<p>Being overly critical of the OP is ridiculous. Lucky for him/her, they got in. I know some of you feel cheated, but thats life. Affirmative Action, being Poor, coming from an influential family, etc. are all advantages people have that they may not deserve. Oh well, life’s not fair.</p>
<p>
And just because YOU think the OP isn’t qualified doesn’t mean you’re right.
And yes, they obviously did decide she is qualified because ummm…she was taken off the waitlist…</p>
<p>
or just say “I got into UMich.” When you tell people where you got in do you actually add “based on my qualifications” to the end?</p>
<p>
wrong. grow up.</p>
<p>POETGRL - couldn’t have said it any better myself. ‘who you know’ is a function of who you have gotten to know. she worked for Kerry and I assumed was well regarded and earned that letter of rec that was offered. kudos.</p>
<p>Ha ha I’m off the waitlist now too! I’ll see you in the summer, tilohnine.</p>
<p>Congratulations on getting of the wait list. Guys, do realize it is not all about grades, there are other factors that will influence decisions, such as connections, and if you are an individual who has good connections and someone who is smart, then the probability of you succeeding is higher. And do recognize that the OP was able to get that internship in the first place, so that already shows that she is qualified. The only time (imo) where I’d say someone does not deserve to get into a great University with low grades, is when that individual gets in based on being the son/daughter of someone who is kind of important. That was not the case with the OP, therefore she (imo) deserved it.
Again, congrats!</p>
<p>Thanks for having my back. You all are fabulous people :)</p>
<p>Brosen is right. I dont care what anyone else says.</p>
<p>This is such a flame, why are you guys even responding to the OP? Do you really think that if she actually got a letter from Kerry she would be publicizing it on a message board…please.</p>
<p>Noo your right wahoomb, I’m making it up.</p>
<p>Haha some people are ridiculous. This is a message board for God’s sake.</p>
<p>lmao…Tilohnine…you have so many haters(elitists)…just keep shaking them off.
They want to be you soooooo bad. Do well at Umich =)</p>
<p>“They want to be you soooooo bad”</p>
<p>too bad im already a student at UMICH
Its just that some people work their butts off and dont get accepted and some people well… you know what im talking about. its nothing to brag about.</p>
<p>This is interesting because Kerry didn’t even go to Michigan! I know a kid who was waitlisted with test scores and grades within Michigan’s range who’s parents/grandparents have given over a million dollars. Surely that would have more influence than a Yale/BC educated senator!!!</p>
<p>Oh for heaven sakes, people. I’m sure it wasn’t so much that the recommendation was from Kerry per se. It’s just that the recommendation probably helped them understand the candidate’s capacity to perform well in a high-demand internship, and perhaps the OP’s original application did not emphasize this aspect of her or his candidacy. When applicants are more or less equally qualified by adcom standards, and then admissions receives info that gives a deeper dimension to one candidate, it helps them decide.</p>
<p>And no, there is no planet upon which donations by a candidates RELATIVES to a particular school should trump a recommendation that speaks to the character and capacity of an applicant. Now, in truth, it often does. But that doesn’t make it ethical or an accurate assessment of the candidate’s character.</p>
<p>Constable, are you suggesting the op did not work his or her but off to get in? I’m not sure how you could make that assessment. Stats alone don’t really tell that tale, given grade inflation and school rigor.</p>
<p>Cheers,
K</p>
<p>They gave a million dollars to the University!?!</p>
<p>They should have used that money for a few houses, and left over money to spare for bribing someone in the admissions office.</p>
<p>Just for the record, I have a 3.4 UW and 3.6 W GPA but because of the competitive grading scale, the GPA’s is really lower then it should be. My school’s scale is:</p>
<p>100-94 A
93-90 B+
89-84 B
83-80 C+
etc…
And on top of that scale, we do not get a full additional credit for AP’s we only get a 0.5 and nothing for honors. Being that I have taken 5 APs and 8 honor courses, this has a significant effect on my GPA. </p>
<p>My school JUST switched to the normal 90-100 grading scale which most of Virginia follows which would give me a 3.8 UW GPA and 4.2 W GPA, but it is not effective until next year meaning I still have a 3.6. </p>
<p>I’m a horrible test taker and only got a 27 on ACT…I guess you can bash me for that?</p>
<p>I have been a member of the National Honor Society & Spanish Honor Society for 3 years. I have been a member of Varsity Soccer for 4 years and Varsity Basketball for 3. I made all district and all region for soccer or 3 years and hopefully this year as well. I have been the SGA student body president for 2 years. I spent a summer in Lebanon where I helped with war efforts and learned elementary Arabic (an amazing experience).I am an active member of the Young Democrats club at my school. I have won numerous awards for community service from both my school and my county. I have been taking a political science course for two years which requires you to work 100 hours in an internship (per semester). My junior year internship was for an public policy think tank. My senior year internship is with Senator Kerry and it was VERY competitive amongst others in my class. The overall student is picked by the Mr. Kerry himself.</p>
<p>That is just some of the many things I have accomplished while in high school. I am not unqualified for Michigan. I have the extracurriculars to prove that. I may not have the highest test score or the most impressive GPA, but I work my ass off to try to do the best I can and I am so sick of people telling me “I don’t deserve it” or the acceptance “was handed to me” because that is not even close to true.</p>
<p>Give me a freaking break.</p>
<p>Don’t take things so personally… Just stop depending on others to get you into colleges because you’re too lazy and stupid to get in on your own accord. </p>
<p>Just kidding</p>
<p>You may not necessarily be unqualified…but with a 3.4 and 27 ACT, you’re right on the edge.</p>
<p>Congrats tilohnine. :-)</p>
<p>oh boo hoo. good for you.</p>
<p>like my little rhyme?</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>I think you are a well qualified candidate - you were the one mis-representing yourself in your earlier posts. The letter from Kerry is great but you deserve to get in - people are giving you a hard time about it because you made it look like it was all about the letter and nothing to do with you.</p>