The Inevitable Why were you ____?

YeloPen
Wed, 29 Dec 2010 18:03:53 +0000

Can you believe she got deferred?



And yes, I can. If your daughter does get into Yale eventually, trust me, it will be a humbling experience. Your daughter has achieved great things, but it’s not hard for me to believe that she got deferred given the immense accomplishments of some of my peers. Not to take anything away from her achievements, but hundreds of people across the country are Siemens semifinalists every year. You are competing with people who win International Chemistry Olympiad medals (notice the plural), while being an amazing pianist and athlete, or people who win national music AND computer programming competitions, not just one or the other. These are accomplished by much, much fewer people.

This is not to say I did anything more extraordinary; I doubt I’d have gotten in early either. It is simply not as easy as people think it is, especially early. That said, best luck to both of you getting in regular decision; I think it’s fairly likely that it’ll happen.