<p>Quote the author via Amazon below. I'm sure he means well, but this just sounds like the kind of douchebag that people cite as examples of why they hate GS.</p>
<p>GS cheerleaders, I'm sure you'll be chiming in, so have at it.</p>
<p>As for the rest of you, good luck. ;)</p>
<p>"These are the two essays that got me into Columbia University... Plain and simple. This is not a guide giving you some BS advice and examples that got kids into Tier 3 colleges. This is exactly what I included with my application to Columbia.
A priest once told me, “Ivy League schools want students that are the best at something.” From what I observed from friends at Yale, Harvard, Columbia and Duke (I hate Duke), I believe he's right. They are not looking for a kid that will have a long prosperous career at a fortune 500 company, they are looking for a kid that will be the CEO. They are not looking for a kid that follows the rules, they are looking for a kid that makes the rules. They know you are probably not the next Bill Gates, Conan O'Brien or Barack Obama. But, they need to know you have a chance. Enough of a chance that one of the few thousand of you that get accepted probably is the next F. Scott Fitzgerald, Lupita Nyong'o or Jeremy Lin.
If you aren't the best at anything or haven't done anything (yet), take a year or two off of school. Graduate high school and go run for city council. One of my friends did this. It's OK that you will probably lose miserably. You might lose that city council race when you are nineteen, but, with the lessons learned, you might win that Senate race when you are thirty-five. Go start (and maybe fail) a business. I did this. Put yourself out there. Do something that proves you will take a shot at greatness. And always, I mean ALWAYS, call the newspapers and news channels to tell them about yourself. Write your own press releases and send them out. You would not believe how many articles about people in the community are nothing but a news writer copying and pasting most of what somebody emailed them. Since you are young, they crave the chance to tell your story.
While you are doing all of this, take a few really hard classes (...physics) at a local community college, or something. After all, they need to know you can handle intense school work too.
When somebody tells you that you will fail, you are stupid or making bad decisions, remember, you are the one aspiring for greatness, not them. Only you will get you there. If you are the one everybody is proud of and respects, you are probably getting in too, so relax.
You are smart. With that in consideration, I know you can read my essay, then figure out how to write yours."</p>