<p>I got into Yale because I prayed hardest for it and thought of "Y"s while I prayed. There are few colleges that start with "Y" so I thought be the least ambiguous prayer possible. It worked. </p>
<p>And here's the proof: I only prayed a little for Stanford and didn't get in there. I think the "S" was easy to confuse for some other school name.</p>
<p>At least I know prayer works for college admissions.</p>
<p>What do you mean? The signal for Stanford got lost somewhere? But God, as people define the term, is omniscient. He or she wouldn't have made that mistake.</p>
<p>yes i did pray to get in, i got in to first choice, always been my first choice, i like to say that hard work was what got me in, but realistically i think prayer did help because of the insane competition and the number of qulified candidates, something made me stand out</p>
<p>1) No
2) Yes</p>
<p>Interesting. No prayer whatsoever, into my top choice school. Holla!</p>
<p>uhh, you don't pray.</p>
<p>It's called working hard and not giving up.</p>
<p>And then God makes everything right.</p>
<p>You can pray all you want, but if you haven't put in any effort, nothing will happen.</p>
<p>Prayer had nothing to do with any of it. The fact that my parents had the time and money to allow me to visit and spend time, thus showing interest did.</p>
<p>God helps those who help themselves.</p>
<p>I didn't pray in the traditional sense. I'm an atheist.</p>
<p>But I was in China during my junior year for a funeral and I had to visit a great many temples and such. At one I had my fortune told by drawing a number. There were various 'focuses' like family, love, wealth, health, etc. Being a student I drew from the one labeled 'study' and got the number 4. Anyone who knows about Chinese superstitions knows that 4 is not a good number. The fortune teller said something along the lines of my heart's desires being in the sky and that I was doomed for disappointment only because my expectations were so high. I can't say I wasn't irked by this, but then I realized that this was only something to consider.</p>
<p>Still, I did some other silly luck things while visiting temples: throwing coins, rubbing rocks, etc etc. Since I had to pray so much for my relative while I was there anyway, I decided it wouldn't hurt to throw in a few other things (like family, safety, and that college would not be out of reach for me). </p>
<p>I got into some colleges and I got rejected from others. Really, the outcome would undoubtedly have been the same whether I did those things or not. I'm well off and going to a college that I'm excited to go to. I never prayed for a specific college anyway, so it wouldn't be conclusive.</p>
<p>'tisthetruth: nice late response lol Maybe kdanieli was being facetious.</p>
<p>In re-reading this thread, I've noticed a somewhat contradictory logic: 1) that God has a "plan" or "path" for everyone, and yet 2) that everyone supposedly has free will. Hm.</p>
<p>The correlation of unbelief in God and high IQ is very weak. There are plenty of high IQ believers and low IQ unbelievers. I wouldn't bet eternity on that correlation!</p>
<p>so, if you prayed and your friend prayed, and you didn't get in and they did, does God love them more?</p>
<p>I thought GOD is one's foolish idea that has sunk into millions of people.
You want to go to universities to educate yourself but can't leave the superstitions behind.
I think the only way to get into your dream school is to work for it.</p>
<p>It is indeed true that weak and poor people try to hook on to the concept of GOD as a resort to blame for their misery.</p>
<p>Cunning and smart people fool them by giving them new concepts of GOD and then make them fight with each other.</p>
<p>If we get rid of concept of GOD and only believe in Human then most the wars of this world will just vainsh and this world be a wonderful place to live.</p>
<p>ParentOfIvyHope: Don't call other people foolish when you can't even speak English.</p>
<p>So Collegekid12 you want to say everyone who cannot speak good English are foolish.</p>
<p>That shows how foolish you are?</p>
<p>Certainly you don't seem to be a science student otherwise you won't accept anything without a proof.</p>
<p>ParentOfIvyHope, if you feel anyone who believes in god is foolish, I'm pretty sure Collegekid's feelings about you being foolish are quite justified as well.</p>
<p>Yes to get into your "dream school" you have to work for it. Simply working for something won't directly bring great results. There are several factors involved.</p>
<p>Much as I believe CC shouldn't be a forum for discussing matters such as these, I don't think it would hurt to offer my own perspective. First, I would like to ask the OP - why these questions? What did you hope to find in the responses you got? What's the objective behind all this?</p>
<p>Anyway,
1) Did you or your child pray to God?
2) Did you/your child get into your/your child's first choice school?
EDIT: 3) What was your first choice at the time of prayer?
4) Do you think praying made a difference?</p>
<p>I did pray, but at that time, I never knew I would get in to where I am now, and when I did, it became my first choice. But I would like to point out that prayer is not some kind of magic wand or spell, that gives us what we want whenever we ask for it.
When we pray, in Jesus' name and in accordance with His will, God may say yes, or no, or chill. God answers many other prayers and cries for help in His infinite mercy.</p>
<p>This is not to say that you can't get in by your own works. Of course you can. And it will be ridiculous to say that good grades, high SAT scores, great talents, will not give a good chance at schools of your own choosing.</p>
<p>But for those who are surrendered to God's will and rely on Him, they attribute their talents and abilities to God. And surely, they'll ask Him to show them where to apply to in the first place ["Commit to the Lord whatever you do and your plans will succeed" Prov 16.3], and if it His will, they get in wherever He pleases.</p>
<p>So it's no like we do everything, apply and then say some magic words so we get in where we want. Not at all. Of course, all I've said may not make sense to the rational mind...so, in short, I believe prayer is about seeking and knowing God's will, and not about trying to force your plans or desires upon "God".</p>
<p>There is no god. Period.</p>
<p>A lot of you kept saying "leave it to god", "god is omnipotent"... It's very much like saying how polished is Darth Vader's lightsaber skill and oh his force choke is so badass while THERE IS NO DARTH VADER OUTSIDE THE WORLD OF STARWARS. Same thing apply to "GOD", because all you read about it is just in the BIBLE. </p>
<p>Old SAT analogy question:
GOD to DARTH VADER is BIBLE to STARWARS</p>
<p>BLY, What makes you think God is only existent from the Bible. The concept of God was existent in various religious millenia before the Bible was even written.</p>
<p>Just because someone prays to god, doesn't mean god will grant it. One MUST make an honest effort, only then will you result a result.</p>
<p>A quote from the Bhagavad Geeta:</p>
<p>(Krishna to Arjuna) "Give in your honest effort and follow dharma and leave the fruit of hardwork to me"</p>
<p>
[quote]
I thought GOD is one's foolish idea that has sunk into millions of people.
You want to go to universities to educate yourself but can't leave the superstitions behind.
I think the only way to get into your dream school is to work for it.</p>
<p>It is indeed true that weak and poor people try to hook on to the concept of GOD as a resort to blame for their misery.</p>
<p>Cunning and smart people fool them by giving them new concepts of GOD and then make them fight with each other.</p>
<p>If we get rid of concept of GOD and only believe in Human then most the wars of this world will just vainsh and this world be a wonderful place to live.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>That is one of the dumbest things i've ever read in my life.</p>