<p>note to self - 1) do not call newspaper about DD or DS; 2) make DS start Oboe lesson asap.</p>
<p>taking psat 10th and 11th grade year is helpful. the 10th grade year one does not count in the nm competition but it's good practice.......only the one taken in 11th grade does.</p>
<p>be sure to check into the ACT PLUS (w/writing) too. The ACT has score choice.</p>
<p>lol, Dad II</p>
<p>I have read this thread all the way through and I just have to say that I think there have been way too many assumptions made about the student and the dad. I also think that the point of the article was simply to show just how difficult college admissions have become and how devastating rejection can be to both student and parent. </p>
<p>We do not know how the student conducted himself in interviews. We do not know whether the father made a pest of himself or helicoptered. We do not know whether the essays were good, bad or ugly. There has been so much speculation here that is at its root, just plain wrong. </p>
<p>Could we assume for one minute that the father has always had his son's best interest at heart and that the son truly wanted to go to Harvard, regardless of his father's desires? Could we have a bit of compassion for the student and the father, both of whom may have made mistakes in the college app process (of course, we didn't make any)? And could we all agree that the original article didn't tell us anything we didn't already know about the admissions process, which is that it can be unpredictable?</p>
<p>To me, the student sounds impressive and the father is to be commended for doing what he could to further his son's future. They did the best they could at the time with the information at hand. That is all anyone can do. Now, they are disappointed and/or devastated. But, my guess is that this kid and his father will overcome the disappointment and excel.</p>
<br>
<blockquote> <p>There aren't a lot of oboe players.>></p> </blockquote>
<br>
<p>I hate to be the bearer of bad news...but being an oboe player isn't going to get you accepted into a competitive school. DD left high school as one of the top ranked oboe players in our state. It didn't help her a LICK in college admissions....not one bit. She does receive a very small scholarship each term for playing in her college orchestra (they do appreciate her playing...), but beyond that...playing the oboe was something she did because she liked it. </p>
<p>Now...if you kid owns their own TUBA...that may be another story!!</p>
<p>No assumption or speculation = No CC, I assume.</p>
<p>I think this student's dad must be on the verge of being laid off and then decide to quit so he can say he quit to support his son. The decision does not make sense unless his mom is very succesful as the CEO from Pepsi.</p>
<p>pipmom, I think quitting a job to shuttle a kid around is .... a bit over the top; I know that made me raise my eyebrows!</p>
<p>thumper, I was just answering Xiggi's question about why oboists are so special. Surely you're not going to disagree with me about oboists being special, are you, regardless of whether being an oboist helps or doesn't in college admissions? :) </p>
<p>My kid wants to learn to play the bagpipes, more because so many people in our neighborhood like to share their music with us and he wants to retalia... er, share back than for any other reason. I told him to learn some tunes on one of the resident recorders and then I'd get him a practice chanter and see how he does.</p>
<p>I'd love it if he took up oboe, however. Or tuba!</p>
<p>Well stated, Pipmom.</p>
<p>
[quote]
what so special about an oboe and college admissions, by the way?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Oh, owlice, that was mostly my musing going astray! It is just one of those things that comes up with great regularity on CC, especially when posters are trying to decipher the secrets of college admissions.</p>
<p>This said, playing the tuba under the bright lights of Friday Night Football in central Texas, that is sumthing! Ask Cur! :)</p>
<p>Sorry; literalist here. I'll go back to my corner now, and pick up a dunce cap on the way!</p>
<p>I dunno about tubas of bassoons. The sound of my kid practicing would have driven us nuts. Adcoms shoud give those kids an extra point or two may be just for the parental suffering!</p>
<p>
[quote]
This said, playing the tuba under the bright lights of Friday Night Football in central Texas, that is sumthing! Ask Cur!
[/quote]
</p>
<p>In a precision military marching band, no less. In a uniform clearly designed for fall in the mountains of far North Texas or as some call it "Colorado". When she'd snap a step turn people would duck. The second time. ;)</p>
<p>The irony is that I suspect that what Nirmalendu Ghosh did in terms of quitting his job to help his son get into top colleges is probably something that would be greatly admired in Indian culture.</p>
<p>A few months ago, I met a computer scientist, who had immigrated to the U.S. from India. He told me that his daughter has a learning disability, and he had quit his job a couple of years ago to help her get through a college prep program at a regular public high school.</p>
<p>He said that he'd read and interpret her text books to her, show her how to do her homework, etc.</p>
<p>With tears in his eyes, he said that she had been accepted to a college that was in another state, and didn't want to go to the college in their town that he wanted her to go to. The only way that his daughter was getting her high school diploma was due to his help, he said, and he felt that there was no way that she would be able to graduate from college without it.</p>
<p>He wanted have her live on campus in their current city so she could have her dream of living on campus. He planned to take courses at the college -- not the same courses she was taking (so she wouldn't stand out as having Dad with her all of the time). Then, he planned to meet with her every day at the library to help her with her homework.</p>
<p>He wasn't trying to get his daughter to go to Harvard or to be a biochemist, just a college graduate in any field she could get a degree in. The colleges that had accepted her were second tier colleges.</p>
<p>When we first started talking, I thought that he might be one of those parents who thought that their kid wasn't too bright because they "only" got a 2100 on the SAT, and "only" had a 3.5. This wasn't the case. The dad said that despite his spending lots of time helping his D prepare for the SAT, she pulled less than a 1500 (on all 3 parts) on it. </p>
<p>Anyway, he clearly loved his D just as the dad we've been discussing here, Nirmalendu Ghosh, clearly loves his son and wants the best for him. It's just that when it comes to parents doing everything possible including leaving their jobs to get their students accepted to places like Harvard, that kind of behavior is not what opens doors or leads to admiration in this country. i suspect that his son, who obviously is very smart and talented, would have achieved just as much without his dad's making such plans and sacrifices for him.</p>
<p>"that kind of behavior is not what opens doors or leads to admiration in this country."</p>
<p>...except of course, when they leave their jobs so that a kid can get better athletic training so that they can get to the olympics...</p>
<p>BTW, it isn't oboe or tuba or bagpipes or bassoons. My kid played (and still plays) the banjo, and got into a great school.</p>
<p>Top that, you CC parents!!</p>
<p>I am one of those dinosaurs who still thinks that school is supposed to be about education, and that high academic achievement is to be commended, not criticized. I commend young Mr. Ghosh, and I also commend his devoted and self-sacrificing father. I commend Lyndon B. Johnson High Schools Liberal Arts and Science Academy, as well. As for the colleges which absurdly chose to reject this academically well-focused young man--its their loss. Someday, when society starts to benefit from the future Dr. Ghoshs scientific research, those short-sighted adcoms will hang their fuzzy heads in shame. Savvy University of Chicago, my similarly hardworking, serious student daughters dream school (for which she is presently waitlisted), wisely chose to admit the academically and personally exemplary Mr. Ghosh. My daughter would be honored to have Mr. Ghosh as a college classmate, but if that is not to be, then she fully expects to encounter similar hardworking, serious students wherever else she attends college. In my opinion, society needs to encourage, support, and reward students such as Navonil Ghosh, because society will be the ultimate benefactor of such students commitment to excellence.</p>
<p>"The irony is that I suspect that what the dad did in terms of quitting his job to help his son get into top colleges is probably something that would be greatly admired in Indian culture."</p>
<p>No, the irony is that having a parent that is incarcerated is a hook while having a parent who made sacrifices to drive his kid to his medical research job is a dealbreaker. And Asian parents are warped and have bizarre expectations because they don't immediately understand how this makes sense.</p>
<p>
[quote]
"Navonil is a really great, hardworking, serious student," said Jason Flowers, who was Ghosh's history teacher last year. "He does kind of stand out. I think we were all surprised he didn't get into any of the Ivys ... But one thing we've learned is that the admissions game can be very unpredictable."
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I do think his test scores to a great extent indicate he's got to be pretty damned good. However, did you notice how "damning with faint praise" this paragraph seemed. 'Kind of stand out'? The people getting perfect SAT scores in high school not only stood out, they tended to blow doors. Maybe this guy didn't get tremendous recs from his teachers. This is all speculation, but the thing that says most to me is that picture of him standing there with his father right off to the right.</p>
<p>"The irony is that I suspect that what Nirmalendu Ghosh did in terms of quitting his job to help his son get into top colleges is probably something that would be greatly admired in Indian culture."</p>
<p>I don't think that is true at all, quitting ones job is not admired in any culture, even to help your child, there are other ways to help a child.</p>