<p>Not sure how you took his post… but I don’t think he intended that be offensive in any way. Also, to imply that an opposing opinion is invalid is a bit presumptuous of you, regardless of how you may feel. This is an open forum, and I believe you overreacted.</p>
<p>A much more logical presumption, I must say. As for his post, he did not target anyone or anything, there are no rude comments in his post, he did not say anything directly malicious. But perhaps you should brush up on your literary analyses - what’s the general theme of his post? As well, my post was nothing near an overreaction at all. I really could care less, and could even sincerely chuckle on the matter.</p>
<p>This girl deserves every opportunity that she has worked for. Many blessings to her for a wonderful future.</p>
<p>Wow, this is so sad. I was really touched by this student’s inspiring story and so utterly disappointed in the immature and threatened responses of many of the students. It just highlights for me exactly why colleges go to such pains to pull out students not just with ‘high numbers’ but also with the worldly wherewithall, character and maturity.</p>
<p>Well, EngineerHead, I suppose this is where we agree to disagree (and to be clear, I do know my literary analyses :P). I don’t feel that that particular post was meant to be malicious in any way, but I have to admit I haven’t read any of the other posts (if present). I still feel your tone is somewhat incongruous with the overall feeling of the forum, but I don’t mean that in a confrontational way. 
I apologise for any solicitation of such feelings, however accidental.</p>
<p>Then what do you interpret the theme of his post to be? Something does not have to be malicious to be rude. You can say something nice and it can still have a rude connotation behind it. The post in general, whether intentional or not (and I am certain it is not), belittles this girl’s unique and impressive situation, diverting the focus away from her onto others with the same situation as if saying, “well, she’s not the only one.”</p>
<p>You have an excellent point, and I think it may simply be that I was reading it in a “there are actually a lot of people out there, and it’s remarkable that so many people are able to overcome this” manner whereas you are taking it in that not-unreasonable other way - which I have to respect. Now that I see where you are coming from, I have to say I’m sorry for the somewhat negative way in which I took your post. Regardless, we should try to lower the level of tension.</p>
<p>I don’t think lucky2010 was being rude. Their post can be summed up as saying “Homeless high school students are often not identified or considered invisible, since in the high-achieving world it’s taboo to talk about issues like homelessness or drug addiction”. This is very true; in my area, there were a number of homeless high school students that didn’t realize the services the school legally has to offer them (like bus rides directly to the shelter, etc.) </p>
<p>Lucky2010 also said “I’m sure she’ll do great”. </p>
<p>Also, in Florida, it’s possible to have a 5.5 weighted GPA. Some counties take the GPA out of 6.0 and with the weighting of IB classes, her GPA could surely be that high.</p>
<p>Woww. i’m speechless =]</p>
<p>congrats to her!</p>
<p>Yeah, Florida is weird (I live there) for GPA calculations (depending on the county). My girlfriend’s cousin ended up with an 8.something due to the fact that weighted classes tacked on an additive bonus to the final GPA, rather than a reaveraging.</p>
<p>Yup, I live in the same county as her (different school though!) and we have absurdly high GPAs. The people that got into the Ivies at my school had around a 5.X GPA, because they were all IB, which holds more weight.</p>
<p>Anyways, kudos to her because I could never imagine the stress of being homeless on top of getting great grades.</p>
<p>
Certainly your analyses of my words as well as lucky2010’s is not the best. I didn’t say lucky2010 was being rude, and I was careful in that - the post bears a rude connotation by diverting the attention (it’s like when you tell someone about your struggle so you can vent, and they respond with “Oh my gosh! I know exactly what you mean! I remember when I…” like geez… shut up! <–this is playful banter, fyi, some of you keep interpreting my words to be rancorous). 2ndly, the post focuses nothing on that it’s taboo to talk about issues like homelessness or drug addiction (though the latter would certainly be true, as you usually would not want to mention drug addiction). Actually, the poster, based on the context, would say otherwise (as would I and most others, because overcoming homelessness is a noble achievement, certainly worth mentioning and NOT taboo to discuss). Read carefully, and you’ll notice that the poster would assume that one of the persons the poster mentioned actually WOULD have written about her homeless situation, but it happened after she sent in her application. 3rdly, when lucky2010 says “I’m sure she’ll do great,” based on the context, she is NOT talking about the person in the article. (And you are going to Yale this fall?)</p>
<p>(Ahah… interesting how my post is becoming counterintuitive as I am myself diverting attention now to matters of antics… but hey, debates are fun, no?)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Of course they are 
</p>
<p>Thanks for taking the time to explain :)</p>
<p>Stupid internets not allowing body language that would resolve these misunderstandings. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>HAHA 1270? Even out of 1600 that ****ing sucks, that kid is a dumbass.</p>
<p>@meteman: That’s quite a callous thing to say. 1270 being above average at the least, and realistically, quite good under the circumstances. I’m willing to say the GPA doesn’t really coordinate to such a score, but, hey, she probably only got to take it once. Although I have to admit some people really shouldn’t be in the IB programme, it remains hard to (even superficially) excel in it. She does not “suck” by any stretch of the imagination, and this is coming from a pretty elitist person myself.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I believe you, meteman, are quite a dumbass.</p>
<p>This young lady will go far, because she understands that there is a reward for all the struggles her family has had. I wish some of my students had the guts and drive that she has to succeed. They also wish that they had her SAT score.</p>
<p>Let me quote you:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>and then </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>In my opinion, homelessness being taboo in the area that you live doesn’t mean that you wouldn’t necessarily write about it on an application; it means that, as the girl herself said, even her teachers didn’t know she was homeless. Many students write about taboo issues on their college applications, but most homeless families do not admit their situation because they don’t know the benefits that the federal McKinney-Vento Act provides for them. </p>
<p>Finally, lucky2010 can defend her own context, because her post’s style is rather unclear. I myself shall say that I’m sure Jessica Herrera will do great. </p>
<p>Nice ad hominem attack, by the way. I’ll enjoy Yale; thanks for asking.</p>
<p>Stop the bashing. This thread was about an amazing girl, who was able to succeed against all odds. Acting like 5 year olds and debating about what the intentions of the other person’s statements were is pointless and takes away from the actual thread.</p>
<p>I also would like to point that it is entirely likely that Herrera chose to go to FIU vs. Questbridge/Ivy League because of her family situation. As it mentioned at the end of the article, her mother was deported and her father/other family members still live in Miami. Although she has been able to attend college for free, she most likely still needs to help her family and chooses to remain close to them through these hard times. No hard facts, but it’s just my opinion on the situation.</p>