<p>This isn't really a question, more of a rant. But I am just so tired of this college craze. I feel like I have to manipulate my way into college or something. Everything I do has to be thought over a couple of billion times. I have to tell all my interviewers their college is my first choice (what did they expect when they asked me this question?), think clearly about what order to rank my schools when asked, even the FAFSA is some kind of scheme for the adcom to figure out whether they're your top choice. I basically have to second-guess every little thing a college tells me (Are they REALLY need-blind? Do interviews REALLY not matter?) and spend hours scrutinizing over every little thing I send to colleges so that they feel raised on a pedestal. Honestly, who ACTUALLY has a first choice? People would be happy just attending a school they perceive as prestigious. "First choice" doesn't even matter. In the end, it's all still a toss-up so why do colleges care so much? </p>
<p>Several of my friends got into their top choices even though they derped their way through high school - maybe because the schools don't need to give them thousands in aid, or because they're a legacy. I'll never know why, actually. Not that I'm not glad that they're living the dream. But I probably wouldn't need to fake this act of being the happiest friend on earth if I too got a satisfactory result or if I felt they actually DESERVED it.</p>
<p>I'm not actually as angry as I sound in this post. I'm just so annoyed. I don't want to waste all this effort being meticulous and OCD and trying to perfect everything and working so hard for four years just to not get great results.</p>
<p>I honestly feel the same way and I only applied to 6…couldn’t imagine how bad it must be for someone to apply to over 10 (why would you need to apply to over 10 anyway…never understood that)</p>
<p>I am right there with you. My daughter did everything right. In the end, the kids I see getting in to Ivy League are the rich kids at private schools, who rarely stressed over AP exams (their schools did not even do AP classes) or class rankings (their schools also did not rank) and have ECs that their parents had to be rich to pay for, and had college admissions counselors to help them with their applications. All this while my daughter worked full-time volunteer work during the summer, busted her butt to actually earn A’s in the public school (while knowing from the private schooled kids that a 50% on a test in math earned them A’s).</p>
<p>In the end, we look over the applications and wonder…how do we explain her passion for this, or how much work she did for that…etc. Her AP science teacher refused to even write recommendations for students. It goes on and on. </p>
<p>A couple exact examples…This one person, private school is $25K a year. His parents pay for him to go to expensive experiences all over the place, lots of travel and such. He has never taken an AP exam as his school does not offer them. While my daughter was stressing over the AP exams and studying constantly, he was relaxing and complaining that she never had the time to do anything with him anymore. He wrote a rotten essay about the 1 time he did volunteer work, it was mandatory through his school and they set it up for him. He even admitted that in his essay. Apparently, it was the first time he ever met poor people, and he actually wrote about that too. His PSAT score was lower than my daughter and SAT was higher. He has no class ranking and admits that homework or not, he generally makes A’s. He clearly has way less homework at his private school. He got in to Princeton ED. Other student we know…NO EC’s, expensive private school, again, no AP’s, got in to U of Chicago. He is a little older. He was shocked at the work he had to do once there. He said he always thought he was so smart because he always got straight A’s at the private school. He also admits that he knew he had way less homework than any of his public schooled friends. He also tells us that his school gave him A’s when he earned 50% or less on tests. His SAT scores were the same as my daughter’s and his PSAT scores were lower. No APs, no class ranking. Just an expensive private school. Oh, and in his case, he was in track for a short while because his school required a sport in place of PE. No ECs outside of that. </p>
<p>My daughter…the first non-adult volunteer at the science reserve she worked at. She was a leader with several others coming to volunteer after her. She was the start of that program. She approached the science center and suggested it and they loved it and she became the first minor to ever volunteer there. But would UC or Princeton want her? Nope. </p>