<p><em>warning: this post may contain inordinate amounts of venting</em></p>
<p>so college decisions starting coming in yesterday-at my school, columbia was the big one. and its just so frustrating to see who got in. stupid kids who coasted through school and never worked hard got in because they have parents on the board or who have contributed insane amounts of money. and hardworking, smart kids who dont have any of that didnt get in.</p>
<p>its just hitting me hard-why is the college system so unfair?</p>
<p>and to add to that, i completely blanked out on my physics test yesterday and i think i only answered one small question correctly. im relatively confident i failed majorly.<br>
and also, i hear EA on wednesday.</p>
<p>dont worry..(i know that sounds crappy :) )
relax...life does seem unfair at times...there are tough times...but collecting yourself and not giving up...is what counts. trying times...mould a man emotionally. so, dont worry. keep smiling. be optimistic (no matter how hard it may seem) and things will start looking good soon enough.
:)</p>
<p>It's not just the college system that is unfair- the entire world is unfair. Almost anything can be achieved simply through money. Sad but true. Best learn to live with it and accept it and learn how to play the game. </p>
<p>And on the side note. I understand about the physics. I had a physics test last week. I left almost the entire second section blank, worth 30 marks (out of 50). It was terrible.</p>
<p>I agree wtih scarletleavy and aravanhurt. last week (car accident, caught lying to teacher, a sense of isolation from the world, mood swings, lost my cell phone, my class partner lost my notes, no sleep, realization that i am a vegetarian) was terrible. Next week will still be awful (finals, expecting rejection from Pton ED, tests, papers, projects, detention, community service, taking the bus cuz of a car accident). But, the winter break will be here in two weeks!!</p>
<p>and it's very crucial to understand how much money means to college. colleges are likek private businesses, they run like corporations. Money is CRUCIAL to any school, that;s why schools are always asking for money from their alums. the amount of money is directly related to the ranking..............there;s a reason why Harvard is the #1 shool. Endowments are EVERYTHING.</p>
<p>dont be jealous, btw. people like them can never truly enjoy the success brought by their hard work........they can never value hardwork as much as normal people.</p>
<p>i understand the whole thing about colleges needing money, but kids getting in on donations thats bulls*** in my eyes. heres a story my friend told me once whenicomearound, for a pick me up i guess.</p>
<p>on day there is a turkey and he sees a tree with 4 branches on each side. he wants to get to the top of the tree but doesnt have the energy to do so. there happens to be a bull next to the tree and seeing the turkey he says "hey eat a piece of my s*** and you will have enough energy to get up one branch". so he takes 5 peieces (one for eah branch and then the top) and eats one. he jumps to the first branch just liek the bull said, but he is tired out so he sleeps. the next day he gets to the second branch. so on and so on, the fifth day he is at the top of the tree. he's happy. the 6th day a man comes and shoots the turkey dead on the spot.</p>
<p>moral: bulls*** will get you to the top but it wont keep you there. i personally like to think its true</p>
<p>i definitely understand your frustration. on the surface i guess i'm one of those "privileged" people. i go to private school, live in a really nice part of dc, and so on. my parents aren't from wealthy families, and they've worked hard to be where they are today. </p>
<p>so why isn't everything peachy? well, the way my parents' employer (my country's foreign ministry) pays its employees is ridiculous. they don't actually pay them enough money to buy/rent their own house and pay for their own children's education... they pay directly for the house and education, but a fairly small actual salary. since my parents both work there, are married, live in the same house, and have kids in common, that means that the employer only pays one set of benefits to cover two employees. that wouldn't be as big a problem if said benefits included college tuition in addition to k-12... but they don't. and they don't increase the salary to make up for suddenly not having to pay the $25k/year that my private school costs. so my parents are expected to pay for college out of their small, inadequate salaries, and i'm expected to apply for finaid as an "international" (diplomat visa)... and while all of this is going on...</p>
<p>the swedish government saves *$150,000 per year* by not letting its own employees decide what to do with the money they earn.</p>
<p>yes, that is right. one hundred and fifty thousand dollars that my parents deserve, based on the work they do, but don't get. if the foreign ministry just paid its employees actual money instead of silly benefits packages... we could pay off our debts and pay for college, we could actually have savings (we have no savings), my mom wouldn't fight with my dad all the time, and we wouldn't have to worry ourselves retarded about having no financial security.</p>
<p>yup, life can be very unfair....i dont really have a story to tell right now (my mind is currently blank due to extreme exhaustion :)) but i've definitely had those days where i just want to scream at the top of my lungs--> THIS SUCKSSSSSSSS!! </p>
<p>Yeah doesn't life suck sometimes?!! Seifo, I really like your friend's story, It's really cute, but in essence it does speak to the truth. Let those bs-ers get to the top... in the end, let's see how successful they'll be.
Oh, and I agree, ranting is great! In my AP Comp class, almost every Friday is called "Rant/Rave Friday." Our teacher gives us an assignment (usually some random topic), and then we either rant or rave about it for most of the period in writing. At the end, we all share it. It really develops our opinionated writing and is useful in timing our writing. I love that class. Almost every Friday I look forward to ranting or raving about something. It feels good to let your feelings out. The greatest thing is, you don't have to hold back. You can express yourself as you wish (however, there are obviously certain things that cannot be shared in a class)... lol and some students just will never get that :D
Just cheer up... I don't know which of you are religious. I personally am. I know that everything happens for a reason. My faith in God helps me get through a lot of tough times. I have put my Harvard admissions in God's hands. I too will get my decision Dec. 14th. I trust that I will be accepted wherever God wants me to go. If it's not Harvard, I feel it's b/c I'm meant to shine somewhere else. If you're not the religious type, at least look at things this way: Things happen for a reason (whether by Divine Intervention or not), and if it seems like undeserving losers are reaping the fruits of success and you are receiving nothing.... that will change eventually. Everyone gets what they deserve eventually. Cheer up. Things will look bright soon. Good luck to all Harvard EAers. Dec. 14th!!! w00t!!! I wish you all the best!</p>
<p>Now that I've calmed down a bit I can go back to proper capitalization...</p>
<p>APDoolittle,</p>
<p>You seem like a really balanced, positive person, and I admire that. The crazy religious fanatics get so much attention that people (myself included) sometimes forget that not all religious people are like that. Thanks for reminding us otherwise. :)</p>
<p>I'm an atheist, and what gets me through tough times is the knowledge that where I go in life depends completely on my own strength of character. I know I can't rely on anything besides my own self, which sounds so negative, but it's actually liberating. It also forces me to take responsibility for my actions because anything I do is a reflection of my character and my integrity.</p>
<p>E.g.: I believe that I am fundamentally a good person, but that only holds true as long as I continue to do good deeds. If I [steal, kill, cheat, etc] I will have made myself a bad person. By removing the idea of "original sin" I place the responsibility entirely on myself.</p>
<p>you way of defining life as "unfair" deals not with what you are and do but by what other people's influence on you. This college application is unfair because other people do it differently. But life may turn out fair for each individual depending the way they handle their own lives. If others make life unfair, well, make it fair for yourself and others.</p>
<p>dragonreborn, was that to me? Because I never wrote that life was "unfair"; the OP did. Life is only what you make of it based on your circumstances.</p>
<p>gunner- im not saying i have it bad. i dont. but ive always hated the "well people in the world are starving so you better eat your brussel sprouts" approach to looking at things.
i would love to help those who are starving, but i dont think having brussel sprouts shoved down my throat would do them any good.</p>
<p>hey- i warned you all before i started that it was going to be a venting thread. so...yeah.
and jonny- good luck with H!!</p>
<p>I personally have no problem with people getting in because of money. If alumni couldn't get their children into their alma mater, would they continue to donate such large sums of money? If not, what would happen to the schools. </p>
<p>More than that I have no problem with it, because people should realize that the world is not a meritocracy and is not based on our idea of fairness. College, like almost everything else is a business, and based on business principles. You should support your loyal customers.</p>