<p>Definitely worth reading for all the people who will be hearing from EA soon.</p>
<p>Wow. I commend you for writing this. I feel like distributing this like Jerry Maguire. I am touched. Thanks for calming a stressed applicant and restoring my hope in the world!</p>
<p>Interesting post, but I personally have a few issues with it.</p>
<p>First of all, I don’t think most of us will ever lose those ideas we all have about Harvard. It just won’t happen, no matter how many students post on a forum which they consider “the saddest place on the internet.”</p>
<p>Secondly, what you were saying about the “grade-seeker” attitude and how “many students become vitality-lacking automatons” is a matter of perspective. I, for one, go to school to learn. And that’s why I like school. There are some people who don’t value education and are using the prospect of a bright future to justify why they continue to study until 2am and wake up at 6am every morning (at my school especially). But I see academics as an interest. Some people have it, some people don’t. And it’s that “grade-seeker” student that cares about sports or computers or cooking more than French or calculus. Those are my passions, and that is the reason why I don’t fall into your stereotype.</p>
<p>Also, I found it interesting where you write about cheating. I completely agree that it isn’t worth it and such, and I also think that your cheating paragraph ties in a lot with your point about standardized tests. Taking all those courses and everything is kind of like cheating in a way. There are people who actually take the test based on their abilities, not on the tricks and tips that a teacher engrains into their minds. I thought that was a really interesting point.</p>
<p>Overall, good luck at Harvard. You make some interesting points, albeit you’ve included some interesting hypocrisies as well. Thanks.</p>
<p>Such an interesting post!
well, you are lucky you are in the US.
I live in east Asia, and we don’t apply to college. We take an exam(like your SAT but MUCH more important), then write down what college and what major we want to study. And then, the test center would calculate for students. You get in where your scores lie on. Most of the students depends on the last year’s scores to write, not their interests. most of the students don’t seek what their interests are because whether they know or not they still can’t get in to that. You have the ability to be the top on the exam, then you have the right to choose what you want. The exam is cruel, just one point can make you drop a few schools. So, you are lucky. I think I am lucky, too. I am smart enough to have a good grade, but many others don’t. I see a lot of students working so hard, but they just can’t. I agree what you said, but I can’t fix it.</p>
<p>Great post. Bumped for the people finding out decisions today at 5.</p>
<p>You’ve made me want to read more of this Nietzsche</p>
<p>I liked the post. It wasn’t elitist or pretentious which is quite rare for CCers who get into the top 30s. I really think if people like you go to Harvard I would want to as well someday… your the kind of guy that makes Harvard look humble.</p>
<p>Thanks a looooooooooooot. I appreciate your concern about future applicants
:)</p>
<p>I couldn’t agree more with you! The education system sucks however you should consider yourself lucky because where I come from, extracurricular activities worth zero, or even less. They are just a waste of time.
I’m doing a lot of extracurricular courses from drama to art to yearbook, I write about books in a literature blog. However when the next July I’ll graduate my hard work in the not-scholastic activities won’t advantage me at all.</p>
<p>Said that, I’m like you. I always wanted to reach that damned 10 (my grades are out of 10) and I still study just for it, with very few exceptions. I know it’s wrong, and in a way I feel ashamed of myself. Nevertheless it’s the only way to eat and have a roof over my head as you said, and of course get into one of the most prestigious college all over the world it’s like have a pedigree! You are more important than the other, you are part of an </p>
<p>Honestly, this was kind of enlightening…</p>
<h1>NotNumberOneAnymore</h1>
<p>^^ Well, that ought to drop the applicant numbers way down.</p>
<p>decillion did you even read the post? us news rankings are garbage</p>
<p>I was recently reading this article/essay:</p>
<p>[Playing</a> with Fire - Lapham’s Quarterly](<a href=“http://www.laphamsquarterly.org/preamble/lewis-h-lapham-playing-with-fire.php?page=all]Playing”>http://www.laphamsquarterly.org/preamble/lewis-h-lapham-playing-with-fire.php?page=all)</p>
<p>…and thought it brought up some interesting points about education that are related to OP’s thoughts.</p>
<p>the thing about test scores is a lot of scholarships are test score and gpa based.</p>