<p>Well, early action/decisions finally rolled around in my school and there were your share of joys and tears and whatnot. But a trend is really annoying me that people who get into places because they are a solid applicant on "paper". In real life, many of the people who got into top schools at my school is mostly underserving, they all either cheated through high school or daddy generously dished out a few grand for SAT tutoring and etc. Granted, some of the admissions were fair and reasonable and best of luck to those kids. Now I do not hate them or I am jealous, I already got into the school I want to go...</p>
<p>For example, a kid from my school was accpeted at Yale. I am sure he had all he needed on paper but in real life, he is a real jerk and probably cheats more than anyone else in the school. But no, somehow the people who work honestly and do their own work is left out and the worst of the worst of crop is risen to the top. </p>
<p>Don't worry, it's the same thing with my high school. However, whatever goes around comes around, and those people will eventually get what they deserve.</p>
<p>All the kids I know that got into Ivy League schools ED were legacies. They're also pretty smart, but no smarter than the kids who weren't legacies and got rejected/waitlisted ED. </p>
<p>There's this one guy at my school who had both parents who went to Cornell... would always joke that he was using Cornell as his safety school. He got in (not a big suprise) and now every morning he comes in wearing some kind of Cornell shirt and mentions Cornell at least three or four times a day. It's not that he's stupid, he's just a pain. x.x</p>
<p>..And that's the real world, gents. If I was given an 'unfair' opportunity to get into a top school (e.g., it was my parents' alma mater) you can be sure that I would exploit that advantage to its maximum potential.</p>
<p>Must also point out that paying for SAT tutoring hardly constitutes cheating. While it does give an advantage to students whose families can afford to pay, and is perhaps not the ideal system, it does not magically result in high scores--you still have to do the work and have the ability to benefit form the tutoring.</p>
<p>And so many things in life in general are more or less than they seem that your observation, while heartfelt and in some ways accurate, tells only part of the story. </p>
<p>I would say the experience reflected in the OP's post is a lesson you mgiht as well learn now, becuase connections of various kinds may well play a role in almost all parts of life, from getting jobs to finding apartments to meeting your spouse. Merit/connections/luck--all are variables to consider. Anmdm when it is your turn to benefit or help someone you care about you won't find it so unfair.</p>
<p>and a question remains, after knowing what you know about the so called Ivy schools...
why would anyone who did know how the system really works still want to attend so badly? </p>
<p>Perception is only reality in the minds of those who perceive it. </p>
<p>And it won't really matter where you go as much as what you do when you get there.</p>
<p>Excellant post Mattmom.--I guess because you sound like my father, he never misses a chance to point out again (and again) how important networking is---at all levels.</p>
<p>My friend from my school got waitlisted from Wash U ED, and a guy got accepted. Even though he looks alot better on paper than her, I think she's just as smart and has especially alot to offer. She may not be a great "applicant" but she'd be a great member of the college.</p>
<p>I'll probably be snivelling my nose come April when everyone gets their acceptances again, but I know that they're all perfectly capable and great for their schools...I just don't appreciate their illicit social habits. :p what can I say...</p>
<p>Well folks, welcome to the real world. When I was younger, my lament to my parents was "That's not fair", to which my parents always replied "Life's not fair". </p>
<p>That's what this whole college application process is about making yourself look as best you can to the schools you apply to. Your application, scores, recs, interview, ec's etc. You do the best you can. The schools are out there selling themselves to us, and we to them.</p>
<p>Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. We only control what we do. It doesn't do you any good to compare yourself to others or bemoan the fact that they got in but we didn't. We have no control over that.</p>
<p>"In real life, many of the people who got into top schools at my school is mostly underserving, they all either cheated through high school or daddy generously dished out a few grand for SAT tutoring and etc"</p>
<p>S's school had an honor code that said that if one knew someone else was cheating, one had to turn them in. If you knew someone was cheating, and didn't turn them in, then, no surprise that their cheating brought rewards for them. I will never understand why students somehow think it's worse to be a snitch than a cheater. </p>
<p>Paying for SAT tutoring isn't cheating. People also can accomplish basically the same thing by studying through review books and on-line sites. In other words, if you are dissatisfied with your scores, what did you do to improve them?</p>
<p>Ehh, well apparently one of my so called "friends" believed I "didn't deserve to get into Michigan" when she found out that I got deferred. Sadly enough, both my GPA/ACT (3.7 UW, 32 ACT) are exactly the same as hers, and I've taken more APs/honors/academic courses then her. She claims that the only EC's I do were tennis (when I'm in fact, cap of robotics, where we won a regional, vice pres/founder of MUN, part of sci oly (4th states, 2nd regionals)). Apparently I "didn't deserve it" according to her, even though my app was probably even better then hers on paper. Anyways, I don't really care since I got accepted like 3-4 weeks after being deferred oddly enough.</p>
<p>My point being, you don't know everythign about someone so sometimes its hard to say who deserves what...</p>
<p>I have to echo Northstarmom's comment about cheating. Cheating is a serious allegation these days. I wouldn't toss it around, even anonymously. </p>
<p>When you complain about cheating at your school, do you realize that it doesn't just reflect badly on the students in question, but on the environment of the entire school?</p>
<p>The internet is not the place to complain about classmates who cheat. Your dean or principal's office is.</p>
<p>In my Senior Physics class three out of the 20 kids are exempt from the midterm exam. I am one of them. Although unfortunately, I have a horrible teacher...literally, really bad. She breaks all the rules, I just do my work and shut up. This one girl cheats off me so bad. She takes my tests (literally off my desk) and copies it and it gets me mad. I would tell, but then the teacher would acuse us both for cheating. What do I do? I write the real answers down on my desk, write fake ones on my test and she copies. I get the 98%, she gets the 53%.
She almost was able to pass the midterm exemption, but because I stopped being her little, for a lack of a better word, b****, I get what I deserve. She applied to NYU, but she's literally a dummy. She's been cheating off me of me since 8th grade...no more, I stepped up. She has a 'D' and one college just rejected her. I told her, you can cheat, but you can't cheat through life...what goes around, comes around. Two can play that game.</p>
<p>Dean J, I know what you mean...but here, it's just nice to rant out my fustration. My school is not a therapy office.</p>
<p>Ever hear the term "worry about yourself" or "Control the controlables"? Absolutely no point in worry about who got in where and why.. Why should you really care?</p>
<p>Opie,
That's the best advice. I've made the mistake twice, once when my son applied to his high school and then recently when he applied to Yale. I looked at the superstars who were also applying and wondered, would he have a chance against so-and-so. Well, twice both he and so-and-so were accepted. It was a complete waste of my time and energy to worry about anyone else and not to trust that the schools do know what they're looking for and will make you an offer if you have it. My son is better adjusted than I and he never let who else was applying factor into his decisions or his concerns!</p>
<p>Same thing happened to me. I was the one who got in trouble for doing something I shouldn't have.. alright fine. But I didn't tell who else was involved, and now while they're in National Honor Society continuing to cheat, I am out of National Honor Society, but on the other hand I learned my lesson when I was young. </p>
<p>On the other hand, I'm almost convinced that my school despises extracurricular achievement that occurs as a result of temporarily neglecting (but making up) certain academic responsibilities. In fact, when I told a teacher of my activities and my statewide successes, she told me straight up that (yes, I am quoting) she "didn't care." </p>
<p>This is the place where I should tie everything together, but I'm tired, so I'm gonna go to bed.</p>
<p>O.o so weird why would you cheat in academics to get to college?...once you get there you won;t be able to keep up w/ the other students which completely ruins any chance of grad school O.o since undergrad is not even important anyway</p>
<p>not true, being a top student at a high school does need some cheating if you are only of average intellect, but being an average student at a top university is easy since Stanford sets an A- as the class average grade.</p>