<p>In my freudian psychology class, which is mostly seniors, we were talking about this whole college frenzy and how this obsession is a manifestation of deep fears we have that go WAY deeper than college acceptance. Acceptance to Harvard itself does not cause this much pain, this much anxiety, this much worry. But we, as hyperachiebers and as a society, have made it more than just college acceptance. We bind the forthcoming decision to our sense of self-worth and self-respect. For many of us, from what I am reading here, the thin/fat letters we will receive sum up the value of our entire lives. Amidst the chaotic state of all our lives, the inherent uncertainty of an 18 year old soul, it is so easy for us to place all our self-worth in a simple, concrete external occurence. How irrational is that?
You are clearly all brilliant, you don’t need an acceptance letter to tell you that. The ivy adcoms are imperfect machines, doing their best to hastily choose the best one out of every ten geniuses. The adcoms ARE NOT finely calibrated meters of a human mind and soul. Looking at these frantic posts, placing the entire world on the undependable back of ivy admissions, I think we could all do ourselves a favor by acknowleging that we are more than the contents of a foreboding harvard envelope. Yea I would ADORE acceptance, but, ya know what, I love myself whether I get it or not. If your sense of self can stand such false external evaluations, you are set for life.</p>
<p>Very true. Well spoken/written.</p>
<p>bravo
*applause</p>
<p>Yes, but I don't love myself... But that has nothing to do with the Harvard letter, though. LOL.</p>
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<blockquote> <p>Amidst the chaotic state of all our lives, the inherent uncertainty of an 18 year old soul, it is so easy for us to place all our self-worth in a simple, concrete external occurence. How irrational is that?<<</p> </blockquote>
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<p>I think you are making it all more complex than it really is. I think society's obsession with Harvard and the other selective schools is simply about winning and losing. Nothing like a competition or a hierachy to get people all worked up and emotional. For better or for worse, getting into Harvard is winning first place in the College Admissions game. </p>
<p>Nothing wrong with wanting to win first place, just so long as you recognize that it really is a game up at that level - that whether you go to a top 5 school or a top 50 school really won't make any significant difference in your success in life. It feels great to win the state football championship, and it feels great to "win" at college admissions and get the fat letter from Harvard. But if you lose either one of those, please understand that your life will still go on, and if you work hard and treat other people well, you will be very successful.</p>
<p>Maslow's theory: hierarchy of needs</p>
<p>self-explanatory. one of the levels is self-esteem</p>