So Much Love, So Few Spots

Verbal
Sat, 28 Mar 2009 20:51:56 +0000

I’m not sure if we are moving the discussion to the more relevant thread, or continuing it here, but I will go ahead and leave my comments here. I come from a low-income, first-generation family. I scored a 2010 the first time on the SAT in March, then spend a fair amount of summer with the Blue Book and scored a 2220 in October. Even with those scores I feel as though I could have gone up a fair bit higher, but I wasn’t willing to waste my time on such a pursuit. So, although I have no knowledge of what prep classes are like, my general inclination would be to say they are unnecessary and overrated.

BalletGirl, although I can see why you would relate to Schwartz, his proposal and your proposal have significant and important differences. He is of the mind that once a student reaches a level of general competitiveness, splitting hairs between them is futile. You seem to believe that the inherit differences that colleges have in campus environment, faculty preferences, and geography is irrelevant. That’s why it is far easier to be intrigued by Schwartz’s ideas, although they still are not ones that I feel should be implemented.

Dan, your answers all seem very genuine and you are a true asset to this community. Assuming that all admissions committees are run by people like you, my faith in the process has been strengthened.