<p>I like hearing other people at school talk about their SAT scores, it’s intruiging, and just interesting to know. I don’t necessarily join the conversation.</p>
<p>example:</p>
<p>not so bright girl: So I got my SAT scores back!
her friend: how did you do?
girl: 790 math, but everything else sucked
her friend: what?? But you got a C in algebra!
girl: I’m a good guesser</p>
<p>I think of SAT scores as somewhat more interesting than anything adults regularly talk about, including fishing, cars, kitchen remodeling, what they eat, their lame children, and mutual acquaintances their mutual acquaintances have.</p>
<p>Yea, someone got a 2240 in freshman year, and he said it was because he was a good guesser…</p>
<p>@pigs: lol that is different than nit-picking scores. When people don’t take that stuff too seriously the conversation has a completely different tone. A lot of smart people who sit around talking about grades/scores are more hung up on getting certain numbers than learning the material though, which is too bad because they could spend that energy more productively. Yes, it’s important to work hard in school- but not healthy to agonize over it.</p>
<p>I still don’t get what is wrong with bitterness. We live in an age where people are told that their self-worth is defined by the schools they get into. Let’s be realistic here. How are they supposed to react?</p>
<p>CurseItToHades: What do you mean, what is wrong with bitterness? It poisones your own life, for starters. No matter what you do, there will always be someone who does it better or is seen as doing it better - in arts, sciences, sports, business, Law… If you are inclined to be bitter about it, you will have a life much less happy and relaxed than if you measure your success by how much you accomplished what you wanted to do. Allowing the competitiveness to consume you is harmful to your own development and ultimately to your success. Optimistic, cooperative people with a healthy sense of their own worth (no matter what happens to them) and a joy in success of their friends have much more energy, drive, joy, and yes - success. Good grades, SATs, acceptances to desired colleges are a measure of something - of course - but they are not a measure of how good a person you are, nor a good predictor of how happy, fulfilled and successful you will be.</p>
<p>I guess I phrased that badly. I’m not trying to say that bitterness itself is inherently okay. But in a culture that places such an emphasis on getting a name-brand education, how are people really supposed to react? For many, not being bitter is actually going against the grain of society’s programming. I’m scared that if I keep going, this will get a little debate-y and hostile, but I think it would be really interesting to have a laid back discussion on CC about the mass psychological impact that the Ivies and other prestigious schools have as symbols in our society.</p>
<p>In all times and cultures, young people faced a challenge of succeeding on their own terms; our time is no exception. Doing what you love doing and loving & trusting close friends and family will, ultimately, give you a sense of meaningful life independent of the social yardsticks. Easy? No, it isn’t - but it is possible. If you have a chance, go somewhere else - another & very different country, or a different part of the USA, or some poor or disaster-stricken area. Doing your best there, for other people and for yourself, will give you a very different angle on your life and meaning in it. There isn’t just one path. A young friend of mine went to Africa with an AIDS-related organization. Another person went fishing in Alaska, another to work with migrant farm workers in California, and I know of people who after HS or after 2 years of college went to Argentina, Chile, South Africa, Turkey, Haiti, Japan and China - some to teach English, some to volunteer. Thus far they all returned changed and enriched. This social world is not the only one.</p>
<p>Wow reading most of these post you all should be proud you were accepted into Ivies or other exceptional places.</p>
<p>The majority of my senior class is going to community college. In fact I only know of two other people that applied to universities at my school. It’s not a very big school. Only 120’ish seniors and only 49 are graduating. It’s sad I know.</p>
<p>My best friend who’s GPA is a lot higher than mines and she has outstanding potential, didn’t apply anywhere. But she was clearly bitter when I applied to 4 of the in-state universities, telling me I would not get in. Kinda hurt my feelings… I was accepted into 3 out of 4. I wasn’t accepted into my first choice but I was proud for the most part. I couldn’t really share my excitement with her because it was upsetting, that she was the one said no one would accept me and I proved otherwise…</p>
<p>All my other friends are proud of me and call me Top Girl. Haha, doubt that. But it’s kinda upsetting when my own BEST FRIEND didn’t even try to apply. </p>
<p>Yet she complains all the time and even made the snide statement that I got in because I was black and that she didn’t because she’s white. That really made me go ***?! Really that’s just calling me stupid and saying they only accepted me because of my skin color and not my leadership abilities/positions in clubs, grades, and extracurricular activities. Still she’s my friend and I just know she would have gotten in if she had bothered to take the SAT/ACT or fill out the applications.</p>
<p>^ Sounds like a great friend.</p>
<p>@ladyjacket42: Eeesh, I didn’t realize I hadn’t mention, that we aren’t the best of friends anymore. More like tolerating each other until graduation, too avoid unnecessary drama with the last few days of school left.</p>
<p>honeybutterfly–</p>
<p>It’s too bad about your (former) friend. A person can’t get into a college without at least applying! Good for you for getting there…and good luck in the future!</p>
<p>My freshman year, I befriended a lot of seniors through different ECs, One girl was a genius, not only book smart, but she was clever, logical, creative… I still idolize her to this day. She got into Cornell, and it was a perfect fit for her. Our salutatorian applied there as well, but didn’t get in. There had always been a sort of rivalry between the two of them, so it was only further irritated when that got out. Kinda sad, they were best friends until junior year, when they realized their competition or something…</p>
<p>I’m attending Agnes Scott college in the class of 2014, and don’t think for a second that I’m not thrilled. </p>
<p>My experiences of bitterness:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>My fifth grade teacher used to play favorites. She treated me horribly and doted on a certain other student. That other student is bound for Stanford. I was bitter. </p></li>
<li><p>In ninth and tenth grade, I tried to befriend an intelligent girl who I thought was the coolest kid in school. In return, the girl sneered at me, refused to talk to me, and gossiped about me. She’s now going to Harvard. I was bitter.</p></li>
<li><p>In tenth grade, I struck up a friendship with a Latin geek. She let me hang around for about five months and then cut off all contact. Where’s she going? Rice. I was bitter. </p></li>
<li><p>In the last weeks of school, a lot of my classmates expressed a certain bitterness about my going to a private school that they think they could not afford. They now consider me a rich b!tch. What I can’t tell them is that I’m just as poor as they are, but I’m getting thousands and thousands of dollars in aid.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>One girl wrote in my yearbook that she envies me because I’m going to Cornell.</p>
<p>But everyone is really chill regarding acceptances since the smart people are going to the top schools.</p>
<p>First of all, I’m posting here because CurseItToHades’s speech/essay/whatever on page 11 floored me. He pretty much described a lot of I was thinking and coincidentally enough, he happens to go to my dream school.</p>
<p>I’m only a (rising) junior, but reading this thread made me feel extremely glad/lucky I know the people that I do. For all I know they could turn into cutthroats senior year, but so far with AP classes and the like, people have been helping and supporting others, even those that weren’t their friends.
Strangely enough, though, my school has a bulletin board outside the counselors’ offices that displays where the previous year’s seniors are attending.</p>
<p>a waitlisted double legacy punched me after i got into harvard, and it wasn’t a friendly joke punch either. another friend made some really hurtful remarks–but at least he apologized!</p>
<p>Damn. I know one senior is going to dartmouth. We had someone go to harvard last year… but really, we don’t see much bitterness, except in the lower classes. The sophomore class is bitter as ****. They all think I’m the val, and some can’t stop mentioning the current val. Senior year will suck, when they think a 5.0 grants them admission to anywhere.</p>
<p>^^Wow that’s f’d up.</p>
<p>I think a lot of bitterness comes from the fact that people don’t realize [url=<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/907996-factor.html]this[/url”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/907996-factor.html]this[/url</a>].</p>
<p>And to correct a previous post, I’m a rising senior, not rising junior…blah, hierarchy confusion.</p>