<p>my friends got rejected by Columbia…now im feeling even more nervous…i keep asking myself why penn has to accept you…can’t even focus on my other application essays these days…</p>
<p>same! i have a friend who had a killer application but got rejected from columbia. is this a trend for this year? any speculation on whether colleges will be tougher on ED this year?</p>
<p>i just can’t believe how many well qualified applicants didn’t make the cut for columbia. i hope the same trend doesn’t reciprocate for us…</p>
<p>any news about it? 0 0</p>
<p>I was just wondering…
if an athlete from our school is going to Penn,
and 6 people (including me,there may be more) are applying ED …
I guess the chances are pretty minimal right?..T.T</p>
<p>Almost everybody has a slim chance. You see the stats. If you are putting up numbers like that, you’ll be fine no matter what the outcome is next week.</p>
<p>In all honesty, even having a hook is a disservice if taken too seriously. Students with hooks can get complacent and present the same, old, tired story of being disadvantaged for this and that reason, relying too heavily on their hook to get in.</p>
<p>^1) Who said anything about hooks?</p>
<p>2) Please stop talking. You clearly don’t understand what some students go through to<br>
achieve the things they do. If you did, you’d be more careful with your words. No one
gets in if they don’t deserve to.</p>
<p>^ That is a little absurd to say that no one who gets in doesn’t deserve to.</p>
<p>^Yeah, like most things in life, the college admissions process is in no way “fair.” Sucks, but that’s just the reality of life.</p>
<p>^^Perhaps I exaggerated. But it’s also absurd to say that just because someone is a URM they don’t deserve to get in, or somehow had the standards drastically lowered for them. </p>
<p>Maybe the only kids that don’t deserve it from their own merit are kids who’s parents make large donations to school. To a lesser extent, the small boost given to legacies may be a bit unfair.</p>
<p>For all other cases, such as URMs, first-gen, athletes, etc., they all deserve to get in. Maybe they don’t excel in an area that you consider important (i.e. - SAT scores or GPA), but they excel in other things (i.e. - certain sports or amazing extracurriculars). They work just as hard as others. </p>
<p>Oh, and I agree that college admissions aren’t fair, but not to the extent that some people try to make them out to be. I hate when people call it “random”, when in reality, it’s not. They don’t sit there and draw names out of a hat. They look for the best students that will help build the class the want to build. Simple as that.</p>
<p>There’s nothing fair about the college admissions process. </p>
<p>We work hard for four years, studying, doing extracurriculars, pouring out our heart and soul in and out of school, only to be given roughly 500 words to convey our journey. </p>
<p>And we’re completely unprepared for that kind of self reflection. For most of us, this is the first time we’ve written an essay about ourselves and not on the most recent AP Lit book assigned in class. And we’re expected to somehow properly communicate how hard we’ve worked, how smart we are, while maintaining a humble and likable visage. </p>
<p>Anyone who gets in has somehow properly maneuvered this journey. And I have incredible respect for them. </p>
<p>Whether they get in for being a URM or recruited athlete doesn’t really matter.</p>
<p>IMO the recruited athlete thing is kind of weird too, especially if you look at it from a foreign perspective. America is pretty much unique in that regard. I mean, isn’t the goal of Universities to provide their students with an education?</p>
<p>So because you lack the ability to write a good essay in 500 words makes college admissions unfair? There’s no need to “convey your journey”. Your scores and grades speak for themselves. You get the chance to describe your ECs. The essay is where you get to show them a part of your personality. It’s not to tell your whole life story. If you can’t convey yourself through an essay, maybe the most selective schools aren’t for you (not you in particular, but in general). Obviously since it’s holistic, they’ll take other things into consideration too. The essay is just one part of the app. It’s hardly the deciding factor. </p>
<p>Also, I’d wager that very few people have been prepared specifically for college admissions. The best candidates are those that don’t prepare, rather, they are naturally gifted in academics, writing, and all other parts of the application.</p>
<p>@kbolisetty23 - Yes, college is a place of learning, and one of the main goals is education. However, its also an experience. An experience that entails ECs, sports, having fun, etc. It’s really a time of growth. Every college wants to have the best sports teams, mainly because it makes them look good and it brings in money.</p>
<p>^ Haha maybe I’m a conspiracy theorist, but I suspect it’s more about the money than “providing an experience.” And like I said, in MOST countries University is about providing an education, not an “experience.” I guess it’s just a values dissonance thing.</p>
<p>^Yeah, money is the biggest factor. However, I still believe that it’s best for students when there’s a nice community that offers a lot, one of those things being sports. As for the rest of the world, I can’t make any judgements, but I will say that the U.S. has the best universities in the world, so they’re doing something right.</p>
<p>I’m not saying that an essay is the center of the college application, but for really selective schools like Penn, your essay is what sets you apart. </p>
<p>They have more qualified applicants than space. At that point, your essays are really all that’s left. It’s a fairly holistic process. Perfect test scores and EC’s can only take you so far.</p>
<p>The unfair part of college admissions is the fact that we’re all being judged by a group of people based on about 500 words. </p>
<p>This is with the assumption that most applicants are on par with each other in terms of grades, test scores, and EC’s.</p>
<p>^There’s so much more than the essay that sets kids apart. Teacher recommendations, counselor recommendations, unique backgrounds, ECs (and I strongly disagree that ECs have a limit, per se, and that they can only take you so far). The essay is but one part of this, and I agree that it is very important. However, the whole point of the 500 word limit is to see judge how well you can convey what you have to tell to the adcom. That ability sets you apart. If you can’t do it, you’re probably not Penn material.</p>