<p>so this past week early decisions came out an one of my good friends got rejected. she’s legit a real good person, she had a great interview, her grades and SATs are above Bowdoin’s average, and she has a great deal of extracurricular activities. she basically poured her heart into Bowdoin, and the more we look at it, the more we realize there is no way she should have been rejected. is there anything Bowdoin’s looking for that she couldnt offer?</p>
<p>I go to Bowdoin currently and may be able to help answer your question. To do so, however, could you provide more details? Specifically, please provide some details including extracurriculars, her home state, ethnicity, etc.</p>
<p>Good grades and SAT scores are nice but relatively unimportant to their decision process compared to most schools (Bowdoin is one of the few schools left where the SAT is optional).</p>
<p>wait, are you implying that she was rejected because she was gay? if so, that's not a possibility. </p>
<p>if you're using "gayness" as a synonym for "lameness" then, well, let's just hope she didn't say something like that in her admissions interview. if so, that would explain the rejection.</p>
<p>hey pb relax my methods of speech in no way reflect her. ethicka, thanks, I will tell her to PM you her statistics, as I don't know them specifcally.</p>
<p>I also find your use of "gayness" HIGHLY offensive. Would you substitute any other minority group's popular epithet to indicate "lameness" or wrong headedness? While your friend may not use your exact words, I also hope he or she does not share your sensibilities. Devaluing those different than yourself is not any part of an intellectually vibrant higher learning institution anywhere.</p>
<p>wow umm ekmom i dont think u get it
no i wouldnt susbstitute another minorities name because that wouldnt fit. should i go around when im ****ed saying "wow that was african american." no i wouldnt. im sorry but kids who toss around the word "gay" with absolutely no offense intended towards the minority group, as everyone except u would realize. so no im not devaluing anyone. and my sensibilities? u know nothing about me. don't be so quick to judge, you'll find that the tone of people's speech in internet can be far different from their tone in real life. u know the way that kids my age speak, and if u consider the word "gay" offensive, you will be devestated by what's throw around in school. now im soryr if u were offended by the word "gayness", lets get back to my friend please.</p>
<p>of course they know how it's used, they don't like it. and just because it's "common" doesn't validate it.</p>
<p>who cares? i don't...when people are offended by the word, it's total GAYNESS</p>
<p>wow, people need to relax with keeping everything politically correct...</p>
<p>"Gay" is quite honestly more commonly used in teenage vernacular to mean "lame" or "unappealing," and it's very uncommon for the words to carry any meaning intentionally derogatory towards homosexuals. Is it questionable use of syntax? Perhaps, but it was very obvious that the op did not mean it in the context that you assume. If you are legitimately offended by the use of the word in such a way, ekmom, I suggest you unplug your computer to save yourself from the scary tubes of the interweb. Or stop being so sensitive and holier-than-thou. The former might be more energy-efficient and would probably be best for the rest of the forum. The op had a legitimate question, and if you are not able to come up with a contructive response to the question posed, I suggest you leave him/her alone.</p>
<p>True, but the thing about using it in common vernacular (I am guilty occasionally from being around it so much, but I try to stop) is that it is a negative connotation to it. It subconsciously perpetuates the stereotype, just as if I were to go around using the N-word without a trace of racial hatred in my heart. I wish it would go out of use as it I really think it is part of the problem, that problem being that homosexuality is still very much not-really-accepted by the whole of society (or at least American society). </p>
<p>Anyways, its no use beating someone up over the internet for political correctness. Even real life arguments usually end in both sides just bristling with animosity and unwilling to relinquish their initial stance. And without that personal element, you aren't going to achieve anything except voicing your discontent to a bunch of people who don't really care. Its the internet! You aren't going to change his/her habits on it... </p>
<p>To the OP, college admissions in top schools are arbitrary. The essay matters a lot (the common AP and the supplement) and also her race/background along with the general tone of the application (what kind of person is she and would she fit in well with the atmosphere they are trying to create). I mean, it is people who are judging these applications. Maybe some of them were in a bad mood that day, or it could be that the competition is ridiculously fierce this year, or perhaps she was too well-qualified. </p>
<p>Being too well-qualified means that they feel that you have been groomed into the admissions process as opposed to just been yourself, tried hard, and explored what you wanted to explore. I obviously don't know your friend and all of these details are subjective. Its really probable there is no good reason. I got deferred from Amherst ED on similar conditions, with a LOT of pull from two different people. It makes no sense, but there is no use crying over spilled milk. There are plenty of Northeastern colleges that will accept her if she is so well-qualified that she should go and explore these and perhaps maybe fall in love with another college. Thats what I have done. I was in love with Amherst, but as the deferral acceptance rate ain't so great, I'm now equally in love with Bowdoin, Middlebury, Bates, and Wesleyan (and still Amherst, because it rules). </p>
<p>And worst comes to worst, you can always attend one college and transfer if it is truly that important.</p>
<p>Just my thoughts/opinions.</p>
<p>Ah, the great "gay" debate. Sigh. Seriously, if you still use the word gay to mean stupid, you need to grow up. Suck up your "whaaaaaah, political correctness police!" bs and realize you'd probably be pretty offended if the people around you started saying "Oh man, that's so [your name here]" when what they really meant was awful and stupid. Attaching a negative connotation to the word gay is offensive, period.</p>
<p>And before you start with a lecture about "the way kids speak" and getting away from the scary interweb, 1) I'm 20, 2) I'm a linguist, 3) I've probably seen scarier things on ye olde tubes than you. Language change happens, sure, but it's ridiculous to act like using gay as a synonym for stupid has no relationship to pervasive societal prejudice against gay people. That's <em>how</em> language change happens--words don't pick up meanings out of nowhere, they pick up meanings with a relationship to the ones they already have. Is combating pejorative use of the word gay the most important item on the queer activist agenda? No. But it is a prime example of the kind of ubiquitous casual homophobia that makes a lot of LGBT people uncomfortable.</p>
<p>As for your friend, admissions at a certain point are just completely arbitrary. Sucks, but there's nothing anyone can do besides find safeties they love and realize that the selectivity of the school you go to reflects nothing on your self worth.</p>
<p>yeah, as a bowdoin student, i know admissions is in many ways arbitrary. but, as i've come to realize, college is really what you make of it. i'm sure your friend will at least be given the opportunity to do well at a great school if her stats are what you say. it's up to her though.<br>
and "gayness"-- just DON'T use it. period. at bowdoin, and in most academia, it is offensive to most people and just an empty adjective to everybody else. it's not about 'political' correctness. it's more than politics, just don't do it. lesson learned.</p>
<p>ok im sorry if anyone was offended by the use of "gayness" in the title.
thanks for all the feedback on my friend.</p>
<p>So I applied EDI to Bowdoin as well, and unfortunately I didn't receive the "big, skinny" envelope but a small, skinny envelope with a "We are sorry to inform you..." beginning. I'm not going to be really bitter about it, because there's nothing I can do about it now and I know that I would have been ecstatic about getting in (had I gotten in, of course). In my letter it stated that there were a record number of applications, so I guess that made me feel a little better. Like your friend, SandyRunner, I had excellent grades, great ACT/SAT scores, was captain of varsity field hockey, president of our high school's community service club, etc. However, I guess I was just like the rest of the highly qualified applicants (like your friend). So whatever, I'm not going to say that "Bowdoin's a bad college" or anything because that's just not the case; I think that they really DID have a strong applicant pool this year, and be sure to tell your friend that there are definitely other people in her boat!</p>
<p>KayBo, I'm really sorry! But i'm really amazed to hear that a student as qualified as you would be rejected and not even deferred. I was rejected for a particular school as well (I won't name it) and it was my first choice. I would have been incredibly elated for a very long time if I made it in too. But I didn't. I know I was qualified and that what I could offer the college (besides the stats as well) were amazing. But they were being thickheaded enough to look over those qualities. It is their loss. Same for you KayBo---with your amazing accomplishments, i'm sure atleast one amazing institution will do everything to have you. Be proud of who you are and where you've reached. Admissions is a very weird thing. To a certain extent, some things are predictable (good grades, test scores, and recommendations). But the other things (intangible) are impossible to know what admissions decides upon. I really wish you lots of luck and for everyone else on the same boat!</p>
<p>"wow that was african american." -lol</p>