So colleges decisions are starting to roll in this year. And I was just curious to see if anyone had any funny/weird/crazy/obscure comments said to them after letting people know that they got accepted to a college.
I recently got accepted to Columbia University and have pretty much gotten one of two responses. Either “OMG CONGRATULATIONS” or a look that gives off the feeling of “Were you that smart?”
Actually I lied, I did also get another response. A kid recently asked me were I was going to college and when I told him, he said he hadn’t heard of Columbia University. LOL
At our school we had one accepted to Harvard, one to Brown, and three to Cornell, all ED. The whole community was very happy for them. When the kids walked into their classes the following day, their classmates erupted in cheers and high fives. And everyone around here is thrilled even if you get into Podunk U. Congrats to you too!
It is awesome. 99% of our kids go to college, so what often happens is kids get several acceptances and I guess the more acceptances the better. But I haven’t seen any nastiness ever towards other kids about anywhere they get accepted to. My D got accepted EA to her safety and she was thrilled, even if it isn’t a prestigious college. Our district has a lot of high achieving kids, so I think for them, it’s a culmination of “at last, the reward.”
This is a tough time for many students. Some are elated as they now hold an offer to their dream school. Others are dealing with being deferred or rejected while still others who did not apply early have heard from none. People outside the “senior” loop have no idea how sensitive this time can be so they may boldly ask a senior what they plan to do the following year.
I would advise students to try to refrain from the conversation-both in terms of asking and announcing beyond discretely letting those in their inner circle know. Even posting on fb can be insensitive. I am not one to bow to PC stuff and I’m not an advocate of “everyone is nice so everyone deserves a trophy” but why be hurtful when there is an alternative.
@makooks Congrats!! But wow that’s pretty insensitive of a teacher. Maybe he though you meant Penn state? Or he was trying to be funny?
@lostaccount So stuff like college acceptances can’t really kept a secret for long. It pretty much spreads like a wildfire. I told ONE person I got into Columbia the day my acceptance arrived. And that is only because he was a close friend who was also writing my Dartmouth peer recommendation (which I told him he didn’t need to do anymore, lol). The next day literally tons of people were coming up to me asking me if it was true. And I was like “how many people did he tell?”
But I’m totally on you on the fact that students shouldn’t, in a sense, “brag” about their acceptances.
No, I am not at all suggesting keeping it a secret. Not at all. I am suggesting to be sensitive to your peers who may not be as gleeful as you right now. If people ask , then an answer is in order. What I am suggesting is sensitivity. That means not screaming it from the hilltops; not wearing a shirt saying “I got in” and not putting the bumper sticker on the car (something that make me want to puke anyway and that speaks volumes about the car owner).
Yes, word gets around on these things. If you tell one classmate, odds are everyone will know by the end of the day. And it’s true that eventually everyone will know But I’m with @lostaccount on this – It’s important to be sensitive with this news. Your classmates who’d stick pins in their eyes before they’d go to Columbia will STILL be jealous if they are waiting for decisions or have had bad news. The fact that you have plans and they don’t (yet!) is stressful.
Back when I had gotten in, I got some memorable reactions:
**From my father, who fell into the Ivy Trap**: You got into Hopkins!
**Me**: Yeah, but, you know, I *really* liked BU when we visited...
**After trying (and failing) to wrap his head around the idea that I might want to go to a less prestigious school**: chuckles I'm not paying for that no-name school.
**Me**: ...
**My father**: But you should be so proud for getting into Hopkins!
**After my dad told everyone in my church that I was going to go to Hopkins and become the next Ben Carson**: That's great! Just don't forget about us while you're off saving people's lives. Make sure you come back for us. I'm gonna need someone to operate on my knees. They aren't what they used to be...
**One friend, who was irritable about not getting into their top choice, but also obsessed with finding out where everyone else got in**: A pause Congratulations.
**Me**: Thanks...
Friend asks other friend where they got in. Another pause and flat reaction.
Awkward silence.
Friend: You know, you guys are so lucky that you guys are Black. I wish I were at least Hispanic or something exotic…
My friend’s jaw dropped. And that’s when I scooted my chair away from both of them to get out of the crossfire, lol. Their relationship was never the same after that.
fauve, Nobody “earns” getting into college". It is not an award or trophy. Students are admitted to colleges by admissions counselors who believe that they have a good fit with the college. Hopefully, four years later the students will have earned their diploma. The thought that entry to college is some sort of award or is earned is responsible for a lot of heart ache and confusion for students and their parents. Students “earn” their grades. They “earn” trophies in sports competitions. They list those achievements on an application. Colleges select students they believe will be a good match. Many students get rejected because there are too few slots and the ad counselors have selected other students to fill the slots. The reasons for getting rejected are varied. Admitting a great pool of applicants is an achievement for the admissions counselors but being part of that pool is not an achievement by the student.
Grades should reflect academic achievement. Students 'earn" their grades. But, no, students don’t “earn” a place in a college class. They are selected based on varying criteria. They don’t have a “right” to be among any particular class; they have not “earned” a slot even if they are among those that are selected for a particular school.
You can think of this as just semantics if you choose but I’d argue that misunderstanding about what is “earned” is responsible for a lot of heartache.
@lostaccount So I think it depends on how you look at. I for one actually do think that students have “earned” the right to a college acceptance through hard work. It means all their nights of endless studying and pulling all nighters, missing out on parties and hanging out with friends, and countless effort in extracurriculars finally paid off. In my opinion, they absolutely have a right to wear a shirt that simply says a college’s name on it. All other people see when they look at a kid wearing a ivy league shirt is a kid with a smile on his face who they identify as “smart”, but when I see one I see the enormous amount of work the kid probably put in behind that acceptance. If he wants to be happy wearing his dream college shirt, then I say let him be.
I’ve only gotten two acceptances back - one from my state school and one EA from Northeastern. For the state school, “… but you’re not going there, right?” and for Northeastern it’s consistently, “Oh, Chicago is great!!”
On the same vein as OP’s story about her acceptance spreading like wildfire, I got my ACT score back soph year and told a counselor. The next day, the whole school knew. It’s pretty unusual to have such a high score for my school, especially as a sophomore, so I guess it was big news. But teachers that I’ve never met come up to me once a week even now to say congratulations.
Agree with others who think you have earned it. I know how very hard yiu have to work to get inot the best colleges. It is rare for a slacker to get in, aside from legacy, etc… My D is in the category of studetns who could get in to top colleges and I see how she works her butt off to get good grades and do all the other things she does. Whether you get into Harvard, or Podunk U, you have every right to wear a logo shirt with pride.
Nope, sorry but I’m with lostaccount on this one. By your reasoning, the kid who worked just as hard as you did and maybe even had a higher GPA or test scores but was rejected somehow “earned” their rejection. Your grades and test scores are the direct result of your mastering the required material and can therefore be considered earned. College admissions at highly competitive schools are not earned since there are factors being considered by the admissions committees which are beyond any individual’s control. There is certainly an element of chance in admission to schools which are reaches for everyone. No one has a “right” to admission, IMO.
If someone wants to wear a college sweatshirt it’s their prerogative…
My school tends to get only 1 or 2 top tier acceptances per class. This year we’ve had 4 just in the early round. Everyone has been generally supportive of everyone.