A RANT ON RIP-OFFS lol

Applying to College
1

<p>I know that this is the WRONG audience to preach to, but I'm gonna try anyway!</p>

<p>Look, I don't do bad in school. Heck, I do pretty well. However, I'm not one of those people who "cry" when they get a bad grade, or join/lead clubs because it will look good, or analyze every step I take just to make sure I'm on the "right track." The activities I'm involved in and the things that I do are because I want to, because I like them, and because I actually care. Don't get me wrong; I'm sure there are plenty of people out there, on this site in particular, that feel deeply passionate about something, do as much as they can, and deserve the best. However, I feel like a lot of people do things or start things or persuade themselves into liking things because they KNOW it'll look good on paper. And when it comes down to it though, that's mostly what they care about.</p>

<p>Where am I going with this rant?
I'm motivated. I'm hardworking. I'm a thinker, if I do say so myself. Yet, I fear that there are lots of other kids who have better grades than me, and study a little bit harder than me, and read that extra page in the book, but who DON'T REALLY CARE and will end up doing better than I. Don't give me that speech, "Try harder" or "They deserve it!" Maybe I'm wrong, but A LOT of these kids just go for the grades to make their parents happy, make their transcript look good, and then BAM! have no idea about how they want to use it or, even more disturbing, don't care and plan on not using it. </p>

<p>So, what's gonna happen to little, old me??? What's going to happen to the kid with the passion, the mindset, and the drive to do better and make his/her mark? I mean, damn, the stuff I want to do, and will do, I'm pretty damn good at I think, and I have the motivation to do even better.</p>

<p>Does anyone else feel this way? That they're going to get gipped out of something--whether it be a top education or once in a lifetime opportunity--to someone who worked hard for all the wrong reasons?</p>

<p>This really doesn't get across the message I was trying to convey. I'm sure some of you prob. think I'm some self-centered jerk who doesn't really care, got one bad grade, and am now trying to turn things around. Whatever.
Maybe you all can put that pieces togeather; I'm procrastinating (again...)!</p>

2

<p>I agree with alot fo what you say. However picture yourself in the future trying to secure a job, when interviewed and everything if the employer cant see past whats on paper, do you really want to work for a person like that. With your expierience I believe you can awe employers with your personality and they should see past the fact that you did not go to a top tier university or do everything for the wrong reasons. In the end I think it will turn out alright</p>

3

<p>Yes, and posting on CC about your problem will really solve this. My advice is worry about your business. Does it matter how these kids get motivated and what their life goals might be? Neither you nor they are entitle to success, it all comes out to the tangibles, the results. </p>

<p>Sure, you might be more passionate, but so what? I know many passionate people who are lazy nuts. They preach and whine, and preach and whine. They are passionate about their issues, but they don’t seem to fight for it. I’m sure you don’t fall under this category, but we are a society of meritocracy. It’s the results that count, not the cause.</p>

<p>If these kids lack the passion and work hard only because of other reasons beside passion, then those will catch up to them in the long run. Why worry about it?</p>

4

<p>If you are a true intellectual and ‘care’ about what you learn, that’s great for you and good for the world. Unfortunately, if you don’t play the game, those people who do things just to ‘look good’ will get into better colleges and come across better opportunities. </p>

<p>Learn to play their game - get good grades and score well on tests, write a unique college essay, have your teachers give sincere recommendations - and you’ll do fine.</p>

5

<p>If you have a passion, it’ll get exposed and used to the best of its abilities no matter what college you go to. You just have to keep working at it. Someone will recognize it and give you an opportunity.</p>

<p>I don’t disagree with what you’re saying. In fact, I felt like you were describing me with that second paragraph; I don’t have a ton of ECs, but the ones I do have I do because I genuinely want to do them, and I have pretty good grades. But I feel that as long as you get a decent education and have the drive in a particular area, you’ll be successful.</p>

6

<p>My advice: don’t make excuses, and don’t blame your problems on other people and your perception of their motivations.</p>

7

<p>You just come off as bitter to me. The fact is, the people <em>do</em> deserve those top SAT scores, top grades, etc. They worked for it, didn’t they? Who cares why they did it, the fact they did it says something about them. They went the extra mile even when they didn’t really want to and that’s why they’re the ones getting into the top schools.</p>

8

<p>WatchMeShine - I’ve thought the same thing. Now, I guess you could consider me one of those people that do things I’m not really passionate about in order to stay on the “right track.” How many people actually enjoy alumni mingles, networking events, that kind of crap? Not many, and I’m not one of them.</p>

<p>But the key is this: Sometimes you have to grind out the distasteful stuff to get to do what you want to do. Maybe you don’t have a passion for science. But if you get C’s in the sciences, what does that do to your dream of learning from X nobel laureate in english at Dartmouth? So yes, maybe the kids in your classes are killing themselves simply because their parents told them to. Yet I’ll bet a lot of them are simply willing themselves to perform well at a necessary evil.</p>

<p>So yeah, they deserve the better grades and a better chance to go to that dream school of yours. How can you say otherwise? The ability to work hard and do well at tasks you don’t enjoy is a skill you’ll need for college, and later on, work.</p>

9

<p>so youre annoyed cause other people work harder than you, and you’re left biting the dust?</p>

<p>kthnksbye.</p>

10

<p>I agree with you Collectiv, the kids might not be passionate about being President of X club or taking AP Whatever, but they might be passionate about studying at Harvard Law, and will do whatever it takes to get there. What’s it to YOU if what they have to do is study harder and work harder, even if they don’t enjoy it? We all have things to do that we don’t enjoy. I can bet tons of adults hate their jobs, but they do them anyway because they like the money. This is the same.</p>

11

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<p>Maybe they are studying a little bit harder and reading that extra page and doing better because they really DO care. How do you know they don’t?</p>

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<p>For things like SAT scores, that could be sheer talent. The grades… not so much. That’s why the advice is always “keep your GPA up, no matter your SAT scores.” Your GPA shows what you can DO, and DOING is what counts the most in life.</p>

12

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<p>Wouldn’t “sheer talent” and not gpa be the true gauge of potential? GPA only represents how well you were able to do relative to your classmates.</p>

13

<p>Not necessarily… GPA is only relative if grades are given by percentile. And “potential” can be measured in many ways. Pure potential? You might be right that someone who can score 2400 without preparation has potential. But it’s likely not applicable potential if that person has a 2.0 GPA. Owlice is right; in college and especially in the workplace, nobody cares if you have potential you never use.</p>

14

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<p>Fine, but to what extent can hard work make up for pure potential in lucrative, highly sought after jobs (i.e.law, investment banking, pure science, academia, etc). GPA/class rank in high school is always relative to your classmates; if your gpa is not a true representation of your effort, your percentile is. Going to an urban, low economic area and getting a 4.0 with an 1800 SAT is not the same as getting a 4.0 and a 2200 at Exeter. Yes, work ethic does matter when establishing how successful one will be in a particular field, but you’re making a mistake in believing that an employer will excuse your errors just because you put in a little extra effort.</p>

15

<p>Okay people, there’s no such thing as “deserving” a top SAT score. It simply is a snapshot of aptitude. </p>

<p>Beefs, What are you talking about? GPA is not at all relative to classmate performance. Percentile and class rank definitely, but not GPA. (in reference to post 12)</p>

16

<p>“Yes, work ethic does matter when establishing how successful one will be in a particular field, but you’re making a mistake in believing that an employer will excuse your errors just because you put in a little extra effort.”</p>

<p>I never said that. A brilliant worker can also be very sloppy in the details. But someone with a strong work ethic who double checks his/her work would catch said errors and correct them. You overrate intelligence. Of course it’s necessary to be one of the best, but you also need a comparable drive and attention to detail to go along with it. I’d ask if you were just being defensive because you think you’re a genius and that’s all that matters, but somehow I don’t think I’ll get a straight answer.</p>

17

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<p>Read what you just wrote. “who worked hard.” If someone worked harder than you, what right do you have to complain? Okay, I take Calculus even though it’s not required. I really hate math, but keep a 97% average in there. My friend loves math and has an 80% average. I studied for hours for a test while she studied for less time. Obviously I got a higher score on the exam. I’m only taking the class for the GPA boost and because it’d look good, but she’s taking it because she likes it. So what, my A is worth less than her B because she likes math? Does she deserse more opportunities because she likes something and I’m only doing it for my GPA?</p>

18

<p>If you truly have the passion, the mindset, and the drive to do better, you should shine as long as you have the talent. If you don’t have the talent…you’d better try something you’re talented at.</p>

<p>Try looking at it from an employer’s standpoint. They want to hire someone who gets results for whatever cause. Who cares if they aren’t enthusiastic about their work. If they work better than the other “enthusiastic” candidate and produce better results, then they deserve to be hired.</p>

<p>If someone else works harder than a “truly passionate” person like yourself, you might need to be a bit more “passionate”.</p>