What *not* to do in your college application

uchicagoalum
Fri, 15 Feb 2008 22:08:36 +0000

I would disagree that the 20’s are a time of pause and reflection in terms of making post-BA service jobs acceptable. Temping for a few months after graduation to make money while you interview for full time positions, or working as a clerk for a year before graduate school is all fine and well. But if you have attended Chicago, or any other selective research university where large sums of other peoples’ money goes into your education, you have an ethical obligation to do something becoming of your endowed capabilities. No major donor subsidized your schooling out of a concern for your love of learning after all. So when six months at a coffee shop turns into four years, and the amount of your social contribution beyond that boils down to spending three or four hours a day playing scrabble and reading blogs, there is something seriously awry.