<p>He's smart enough to get in. I'd think he's smart enough to choose. Do you think that a visitation can really tell you anything or just confuse the confused?
Do you really think whatever choice he makes, will make a difference?
How about 04-01-2006?</p>
<p>I agree with calmom. I think it's envy you're feeling, whether you all have a senior this year or not. You're envious that your child last year didn't have these options or that your child next year won't. When I read the boy's post, I took it simply as a desire for opinions and help. Why the need for so much analysis. And I think it's insensitive to talk about him in the way you all have. He has likely read all the mean-spirited comments and, being the sensitive kid he appears to be, hasn't responded because he's hurt. One person's success doesn't take away from other's chances for success. Everyone can find a place where they can be happy, it's all a matter of attitude. And a good attitude does not include envy.</p>
<p>researchmom,
Again, I cannot speak for others, but envy is not the issue here, nor do I believe it is an issue for many of the posters here who have been around here for a while. Those of use who have been on CC for several years and have seen many kids in similar situations (lots of schools, lots of choices, lots of money... etc) ask for help in deciding... Obviously there was something about the way this one was handled that stood out as different to the OP. I suspect this kid is struggling to please his family, and may be conflicted if he is being pulled/steered in different directions. I believe that though his questions are sincere, the way he handled it was a bit over the top. He has received feedback about this very issue in some of the threads he started, and he seems to have accepted the feedback graciously. Either way, welcome to CC.</p>
<p>I haven't read the kid's blog, but I find it impossible to believe this story. If he were as close to his GC as he says he is, wouldn't he go to her first for counsel instead of posting TEN separate threads on a public BBS? That's a clueless move if I ever saw one, and it smells of desperation besides.</p>
<p>ResearchMaven and Calmom.</p>
<p>I will reply to your comments as the "OE" (original envier per your diagnosis). </p>
<p>I can honestly say that no child of mine would ever have done or posted what that boy did or posted. </p>
<p>Firstly, as you note, none would have had the profile of a kid who had been accepted to every school of this caliber they applied to. Since that is true of 99.9999% of the kids who apply to college--sorry, but not really feeling the 'jealousy' thing all that much. Never have wanted to parent that 1 in a 1,000,000 kid... pretty happy with the ones I have- who have managed just fine thus far. Son #1 would be miserable at the schools this boy is choosing from- Son #2 overcame significant issues to be at one of the schools this boy is choosing from...</p>
<p>But beyond that, my kids are 'sensitive', too....as in sensitive to others. And that is, the other and bigger reason, why they would never (have done) or posted what this boy(did) or posted. </p>
<p>So, call it as you see it, posted originally to see what others thought, and now I know!</p>
<p>Calmom and researchmaven:</p>
<p>I echo jym's thoughts. Just trying to process an unusual circumstance. I actually learned something from this thread, i.e., that there are applicants who are "known" to admissions officers. And I still have the sense that this kid is for real, academically talented, and probably lacking in emotional intelligence. Truly, I am not envious of him.</p>
<p>My thoughts too. High IQ, middling EQ.</p>
<p>I do not think for one moment that his acceptances are "made-up". We had a girl in our HS in 2004 who was accepted to every Ivy school except Yale, and also to MIT and Stanford. She was very low-key about it, and we only found out through her very proud grandmother!!</p>
<p>This boy is not looking for kudos; he has just been branded as insensitive, where he could be merely lacking finesse.</p>
<p>The students on the Columbia board responded quite diplomatically to this fellow's posts. I give credit to these kids for handling it the way they did <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=165633%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=165633</a>
* the word "tact" comes to mind...</p>
<p>...anyone surprised that he hasn't found this thread and posted in it yet?</p>
<p>"...anyone surprised that he hasn't found this thread and posted in it yet?"</p>
<p>Why would he? He has ten threads to check on the individual forum while this one was only linked to one of his posts. He probably does not even know this discussion took place.</p>
<p>Guys, I think you are over-estimating the awareness of an immigrant kid about the admission process... He might not know that he could withdraw his other applications after being accepted EA to Harvard; heck, he might not even know how unique his situation is, either. All he knows - he got into some schools he did not have means to visit; many people didn't get into same schools... should it prevent him from asking advice? You know, maybe for him, it's no different from asking "Emory or Colgate?" knowing that there are some people around who did not get to Emory. And we do see that a lot here, don't we? And somehow we do not question tact and integrity of those kids?</p>
<p>End errr... for us foreigners, the proverbial "fit" does not mean that much. You go to college to learn, so the only important part is academics, not climate, or the campus buildings, or the football team. The kid had chosen the best (academically) universities he knows of, with a couple of backups, and probably for him it was not "naivet</p>
<p>I'm sorry Marmat, but I have to call you on some of this....Every single foreigner I know (and I live in another country) who is considering colleges knows the difference between Harvard and Cornell, Brown and Yale. For parents of kids considering American universities they really only WANT to know about HYP Penn (only Wharton), MIT and Stanford(read some of the other threads on this board at the moment about kids having trouble with only getting into Dartmouth and Brown)....and maybe 3 or 4 others(if Daddy went to NYU or USC or Michigan or UI (Engineering only)- these are maybe okay........This boy lives in a suburban area of Houston. He is not in a rice field in the middle of Vietnam. I will buy not knowing the intricacies of EA, etc...but, if you look at all his posts- not just those most recently...a pretty savvy kid comes to light, in fact. </p>
<p>Before our school imposed limits on applications MANY Asian parents demanded that their kids apply to 25 schools, and 25 schools only..the first 25 on the US News list. What this boy did is just the more elite version....</p>
<p>I am not hating the player nor the game but I disagree with Tri not knowing the the intricacies of EA, especially when he says that he is tight with his GC. </p>
<p>One would think that in the day to day course of his/her job they are constantly explaining to kids the difference between ED and EA, withdrawing applications and creating new ones.</p>
<p>This is classic CC - this topic generating 5 pages and going strong! </p>
<p>I tried and tried to uncover this student's April 1 hoax, but alas it appears to be a true story. He also has the right reasons for applying to so many schools: </p>
<p>He says -</p>
<p>
[quote]
I tried a lot of schools, primarily, because I was encouraged to by my parents and my counselor. I wasn't sure I was going to make any, at all. Also, I didn't have to worry about my application fees because my old employer was very supportive with helping out in that respect.</p>
<p>I also am looking for the best financial package; I have yet to visit any of the schools, as well. I hope to travel to some of them in April to pick the most compatible one for me.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I know what you mean marmat. Many Asian families want their kids in IVY league schools only, and do not care about nor know the meaning of FIT. At least this kid applied to UT and Rice. He could very well have gotten no other IVY acceptances after Harvard, as we well know that there are no guarantees.</p>
<p>There is another kid here on CC who got some amazing acceptances. Hispanic, from NJ, and made it into most of the Ivies also.</p>
<p>It could be that Tchiem wanted to compare aid packages from the top schools, but he also had no idea he would get this bounty of acceptances until March 29 or so.</p>
<p>It's amazing that he got all these acceptances. Thousands of kids apply to all 8 Ivies, and are lucky to get 1 acceptance. The only unfortunate aspect of this, is his "appeal" for help. </p>
<p>I don't think anyone should have a problem that he applied to/was accepted at all these schools. The only annoyance is his tactless presentation of the facts.</p>
<p>By the way, what are the "intricacies of EA" that people are referring to?</p>
<p>As I understand it, you apply EA, just to have something in hand. It does not necessarily have to impact your RD applications.</p>
<p>Choc...
Here was what Marmat said "He might not know that he could withdraw his other applications after being accepted EA to Harvard"</p>
<p>My comment was simply that perhaps, this was lost on the young man and the counselor, though I was being generous. EA is straight forward, I suppose...</p>
<p>Here's the deal...we are all fishing to understand...while this young man...he was hunting. Pure and Simple- hunting for money maybe, maybe just for trophies...who knows??? He and his counselor!</p>
<p>I completely agree with the 'fit' bit (as in the last few posts, some kids not being so focused on this))...which makes it all a wee more preposterous...doesn't it??</p>
<p>Well, I was agreeing with this part of what marmat said, namely the fit aspect.</p>
<p>
[quote]
for us foreigners, the proverbial "fit" does not mean that much. You go to college to learn, so the only important part is academics, not climate, or the campus buildings, or the football team. The kid had chosen the best (academically) universities he knows of, with a couple of backups, and probably for him it was not "naivet</p>
<p>Forgive me for repeating this, but I do no understand WHY any of us want to fault Tri for having applied to the schools he did? Is there much difference between his story and the much heralded story of Lindseylujh -and a number of students who did extremely well in past years? Let's remember that her final scoresheet showed: </p>
<p>Harvard University Accepted (Attending)
Princeton University Accepted
Yale University Accepted
Columbia University Accepted
Dartmouth College Accepted
Brown University Accepted
University of Chicago Accepted
Rice University Accepted </p>
<p>Williams College Accepted
Amherst College Accepted
Swarthmore College Accepted
Wellesley College Accepted
Middlebury College Accepted
Smith College Accepted
Mount Holyoke College Accepted </p>
<p>Does it make any difference that she replaced the bottom two Ivies with the top four LAC's? Otherwise, the similarities are obvious. Both of them had very, very good chances. Being Native-American and Vienamese, both had an ethnic background that fit a niche at selective schools, but no guarantees that their "imperfect" scores would represent automatic admissions. In fact, the Native-American did provide a much stronger hook than a Vietnamese one. </p>
<p>Have we become so unforgiving that we fault a student for asking a few "after-the-fact" questions? Why is it that hard to understand that Tri might be a tad overwhelmed by his own success, and that he feels compelled to continue to seek the opinions of others to guide him?</p>
<p>The un-ordinary thing about this situation was not, in my mind at least, that he applied to all these places... even that he got in to all these places(I can live with statistical anomalies, I get them) ....but that he seems- this young man of superior intellect whom all these schools want--- so naive as to think his situation is like that of others, or that his 'stress' is like that of others....and that he expects anyone to think that 'rankings' don't matter to him. This seems to me to be a different sort of 'anomaly' So, hence the query....</p>
<p>And, I place no value on the hunting issue. It is a free country. He is from Texas. Hunt away....again, however, I am not one of the parents of his classmates (but I have been told that is not an issue...so be it)...</p>
<p>Again, you are very kind to him, Xiggi....</p>