<p>Does it occur to anyone that there's an obvious formula?</p>
<p>It's:
2100plusSAT score or 31plusACT score + 3.65GPAplus +At least 4 AP classes and very rigorous course schedule + 100 plus volunteer hours + UNIQUE extra-curricular activities such as Mu Alpha Theta, volunteering/working for a statesman, or research + Strong teacher recommendations + Unique topic essays that include persistence, an anecdote, and a moral learned = entrance into a great school!</p>
<p>None of these things have to actually contain heart or passion as long as you can exploit in on your essay.</p>
<p>At some point, you may have realized that this is a satire of sorts. I want to illuminate upon reality here. For all of you that work so hard for this entrance into a dream-school of sorts, what is the cost, what is the reward?</p>
<p>You'll have a good job. You'll sacrifice your free time. I'm not saying these things are bad--many people are going to help this world.</p>
<p>And all the while, those who have just as good of thought, good reflection, and good heart will attend the community colleges of this world. I think I'm going to be denied flatly, but that's okay. I'm okay with going to a sub-par school. So are most of the students going to college today. </p>
<p>IT'S OKAY if you don't make it into HYPS (wow, I just realized that's Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Stanford after typing all the colleges out) or Ivy League. If your passions are true and your desires, what will prevail in the end is YOU and YOUR own efforts. YOU will do whatever you need to do. </p>
<p>I thought I was like everyone else when I started the application process. I hated selling myself out so much. I hated all the stupid tricks I had to follow. My essays weren't anecdotes, so they're probably not good. At the end, more than anything I just wanted my application to be me. I cringed each time I had to ask one person for help. I didn't want any part of my application to be altered. By the end of it all, I think I realized that the most important part of all of this is just following who I am and what I want. That's not what I see from others applying to the same schools, at all. </p>
<p>If you want to save the world so badly, you can do it whether or not you go to Columbia.</p>
<p>I think it matters to more people here than me though, and I'm okay with that. A lot of students here seem very promising as future leaders, I hope they don't screw over the workers like me and the rest of my friends going to community colleges. For all of you who want so desperately to go to Columbia or HYPS, I hope you can take my spot. I hope I'm denied for you. </p>
<p>A new perspective. Everyone here, if you've already done so well in school and everything, there's no way you can't be successful. Success isn't limited to those who attend HYPS or Ivy League schools thought. Make success your own. We've all had to read "Death of a Salesman" for school right? I want to encourage everyone here, I want everyone to realize that they are already successful.</p>