<p>Few thoughts…</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I liked xiggi’s approach to keep things confidential. As I mentioned before, I find it hard to do that. Direct questions of whether I got into a particular school etc. is just the norm. All my attempts to dodge questions like those have come off as awkward and sometimes even unintentionally rude. Whats a polite way to avoid the question?</p></li>
<li><p>My school doesn’t send many kids to HYPSM, and it is a really big deal here. This news spread very, very quickly. The few alums of my school who were lucky enough to get in past years are somewhat remembered.</p></li>
<li><p>People at my school think Harvard is much more prestigious, and are surprised I “turned down” Harvard for Stanford.</p></li>
<li><p>I don’t like the broadcast/facebook idea. I think it will makes things worse than they are. My concern with the case by case approach is, as I mentioned before, news like this spreads rapidly. I feel it’d just degenerate into a “broadcast” and place me into the same bucket as a facebook announcement.</p></li>
<li><p>How do I deal with the questions “did you get into Harvard/Stanford?” (yes, I do get that question). S is easy but what about H?</p></li>
<li><p>Lastly, I think its too late to dismiss this as a rumor/joke. I let it sit too long and I clearly said I declined H, and hence why I came here for practical advice. I think its at the point that its no longer a miscommunication but a lie. (I definitely learned my lesson…)</p></li>
</ol>