<p>"The college-bound LBJ High School Liberal Arts and Science Academy senior racked up more than 400 hours volunteering in local hospitals and libraries. He plays the piano, is a first-degree black belt in Kung Fu and got a perfect score on both the SAT and ACT college entrance exams. Ghosh had mailed out all of his college applications and was just waiting for the acceptance letters to come pouring in.</p>
<p>But the letters that began filling his mailbox were of a different kind.</p>
<p>The first rejection came from Stanford University in California, but the hits kept coming. From the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. From Ivy League institutions: University of Pennsylvania, Princeton and Yale, where he was wait-listed. But the biggest disappointment came from Harvard University, which Ghosh had chosen as his "dream school" based on the course offerings. Even the Plan II honors program at the University of Texas turned him down.....</p>
<p>"It was disappointing to know I did my best on those two tests, got the best possible score and it still wasn't good enough," said Ghosh, who is fourth in his graduating class. Ghosh, who is interested in biomedical engineering and medical school, said he is seriously considering CalTech and Rice.</p>
<p>Ghosh's father, Nirmalendu Ghosh, said he is also upset about the slew of rejections. He quit his job three years ago so he could help shuttle his son to extracurricular activities, including to work at a UT research lab that he knew would impress college admissions officers."</p>
<p>His father quits his job to shuttle him around, presumably also pays big bucks for test prep and other services, and the kid is only 4th in his class?</p>
<p>Presumably the schools that rejected him also could see that the student didn't have as much on the ball as did students without that kind of intensive parental help.</p>
<p>Also, why would anyone need to quit their job to shuttle their student to an EC? Presumably, any fulltime job would allow the parent to pay for someone to drive their student if transportation truly was the issue.</p>
<p>I'm also wondering why the Plan II honors program at UT turned him down. Such programs usually accept strictly by stats. I guess being 4th in one's class isn't good enough. I'm curious about where #1, 2, 3 got in.</p>