<p>^I think Kevmo means putting immense effort into the appplication to best convey who you are as an applicant/person. Not exactly doing everything in your power (i.e. padding your application) in that sense.</p>
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<p>Uh, yeah, as drpvv mentioned, I meant to try your best towards the meaning of the application, not adding unnecessary fluff to the application.</p>
<p>For instance, I entered the Siemens competition not for Stanford, but because it’s a competition I wanted to partake in. Though, even after achieving a significant amount, it’s heartbreaking to know that that simply wasn’t enough in the sense that, not because the competition wasn’t enough to get into Stanford, rather that I, as a person, wasn’t enough to get into Stanford, even though I’ve tried my best to show them who I am.</p>
<p>Also, I’d like to note that I’m using the Siemens competition as a representative example, where it represents my educational pursuits as a whole here…</p>
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<p>And, again, I am suggesting that that might not be the most appropriate perspective for an individual to take in assessing fairness. The admissions committee is always looking at the pool as a whole, and trying to construct the best whole class it can. They are rarely, if ever, comparing Candidate X directly with Candidate Y, and doing an analysis of the relative merits of such a small subset. Rather, they are looking at a vast sea of 32,000 applications and trying to pick out those that will, together, construct the kind of total mosaic, if you will, that they envision for the class. They’re not usually rejecting applications so much as aren’t able to affirmatively select more than a very few, given the constraints of class size.</p>
<p>@christiansoldier- true true. but seriously. no one likes a prick. lol. diversity yes. i guess we kill the pricks with a human face. lol.</p>
<p>OP: that is most definitely not true. Clearly, if you become obsessed with something far out of your reach (like if I decided right now that I will beat Michael Phelps’ times), you’ll end up disappointed. With something a bit more obtainable, though, your obsession will just make you work harder, so you’re more likely to get what you want.</p>
<p>I see how the OP is feeling. Some people who are extremely qualified for the school they absolutely love just don’t get in. Just wasn’t meant to be, that’s all.</p>
<p>I agree with the OP. That’s similar to what I feel. But even before the decisions came I knew that my application wasn’t the best. I felt I somehow didn’t manage to present me accurately enough. I was trying to be honest and put in my app what I really felt. Didn’t help… Now I don’t know what made them reject me. Academics? …hardly. ECs? …maybe. The fact that I was applying as an international needing full ride? I really hope the reason was this last one…</p>
<p>I agree with christiansoldier and Handala92 on this one. I’ve been ‘Stanford pls yay’ all my life, and I got in.</p>
<p>Maybe you didn’t try hard enough. Or the admissions officer was feeling cranky when reading your application. That said, I’m sure you’ll all get into brilliant schools. That or you could always shoot for graduate school.</p>
<p>Congrads to you on your acceptance from Beijing! I am very torn because you are deserving ,but so aren’t so many others from the US. Now if you would please not run back to China and stay in US and help those who helped you. China is running all over the US, ie. our economy is suffering, China’s is not.</p>
<p>But China is so communist. ): I need to go back and help my commune survive. (In other words, thank you for your congratulations.)</p>
<p>I think at a place like Stanford, alot of it really comes down to the essays. All the applicants (or the seriously considered ones) are going to have rigorous course loads, tons of extracurriculars, etc. It really comes down to how well you market yourself in your essays. Not by showing that you are accomplished, but by showing Stanford that you are a unique individual who will add something to the college that no other individual they have looked at possibly could add. I think it’s an incredibly hard thing to do, but probably one of the most important.</p>
<p>@Xinxin: US educated people are highly regarded in China, and you can probably get a better job there than here. However, think about your children. School here is simply much more enjoyable, much healthier (less pressure), and at the end your kids will be more successful due to the greater opportunities.</p>
<p>The college admissions process will never, ever, be fair because so much of what a person can accomplish is dependent on factors outside his/her control and therefore not correlated with personal merit or effort. First of all, genetics determines the raw intellectual ability and other talents one has to work with. Person X could work every bit as hard or harder than Person Y, but Y simply has more innate abilty and thus will achieve better results. Not fair. Person A could be extremely hard-working and motivated, but without the parental guidance, support, and economic resources enjoyed by Person B, s/he won’t enjoy the same level of success. Also not fair. So all you can do is make the most of what you’ve been given and accept what comes.</p>
<p>^ so clearly we should pull a harrison bergeron and handicap smart people so they don’t have an unfair advantage? </p>
<p>Personally, I think parental guidance is overrated. If you’re hard-working and motivated, you won’t need parental guidance. You’ll take initiative, use google to get info, and pursue what you want.</p>
<p>Honestly, I find economic resources to not be worth that much. Most high school level contests can be pwned just by self studying. You’ll need some book costs, but that’s about it. I’d say the only class you really NEED to advance further is WOOT.</p>
<p>I think that there is an issue when you’re only offering to accept 2,300 of 32,000 applicants. Given that (it seems that) qualified applicants are being rejected, and that admissions rates have been falling at all of these colleges for some time, I think that these colleges have a responsibility to increase their acceptance rates. (Obviously there would be massive logistical problems such as housing). But if nothing else, let’s keep up with population growth.</p>
<p>That being said, I think that the applicant pool is so brilliant that at some point your acceptance/rejection does come down to chance in some capacity. No amount of desire will help significantly. It’s really quite a cruel system.</p>
<p>No, what I’m saying MeSsIaH is that it is pointless to over-analyze this, complain about it, feel dejected about it or otherwise spend a lot of time having angst over it because you simply cannot know the ins and outs of every application, much less even know how your own application was viewed by admissions. And I agree that you have to pursue your goals with intelligence since some game-playing is necessary, but too much trying to anticipate what could please admissions officers might backfire. I know a kid who was quite surprised to find out that an activity he had considered to be kind of random in that it didn’t support his academic or career goals at all, was actually something that interviewers honed in on right away as something very interesting.</p>
<p>Actually, I think the smart and talented among us can best serve society by developing their gifts and forging ahead on that path despite those who would keep them down. And boy do some people like to bring them down too. I also HATE it when adults with the power to award admission and scholarships, rank certain positive EC endeavors as more valuable than others. If you are a brilliant musician or athlete, for example, how is it wise to reduce your practice time so you can spend as many hours doing community service as the person whose passion lies in helping others? Yet, around here community service is KING as far as local scholarhips are concerned and plenty of people feel that community service is more valuable than anything else a student does–even academics.</p>
<p>NoHandlebars said it right in post#3:
A college’s acceptance or denial does not pass a vote of judgment over your abilities.</p>
<p>Read below link for examples:
[When</a> Success Follows the College Rejection Letter - WSJ.com](<a href=“When Success Follows the College Rejection Letter - WSJ”>When Success Follows the College Rejection Letter - WSJ)</p>
<p>insertname, I’m sorry, but I have to disagree with you. You know, a few weeks ago, I stuck a quote on my wardrobe that says, “Repeatedly picture yourself doing whatever it is that seems most difficult at this time and you will succeed beyond your expectations when the time comes”. I know what it’s like to have a dream school and to do everything possible and even the impossible to get in. But every time I feel like I am not good enough for my dream school, I think about these words and just focus, and those are the words that make me keep writing my papers at 3 am in the morning. Those are the words that make me pay attention in classes, when I’m almost falling asleep, or to stay for a practice after school, even though I’m totally incapable of. Those are the words that keep reminding me that the sacrifice with my personal life that I make now, will be useful in the future, and I do know that if I focus, do everything that I need to do and have faith, I will succeed. Or at least I hope I will.
I am sure you were an excellent candidate for Stanford, but there could be millions of reasons why you got rejected. Maybe it wasn’t meant to be. Maybe you’ll find out that Berkeley or UCLA or wherever you decide to enroll, is going to be your place. I am really sorry, I can only imagine what you are feeling, because I feel like I’m going to be devastated a couple of years from now, if this happened to me. But keep your head up, you will find your place, and it’s going to be a hundred times better than Stanford. </p>
<p>PS Congratulations on your acceptance to Berkeley, it is an awesome university!</p>
<p>Sorry guys for not responding in a while, haven’t logged lol.</p>
<p>But, yes, I agree with you guys now. It’s not true at all, and wanting to achieve something great is always good.</p>
<p>Now, I realize that maybe Stanford wasn’t right for me. Maybe I wouldn’t have fit in, etc. I think I’m going to be happy at Berkeley or LA, and I am absolutely excited to be attending one of these top schools in the fall.</p>
<p>The reason why I am agreeing with you guys now is that I applied to a really competitive research program (not going to say what yet…since they told me not to say, due to the fact that they are still in the process of telling other people who got it) and I got in! I can now continue my research! I’m excited for that, lol. </p>
<p>But yeah, thank you guys for all the opinions. Maybe I will apply here for grad school, or maybe not. But for now, I think I’m going to do good in Berkeley or LA.</p>
<p>This entire thread is one giant pity party. </p>
<ol>
<li>Understand your situation, decisions, and their implications</li>
<li>Try as hard as you can to get what you want</li>
<li>Enjoy the ride</li>
</ol>
<p>If You Failed:
4. Upon failure, wallow (privately) in your moment of remorse
5. -> MOVE ON <-</p>
<p>If You Succeed:
4. Enjoy the perfect but temporary happiness that comes with success
5. -> MOVE ON <-</p>
<p>Note 1: In both cases, 5 is easier when it follows 3
Note 2: The only guaranteed happiness in this spiffy flowchart (3) comes before the win/lose fork, and is also the most permanent.</p>