<p>Narcissa, I know his girlfriend really goes to Harvard (I know Jian quite well). I just don’t know for sure if that’s the real motive - only that it’s the explanation he has given me.</p>
<p>Interestingly, I remember from press releases that Jian Li was rejected from Harvard (along with Princeton and others). Apparently, the suit he filed must have provided him with the “hook” that made Harvard admissions reconsider.</p>
<p>^and he couldn’t have had other hooks?</p>
<p>Well, if he was rejected by Harvard as a Freshman admit, then they must not have needed whatever “hook” he might have possessed. I’m just saying it is interesting that they accepted him as a transfer with presumably the same credentials he possessed as a (rejected) Freshman applicant, so perhaps the lawsuit is what now made him worthy of admission(?)</p>
<p>So what that he is your friend? He still seems to me like a pathetic case. So he didn’t get into Princeton. DEAL WITH IT. Get a life…sure, i’d be bummed, but i’d cope with it. I wouldn’t sue Princeton…and for heaven’s sake, if he couldn’t deal with the competition of getting in, it’s not Princeton’s fault. The colleges make their choice, and if what he conveyed about himself in his essays and application is half of what he conveyed through the lawsuit to Princeton, I am not surprised at why he didnt get in.</p>
<p>um he didn’t really want to go to princeton, he just didn’t like that black ppl and hispanic people and even white people could get in with his stats or less. besides he doesn’t hate princeton particularly, he just doesn’t like Affirmative Action and chose to sue princeton</p>
<p>he’s not suing cuz hes mad that he didn’t get in, hes suing cuz if he wasn’t ASIAN he would’ve gotten in, and that’s discrimination</p>
<p>I don’t think Jian Li sued Princeton. He filed a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights in the Department of Education. He doesn’t get any money. The complaint requests an investigation for the discriminatory practices that take place in Princeton admissions.</p>
<p>it wasn’t an actual LAWSUIT where u go to court…</p>
<p>but i don’t know much about lawsuits or whatever</p>
<p>you --i mean your friend, could have had an essay that didn’t show any other side of you than academics (sorry, your friend)
do you realize how many people applying to these schools have the same qualifications?</p>
<p>lol yes. BUT if he was black/hispanic and everything was EXACTLY the same–essays, scores, etc–you all agre he would’ve gotten in, no?</p>
<p>no, he would have gotten rejected</p>
<p>and you know that how?</p>
<p>Dear god…</p>
<p>the same way you know he would have gotten accepted</p>
<p>i know he would have been accepted because he had good grades, ECs, and SAT scores. AND he was waitlisted, so princeton was not overly offended by his application or anything. and honestly, there are quite a few (10 or more) URMs at my school who have gotten in with worse stats, ECs, essays, etc. don’t say “their essays were probably better”–that is complete BS as essays may not be as predictable as anythign else, but they are still usually quite predictable. so it mite have worked for one or two ppl, but could not have produced such a huge discrepancy as it did, if racial factors were not considered. and everyone here knows that URMs have an advantage, so don’t act like someone being asian isn’t a disadvantage</p>
<p>I’m sure there are a lot of applicants that felt they should have been accepted to their first choice school because they had good grades, ECs, and SAT scores. We don’t know what is going on behind those adcom closed doors. We can only speculate why or why not. Narcissa, did you read the URMs final submitted essays? This whole college application process is like a puzzle. I think the school is trying to fit the pieces as best as they can. It doesn’t mean they are always right and I’m sure they make their share of mistakes.</p>
<p>Oh, i don’t think they made a mistake in this case. As I said before, if a person is going to make such a big deal about their rejection, that is probably a trait which was conveyed through the interview and/or essays, and an ample reason for a rejection. But that is just my personal opinion. I don’t feel the need to discuss this particular case though, since it’s a done deal. Even though I might feel that affirmative action is a tad unfair, I do understand its grounds and accept it. If your friend feels that it is because of affirmative action that he got rejected, he should be suing not only Princeton but all of the other schools which rejected him. And why Princeton in particular?? Can he explain that? I highly doubt that. The obvious reason is a feeling of resentment because of his rejection - since it probably was his first choice. He could very well have “prompted for an investigation” at Harvard or UPenn as well. Why didn’t he do it? The fact that he only did it for Princeton is very suspicious…</p>
<p>We need to put admissions into perspective. Of all the things to get worked up about, not getting into (HYP, Ivy, Tier 1, Top 10, Top 10 International–see how far this goes???) is not among them.</p>
<p>I think schools are really paying attention to the polished applications and such. They can notice when an applicant has obviously had special SAT training and has had professional help on their essays, and I believe elite schools have publicly acknowledged that they are aware and sick of it.</p>
<p>I was reading some of the earlier posts in this thread, and noted those in which people said that it was a bad thing for a HS kid to have “unfocussed” ECs. </p>
<p>I’ve read this many times, but you know what? I think that 15 and 16 yr old kids OUGHT to be exploring lots of different activities. The idea that a 14 yr old should be pre-professional in his or her approach to every aspect of life is just wrong. The more I think about it, the notion that a kid who has identified one thing as their official “passion” and pursued it vigorously enough to win national awards is somehow “better” than a kid with broader interests or willingness to explore–or even <gasp> continue to pursue something that they aren’t hugely talented at just because they like it!–is unbelievably short-sighted.</gasp></p>
<p>And it is directly contrary to the ideals of the liberal arts education.</p>