted her because of the major she listed, the waitlist was because she attended a summer program at one and wrote a particularly good essay for the other. She may or may not be correct, but it still felt like a crapshoot.</p>

<p>People who have been accepted to these schools don’t want it to be called a crapshoot, because it denigrates their accomplishment. But my D will readily admit that her acceptance to a top school was a crapshoot.</p>

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<p>I totally agree with you here. With the large numbers of top students applying these days, anyone who is actually admitted (assuming they aren’t children of presidents or celebrities themselves) should acknowledge that there is an element of luck involved when you are accepted to a school that only takes <10% of it’s applicants. I don’t see why that’s so hard to accept because there’s no shame in that fact unless you are a total egomaniac.</p>

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You nailed it!</p>

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<p>Selective colleges have too much at stake in making admissions a crapshoot - especially when they can only accept ~1 in 10 students.</p>

<p>Ivy League colleges let it be known that they could fill their class several times over with 4.0/2300+ SATs. They aren’t looking for well-rounded kids, their looking for kids who are extremely talented in one area that can contribute to an overall well-rounded classroom.</p>

<p>If you look at this girl who’s whining about not getting into HYP it’s ridiculous. First of, she doesn’t demonstrate a great talent at all - just another well-rounded student. Secondly, her SAT score is 2120 - that’s below the 50th percentile at Harvard, Yale and Princeton - simply put: it’s not good enough to get in. And guessing from her personality, her essay probably came of as very entitled.</p>

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<p>Ivy League colleges cannot fill their classes several times over with 4.0/2300+ kids, I’m not sure where you’re getting these numbers. They can’t even fill their classes once over with 4.0/2300+ kids…there are >10,000 spots every year and maybe 5,000 of the kids you specified.</p>

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<p>elc404-
I think you’re counting the total number of slots at Ivy League school, not the number of slots at each. Harvard admitted fewer than 2,200 students last year. I think your estimate of 5,000 4.0/2300 kids is probably in the ballpark, so that would mean Harvard could fill its class more than twice over with 4.0/2300 kids, assuming they all applied.</p>

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<p><a href=“http://media.collegeboard.com/digitalServices/pdf/research/SAT-Percentile-Ranks-Composite-CR-M-W-2012.pdf[/url]”>http://media.collegeboard.com/digitalServices/pdf/research/SAT-Percentile-Ranks-Composite-CR-M-W-2012.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>There is a similar chart somewhere for ACT. I see 7700 students in a graduating class with 2300 and there are probably another 6000 who have 33 ACT score. </p>

<p>Add to that superscoring and it is not unimaginable to find 12000 kids who might have applied to at least one Ivy with reasonably high scores.</p>

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<p>2300 score is too high. They accept plenty of kids with 2100 and up. And you don’t have to be a 4.0 student either. Not all 4.0 students are equal.</p>

<p>None of it matters anyway. It is what it is. People will always complain no matter what.</p>

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<p>That aritcle is literally spot on. I applaud the girl. </p>

<p>I would add that the “racist cupcake sales” at UC Berkely was great too: <a href=“http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/27/us/california-racial-bake-sale[/url]”>http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/27/us/california-racial-bake-sale&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Honestly it is a HUGE crapshoot as even my interviewers have even told me. I also highly agree with the notion that ppl who say it is not a creapshoot are the ones who have gotten in to an ivy/other top school and don’t want it to seem like a lesser accomplishment.</p>

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<p>Not sure why people feel this minimizes their accomplishment. I think people like to feel that their essays were so compelling, touching and awe-inspiring that they HAD to get in. It would be fun to actually reviews essays of those who got in with those who didn’t. I suspect that would not seem that different - after all we’re talking about HS students here. </p>

<p>Anyone brave enough to share their essays, even in redacted form?</p>