<p>No, this article is based on the author’s biases and the message he wants to send. He’s scary. He likes to inflame. He’s got the money to fund a website and all sorts of initiatives. Does not make him correct. Writing to sell one’s perspective is a skill. Not a representation of truth. As PT Barnum said…</p>
<p>And, remember, fear sells. You are far more likely to believe something fishy is going on that the simple fact that your kid has a 1 in 17 chance at a Harvard. That those who got in are somehow the beneficiaries of a corrupt process.</p>
Yes, thats correct. Not sure how discussing “it” makes it any more ok. Is there some need to validate what feels a bit to some of us like antisemitism? That doesn’t feel very good. Seems unfair to imply that if we espress our discomfort in subtle or delicate terms and don’t come right out and say that this conversation feels smarmy and why, that its declasse. To me, that forces someone to talk about an unpleasant topic and that, IMO is rude. Just sayin’.</p>
<p>And bovertine-- I think the lighter squares mean we are getting closer to nirvana.</p>
<p>Texas, give me your assessment why those kids should have gotten an admit. To you, what makes them “compelling.” Don’t assume about the essays or LoRs being strong- you don’t know. Don’t assume you know what the transcript looked like. Do consider that the kid thought his essays were meh or wierd or that his vol hours were random. Etc. Don’t assume about the GC letter, if a kid claims there was no relationship.</p>
<p>Because that seems to be what all the fuss is about- some kids who were rejected.</p>
<p>jym,
I’m a little slower than most, and I don’t understand your post. If you are saying that saying why you think this thread is creepy makes you uncomfortable, then I understand what you mean. I admit I don’t understand why people are afraid to say that a particular discussion makes them feel like others hate them.</p>
<p>I wonder, do you think it is impossible to ever discuss the religious affiliation of students at universities without being offensive? </p>
<p>I should add that I do not identify with any particular religion, although my heritage is Protestant. Therefore, the discrimination I have experienced in this regard was due to the fact that I do not subscribe to any religious beliefs, which some people find abhorrent for some reason.</p>
<p>Bay,
I do not think you are slower than anyone. I think you are quite sharp. </p>
<p>I think most, perhaps all posters understood my passing comment about the tone and direction of the thread making some of us (well, speaking for myself, and perhaps poetgrl) uncomfortable. But by your throwing down the gauntlet with an insult, saying that it was “rude” not to expound on that, you set up that double bind of either being forced to engage further in a conversation that is already uncomfortable, or alternatively, accepting the insult and being labelled “rude”, when it was anything but.</p>
<p>I do not wish to be forced into engaging in such a conversation, and do not feel that there is any need to “talk about” what you seem to think is the elephant in the livingroom. So on that we will agree to disagree, and I bid you adieu for now.</p>
<p>LF - A kid with 2300 + with a 4.0 gets rejected whlle one with 1890 gets accepted - one assumes based on skin color.</p>
<p>As an adult I accept there are racial quotas, affirmative action etc. Think of the girl who got turned down from Oregon who sees this thread and goes where is the justice in that?</p>
<p>Btw, no matter what you say, there is nothing in the essays which can make someone with 1890 much better than someone who seems to have worked much harder her entire life. It just makes the whole process agreeable to write it off that way. And yes, i am supporting the white girl’s candidacy here.</p>
<p>jym,
I don’t know why you feel “forced” into any discussion here. I do understand why discussing it makes you feel uncomfortable. It is our loss that it is not discussed. If there are reasons why Jewish students are so successful in admissions that can be expressed, I’m sure most on this site would be interested.</p>
<p>"At some point, maybe I can collect my thoughts and express why stats aren’t the be-all. "</p>
<p>Tell that to a hard working girl in Oregon who applied early to Columbia only to be rejected. I am sure it will help her know that universities use quotas and she is a casualty.</p>
<p>@Texaspg, I agree with lookingforward. I don’t see what would make either of the students really strong candidates in the insanely strong Columbia applicant pool. So-so ECs would not help the application. So these candidates look just like thousands of other students. </p>
<p>You also seem to assume that a candidate with strong grades and test scores is automatically in the “admit” pile until someone else knocks them out. I don’t think anyone is in the “admit” pile, except perhaps the recruited athletes. Everyone else is not in until the committee accepts them.</p>
<p>I don’t really care who gets admitted. What I am suggesting is that when kids go through this admission thread, they notice people of certain races seem to be able to get in with lower stats than others. That is when they take the stance that skin color seems to matter more to the universities.</p>
<p>But, Tex, if you recall the quotes and stats from the article I linked yesterday, one could just as easily point to a regional bias, in spite of the fact that those from the exact same over represented regions believe THEY are the victims of this bias in the form of the schools’ desire to have all states in the class.</p>
<p>Finally, in the end, I think it boils down to this, and I think someone else said this a week or so ago, the population in the country has increased while the seats in the schools has not, at least not proportionally. I think this is the “real” issue, also the misguided notion that there are only a few places offering an excellent education.</p>
<p>I mean, almost anyone qualified can find a way to prove THEY were the wronged party in this admissions arms race. One can only hope that these kids are getting some good guidance and applying to a wide and varied range of top schools, of which there are many.</p>
<p>I don’t mean to be knuckle headed, but could someone point me to an example where the article is anti-semitic? I am not Jewish so my perspective may be different, but after re-reading parts of the article, I did not get the sense that he was disparaging Jews. Unz himself admits that he is Jewish. </p>
<p>I agree with Bay that it is healthy to have this discussion. I don’t sense that the discussion is veering toward anti-Semitism, but maybe that’s just me and my dense self.</p>
<p>Texas, tell what to the girl from OR? You worked hard and you were not one of the small % accepted- and some people who did not see your app, don’t know you and don’t know admissons, feel it is because you were from OR and White and not the right religion and not wealthy enough- and he/she also feels you were out because of quotas, though it’s just a strong suspicion.</p>
<ul>
<li>and, oh by the way, why did you submit essays you thought were “good enough” and tell adcoms about sleeping two hours/night? Why a “wildcard” LoR?</li>
</ul>
<p>Oh, yeah, I hope she doesn’t see this thread. She’s clearly bright and hard working and had the physics internship and likely to go far. She just didn’t get into Columbia. If I had had the chance to share advice with her, last summer…</p>
<p>Texas, the CC admission thread- that’s representative? That convinces you? C’mon. You can state race matters more based on a CC thread? You are too eager to put down that URM based on stats and an assumption. I hope HE doesn’t read this thread. You don’t have the faith in kids of all sorts.</p>
<p>I did write to one of the accepted kids, congratulating him. Latino. On CC, he had strongly impressed me as bright, thoughtful (through a long thread) and good. He deserved my small acknowledgement.</p>