<p>I'm still a junior, so I haven't experienced this myself. Last year though, all the seniors seem really bitter, but this year they all seem friendly and happy for one another, although I don't know if they really are.</p>
<p>Well, I’m a junior too, but I would just accept it without any bitterness. There will always be people like that in your life. Don’t we all have friends who are more intelligent than we are and thus don’t have to work as hard?</p>
<p>I know ill be pretty bitter. But thats just me. </p>
<p>Sent from my DROID BIONIC using CC</p>
<p>People at my school are definitely super jealous of each other. The one thing that bothered me this year was people from out of state getting much larger scholarships than I did to UMass (I got a full ride to UMD and I got $20k at GW and $22k at American in merit aid, but for some reason UMass gave me only $2k…) even though their grades were lower. It didn’t get to me that much because I never intended to go to UMass, but it was super annoying. I think the jealousy is understandable; we all think that we’re a good fit for the schools we apply to, so when they reject us and accept someone else it can be really hard to deal with. I don’t want to throw the ‘you’ll understand when you’re older’ line at you guys, but you can’t really understand how frustrating it is until you or your friends go through it.</p>
<p>TO : Smwhtslghtlydzed</p>
<p>Figure it out - you are in state- get lower tuition bill. OOS pay more
thus get more.</p>
<p>Re: Jealously - wake up - this the real world which will stay with you.</p>
<p>My cover-up answer is “no, you shouldn’t compare yourself with others - you’ll never be happy that way.”</p>
<p>But my real, truthful answer is “heck yeah.” </p>
<p>As a junior, I’ve watched lots of URMs, athletic recruits, and legacies from my school get into HYPSM while the hard-working, innovative kids (who happen to lack hooks but are stellar nonetheless–and much more academically and extracurricularly involved compared to some of the hooked applicants) get rejected…</p>
<p>^it’s worse when they are handed their admission through no merit of theirs, as alluriste points out. athletic recruits I don’t have thaaat much of a problem with, because at least they’re good enough at what they do to be valuable to the colleges. I am mildly annoyed at the URMs and legacies who get free pass over kids who are better than them in literally every objective academic stat.</p>
<p>I don’t really care, I’m happy where I am going.</p>
<p>Athletic recruits may not work as hard academically, but they put a lot of work into their athletics and deserve to be allowed entry. URMs usually live a less privileged life with less opportunities, so I think it’s fair that they get a small boost. Legacies are the only ones that ever-so-slightly annoy me (you get a free pass for being wealthy and privileged??), but even then, it’s not a huge deal.</p>
<p>I’ve decided not to be, since I know that if I were (for example) a legacy, I would be using it to my full advantage. don’t wanna be hypocritical</p>
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<p>I don’t stalk any of my friends 24/7. There’s no way for me to know whether or not they do, in fact, work less than I do. Maybe they don’t put in as much work in academics, but they might be a superstar athlete, a talented artist, or a dedicated programmer.</p>
<p>After speaking to admissions officers at some of the US’ top schools during admit weekends, I’m convinced that these schools don’t admit people for no reason. So if someone who seems to work less gets in and you don’t, be happy for them. They deserve it, even if you don’t know why.</p>
<p>@SchoolBlows - That’s so wrong…</p>
<p>Let’s take the University of Michigan for example. They have awesome academics and an awesome football team. Tons of students, such as myself, want to go to a school like Mich because it has great academics and sports. I would choose Mich over a school like Cornell, because their academics are similar, but Mich has a sports atmosphere that’s second to none. Sports draw in students that otherwise would pass up a school like Mich. Also, they generate revenue (well, at least football and basketball do), which is important.</p>
<p>Athletes, losers? You are either ignorant/a ■■■■■/dumb as a garden hose.</p>
<p>Schools like Mich attract a stronger student body because of their athletics. Good sports = smarter kids = better learning experience. I would never go to a college that didn’t have any sports teams, and I know I’m not alone in saying that. Chances are, the recruited athlete put in just as much work and effort into their sport as you did into your school work. Even so, there are recruited athletes with 4.0s and 2300s who put tons of time into their schoolwork and sports.</p>
<p>You’re mean…</p>
<p>How do you know how smart those football players are, do you have their SAT scores? Chances are, there are some dumb ones and some smart ones, but that doesn’t matter, cause they’re all good at football. Would you rather go to a school with an overall less intelligent student body and no sports (remember, good sports = stronger students attracted = smarter student body), or a school with a very intelligent student body and 20 dumb football players (out of like 25,000, in Mich’s case)?</p>
<p>I do go to a public school by the way. My school’s starting QB (who is also my friend, so I know these numbers) has a 4.2/33 ACT. Our starting RB is going to Vandy, but was not recruited to play football there. If I wanted to, I could be a recruited tennis player. Ever heard of schools like Wesleyan and Tufts? Yea, I could play at them if I wanted to. I won’t go into why I don’t want to play in college, that’s another story. Anyways, I really don’t consider myself a loser. I have good grades, good scores, whatever, but I am an athlete. I think your problem isn’t with recruited athletes, it’s with athletes in general. Were you always picked last for kickball in middle school? Do all the big bad football players beat you up everyday at school? Please, let me know.</p>
<p>I remember hearing that student athletes have higher average SAT/ACT scores than the average college bound student in an NCAA commercial. Exception to the rule? Don’t think so.</p>
<p>digressing from the heated athlete-academic debate.</p>
<p>i just always believed in the fact that success = (time) x (impressiveness of work).</p>
<p>the more impressive your work ends up being, the less time you need to dedicate to it. read how to be a high school superstar by cal newport. i’ve never been a tryhard, and i always try to learn from the academic slackers ahead of me who got in great places. </p>
<p>the valedictorian of my school is going to the state flagship while the class clown had to decide between johns hopkins, uchicago, and stanford.</p>
<p>Can you all let the sports thing go? Most schools really don’t bend THAT far back to let athletes in, especially the ivies, Duke, Stanford, Mich etc. One of my friends got a recruitment letter from one of those schools that stated what kind of academics he needed to be considered, and they were exactly what the website says for any normal prospective student. </p>
<p>And @Dfree I’ve seen that commercial but the statistics they give are very vague. It makes me think they played around with the wording and the numbers a little to make it sound better. “black males who are student-atheletes are 10% more likely to graduate” than what? “higher ACT and SAT scores than college bound students” that could mean anything, and theres 4,200+ schools out there. “the number receiving diplomas is at an all time high” but what we don’t know is the unemployment numbers of those who choose to skate through school with a degree in African American history or creative writing.</p>
<p>Sounds like some bitter people on this thread. Schoolblows, you should stop throwing all athletes under a bus. I guarantee you the ones accepted to the best colleges worked hard. And those accepted to other state colleges worked hard too. Quit bashing others. </p>
<p>Sent from my ADR6300 using CC</p>
<p>@SchoolBlows</p>
<p>Magic Johnson- famous for mediocre reasons… you have to be trolling. </p>
<p>What’s the big deal if some really good athletes who may have poor academic stats get into a school? Guess what, sports are hugely marketable. They help bring prestige and notoriety in which will ultimately make your degree worth a bit more because people recognize your school’s name. Also, the money that these athletes bring in help build new buildings/renovate old ones for every student to use. Besides, there are only several hundred athletes even in the biggest program which is not that much compared to how many students there are in the entire school.</p>