<p>Admissions committees are probably better judges of who’s a nincompoop and who’s not. In any case, their opinion is the only one which counts.</p>
<p>I think i know my seniors better than some random people reading an application.</p>
<p>Hmm… a little appreciation for the process might help you. When we visited Princeton for admitted students days with my brother, his admissions officer told my mother that she probably knew my brother better than even my mother did. She had been reading applications for 35 years. Successful applicants tend to lay their heart and soul bare on all their application writing. I definitely do not think that any of my juniors know me as well my admissions officer would. (and they know me very well because I’d been leading house activities since I was in tenth and later became student body leader.).</p>
<p>If they made it they deserved it. If you’re going to have a hard time accepting that then there might be problems. Your application might come-off as superficial if you write it thinking some random guys somewhere will be reading it. You might also come-off as arrogant somewhere, as you are over here. This is process is what it is, and the only way to go into it is to believe that it is nearly flawless so that your one try is good and sincere. You are definitely not getting that right at the moment. Doesn’t really matter to me though.</p>
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<p>Wow! </p>
<p>No one here is saying that admission process at Ivys is seriously flawed but it is far from being perfect. Gauging international applicants is a lot more difficult than domestic applicants.</p>
<p>Look, I have two people in my family who went to top 10 schools (Harvard and UChicago). I have met and talked to admissions officers at these schools. I have never heard them claim that they know the applicants better than their mothers. That is total BS.</p>
<p>Well, I know it’s obviously not true and she probably meant it as a joke. But she wasn’t all non-serious, she wanted to illustrate that they are not random people reading your applications. They know what they’re doing and it isn’t counting pennies. That was my point.</p>
<p>It is more difficult to judge international applicants. People can fake a lot of big stuff. Take this girl who was the daughter of some big income tax official. My math tutor was telling me about how exceptionally non studious she was. Then comes the big bang. She gets into Princeton! It didn’t take much; just some “Internships” in the Income Tax department, some “great ideas” she suggested to the department, a stellar reco and some other strings pulled through contacts in NGO’s and surprise surprise! The girl has a super resume.
Can Adcoms judge that? No. People who don’t deserve to get in do get in sometimes. It is rare, but it happens.</p>
<p>^Agreed.</p>
<p>Its very easy to lie on your app. Especially since it isn’t a mandate to send in supporting docs like certs, appreciation letters, etc. Lot of people lie, and a lot from this undeserving mass get into the best colleges purely through superficiality, forgery and a wee bit of luck. Heck, I know somebody who’s planning to cover a criminal record!</p>
<p>^Haha. They generally can make out when you’re faking it, but if you’ve got friends in high places, then some people do get away with it.
And then, there’s the possibility of their random check falling on you.
Anyway, I think we shouldn’t move further with this discussion.</p>
<p>^But I don’t understand why colleges don’t ask for certificates and other proof. That would settle the whole issue; sometimes I get the feeling that colleges over-complicate this process.</p>
<p>@guitarclassical:
First of all, most of my seniors were very good friends of mine personally, not just because they lead some activity I was in. I know them very well - everything from how smart they are to how many ECs they have to how dedicated they are. Everyone sort of knows how “capable” or not a student is.
I don’t mean to be arrogant, but I think your view is totally biased. You’ve already been accepted into Brown. You probably deserved it too. But not everyone always does.
Also, it’s not like I’m having tremendous difficulty accepting it - I’m just commenting on the injustice of the process.
I think anyone who thinks that admission counselors sitting halfway across the world know exactly what kind of individual someone is just by reading a few essays and a few numbers is a tad delusional. You tell me - How do they even know you exist? I could easily fill out “Rajinikanth” as my name, get some fake report cards printed,etc. and they’d never know. If someone felt bad about their app, and impulsively decided to change an inter-house sport to an inter-school, they’d never know. If I wrote an essay on a fake life experience they’d never know.</p>
<p>@perfectpixie: That kind of thing is exactly what I was talking about. </p>
<p>@rsaxena: “Where there’s a will, there’s a way”. The next 4 years decide your life. For people who haven’t done anything with their lives for the last 18 years, there is enough motivation to fake even that too. There was a point at which you were supposed to send in certificates and Indian applicants usually had 100 page applications. That’s when they stopped it. That way, the IIT has the most transparent admissions process - give an exam, get the marks, get in.</p>
<p>The worst thing about the US application process is that a mediocre student with a good sat score, in attempt to make up for their lack of ECs, awards, etc. often overcompensate. That leaves the smart applicants -the ones who are more or less happy with what they’ve achieved - behind.
Two years a ago, the boy who got into Harvard Yale and Princeton with 95% aid from India did so cause he tagged along with a boy whose robotic arm won a national science fair award. And because he was a grade 8 violinist. And an average good student - 92-93 in ICSE/ISC. It’s half luck.</p>
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<p>Oh hmmmm this sort of statement always kicks off a debate.</p>
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<p>The first part is true; they would not know the difference between inter-house and inter-school, but it does’nt make much of a difference. Any significant awards will be verified, while the smaller ones, even if fake, do not matter. </p>
<p>Well, try writing a fake life experience. It won’t come through, even in the hands of a gifted writer. That’s easy to spot.</p>
<p>Though I’m not quite sure why you’re railing against the process. I find this process as good as a process as ever made; definitely better than the Indian way. What improvements would you suggest really???</p>
<p>i think i figured it out!!!</p>
<p>i think ivy schools like these kids who can concoct stories because that’s what the “world leaders” they create seem to do. ha ha (jk)</p>
<p>Hi guys, just back after a long time, and did zaphod go for the IMO or or did he qualify for the inmo? If he has already replied to this in some previous post please somebody repeat it for me.
And i couldt help but say what was that all about ‘kota type’ huh. :(</p>
<p>couldn’t clear the inmo</p>
<p>^Nothing bro. People like to stereotype. Ignore what anyone says and do your stuff. :)</p>
<p>n0mad, u r the diamond in the rough. ha ha
u have disqualified urself by becoming a kota type. ha ha</p>
<p>n0mad, i can’t help laughing at the recent exchanges.</p>
<p>I’m not saying that the process is perfect. I’m saying that you need to trust that the process is fair otherwise you won’t be able to apply as sincerely as you would have. If you don’t trust that the process is fair, you can’t really trust yourself to make it through. Complaining after getting rejected is lame, but I don’t even know how to respond to someone who is so cynical even before the whole scene has played out. Just try to apply with a healthy mindset, you’ll think and write better.</p>
<p>Grade 8 violinist is not even nearly good enough to get in with a musician ‘hook’ , I did that when I was 15, ATCL at 17, (won’t be doing any more trinity exams) even with that I don’t think they would take me as a person with music as an intended major. Are there any musicians on this forum? If you need any help I could tell you how to do supplements etc.</p>
<p>^ ha ha lol yeah i’m doomed. 
Why doesnt ut austin give aid to internationals? I’d so much like to go there.</p>
<p>n0mad, have u contacted anyone at UT? Did you apply for Plan II? Plan II opens up opportunities for more scholarships and I don’t think it matters if you are an international student.</p>
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Aaaand that’s it!! This is equivalent to finding the cure for cancer! You are IN at Harvard! Yes folks, he’s going to figure out the solution to world hunger in college so you’d better snap him up so that the name goes to your school! :p</p>