<p>I am sorry to hear what happened. As Melissa's guardian, I am sure you are very concerned about her. I am not a psychiatrist, but am in the medical field and am a parent. I would be very concerned about her distorted concept of being accepted or rejected by Harvard. Disappointment yes. But otherwise, it should have any bearing on how she should feel about herself fundamentally. She is a very accomplished student and a valued person. She needs to recognize that. </p>
<p>I truly think that she will meet a lot of disappointment in life if she continues to define her self worth and "success" in terms of others' validation. It may be difficult to reason with her now. However, emphasize that going to a prestigious college is a privilege not a right, and she has been accepted by two of the most prestigious schools in the U.S. where she will get an outstanding education, provided she can fully embrace that experience. Perhaps tell her that some people that were rejected may be better qualified than those that got in-just the vagaries of the admissions process Also tell her, sometimes students choose Brown or Stanford over Harvard, I know several people who have done that. They saw something in these schools that attracted them enough to decide to go somewhere other than Harvard. Finally, tell her she should not let where you go to school define who you are. It almost seems like she is looking for a "designer" college to wear, and a particular one at that. Unfortunately, it has become a very unhealthy obsession. I am concerned enough to suggest that she should get professional help. If you PM me, I may be able to suggest some good people in the Boston area who work with adolescents or who can refer her to the appropriate person. </p>
<p>Another option is for her to hold to her place at one of the schools she is accepted to, and defer a year. As a parent, I might suggest Brown, only because it is closer to home. Finally, ask, right now, is she emotionally ready for college anywhere? I think getting a year's perspective, becoming emotionally healthy, and being EXCITED about attending two of the top schools in our country, would be very useful for her. Going to Brown or Stanford are tremondous opportunities and should help her get to wherever she wants to go (?Rome as one poster put it). However, she needs to be in the right frame of mind to be able to make the most of her special opportunities.</p>
<p>I hope that Melissa can make a good recovery, and your whole family will get through this difficult experience.</p>
<p>I'm terribly sorry to hear this horrific news about Melissa and I pray that she recovers soon. She seems like a fantastic person to have been accepted into two of the top universities in the world!</p>
<p>Maybe if you used proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation it would help your chances. I do not think Harvard would think very highly of you replacing "that" with "dat" and forgetting to capitalize sentences, "i"s etc. </p>
<p>melissa, brown was my first choice! i would definitely pick brown over harvard, and i'm quite envious that you got into two top private universities! taking a year off, as several ppl have suggested, is an excellent idea as well; it's also something i would like to do but can't because i'm attending a public university that doesn't really let students defer. i want you to know that you are sooo lucky!
hope you're doing better!</p>
<p>Um, my first reaction is, a lot of people who have much better stats and more qualifications have been rejected from H, and I'm pretty sure that they've wanted to go there for a long time, too. (do you see hints of bitterness here?) Move on. it's not the end of the world.</p>
<p>for those of you making insensitive remarks about the OP, please read the rest of the thread...this really is not an appropriate time to be putting down melissaivyleague (especially about grammar, which has no connection to her Harvard rejection and seems to be done purely in mean-spiritedness).</p>
<p>I really would like to know how she is doing though...</p>
<p>I thank you all for your concern about Melissa. She is currently in fair condition and will be under constant watch by her doctors for another 3 weeks. I could never imagine something like this happening to our family. Unfortunately because of a deadline of some sort by the colleges Melissa, missed the response time that was provided to her. Thus Pomona College had agreed to keep her records for 2 years and she can activate the acceptance whenever she chooses. All the people that had something negative to say I just hope that God blesses you. Open your eyes to see the world around you, not everyone is just like you. Life is always going to be hard and someone will always be there to put you down. </p>
<p>The person that posted before me, I just want to say that it is because Melissa has such great family and support system that makes us here trying to reach out to anyone who had any information. Everything on her computer remains logged on and signed on. I just hope one day our world can eliminate negativity and welcome kindness. </p>
<p>Thank you all so much for caring. </p>
<p>Continue to keep our family in your prayers.</p>
<p>its obvious to me that MelissaIvyLeague is a prankster. On another thread dated 4-22, the same day her guardian posted that she had hurt herself, she was asking if there are any freebies given away at admitted students day.</p>
<p>bleumom, I checked the posts and their doesn't seem to be something like that on 4-22, really I see no reason to believe that melissaivyleague is "pranking" us about hurting herself... she and her guardian sounded very sincere.</p>
<p>I'm relieved to find out that melissa's doing better now, I hope melissa has a speedy recovery, and that she enjoys Pomona next year!</p>
<p>just because a post is "gone" on here doesn't mean it didn't exsist. The moderators have a way of deleting for the best interest of the group or the person who posted. I think it's a good thing.</p>
<p>I'm slightly skeptical about the truth behind this thread, but if this is real, I apologize and hope mel. gets better... but in all honesty... I think that mel. needs to seriously re-evaluate what is important in life. Sure I may have gotten in so I may not know exactly how you feel but I have come to gather that you got into Stanford as well...so be happy and soak in the sun at Stanford and excel... Make Harvard regret their decision... you know if you weren't accepted b/c it seems like you (OP) have conflicting posts and threads...</p>
<p>The OP is a prankster. On the 4/2/08 thread, she was rejected; the other thread (inquiring about admitted students weekend and free stuff) was on 4/5/08 not 4/22/08.</p>