@Mickey2Dad Couldn’t agree more Like +1000
@LIdadof3 : “Over-represented minority” is code for Asian (including Han Chinese, Korean, Indian/Pakistani, and others who probably shouldn’t be in the same category but probably are). The idea is that they are “minorities” as far as the US population is concerned, and generally as far as the student bodies of most colleges are concerned, but that they are “over-represented” in the sense that they represent a much higher percentage of the student population at most colleges than their percentage of the overall population. That’s the opposite situation from “URMs” (African-American, Hispanic, Native American/Hawaiian), whose percentage of the student population is generally much lower than their percentage of the overall population.
@Lindagaf re: post #40…exactly how is this kid an “underdog”; beyond the color of his skin? He is the child of an employed college graduate (all be it community college), although his parents are divorced his father is still an active part of his life, he attends one of the best HS in Houston (Yes, Lamar is one of the two best schools in urban Houston just Google if you want all the specifics, but for now just know it services some of the most expensive neighborhoods in Houston like River Oaks, Montrose and West University, yeah that “university” is Rice…), he has participated in multiple EC’s that have provided him ample opportunity to network and showcase his talents, he has been the recipient of multiple services designed to help him achieve college admission success (including test prep, essay review and application assistance) and he has really great grades and test scores (note that I did not say “amazing”, because frankly I have seen higher smiliar/higher stats from similar “underdogs” here on CC). Not exactly sure how any of these advantages makes him an underdog, in fact, he seems much like most of the kids attending most high schools in the US.
I tell every CA ORM kid with great stats about to apply to colleges, don’t think great hard stats will get you into top 20 schools including UCLA or Berkeley, and always apply to HCs or LACs. I knew how the game was played and was all ready to send my ORM kid with non-awesome hard stats to a OOS HC for decent education and free money if he got denied from Berkeley and UCLA. Frankly, my attitude was if my kid can’t get into a school which offers a great education and world wide name recognition, I am going for a solid education and free money UNLESS my kid really wanted to go somewhere else.
So many sour grapes on this thread. If he is in Breakthrough, he likely comes from a very low income family with no history of adults getting through college. These kids often have housing, stable food source, transportation, and health care issues that the wealthier posters on this thread can’t imagine. I was full pay for the last couple years of my D2’s time at the most expensive college in the country (and only small FA before that). I don’t begrudge this kid anything, including full FA.
@labegg , I can’t answer as I would like, because then we’d be dragging this thread back to race, and we aren’t going to do that. I think my meaning is clear, and I am sure this kid’s family would agree. I think the color of his skin does indeed make him an underdog. He had help from Questbridge, whihc indicates low socioeconomic status. So yes, underdog. He started life in more difficult posititon than a well-off ORM student, and has, through his own determination, done very well, so far. What’s up with all the sour grapes? Whay aren’t people just happy for this kid?
Sourgrapes, because the facts of the story do not mesh with the media hype.
Being happy for the kid doesn’t necessarily preclude thinking that he was kind of a jerk to apply to 19 colleges (or to keep 19 college applications alive) after being accepted with the equivalent of 100% aid to the college he wanted most to attend. The fact that he was attending a very competitive high school underscores that – he was, in all likelihood, diminishing his classmates’ chances at all of those colleges in order to aggrandize himself.
I agree that the followup apps are what is creating the eye rolls. Why apply to Pomona for example, which is wildly different than his top choice which he already got in to.
My kid had a top choice going in to applying that did not hold up in accepted student visits, even though my kid had been to each campus before applying. And so far no one has really shown a reason why it is a problem that he applied to a lot of schools. He will only take one slot this fall. Your kid won’t miss out in a seat at 19 of these schools because he got in.
Also, regarding going to a top HS, that is often a result of Breakthrough intervention to steer kids to good high schools and make sure they are taking college prep track courses in middle school & HS.
Maybe he wanted to see who would give him the best FA. Maybe he had a misguided counselor or parent who pushed him to apply to too many colleges (recall the story last year of the girl who got into over 100 colleges, because her school gave some kind of award). Maybe he or his parents wanted bragging rights. The fact is that he did all the work and had what the colleges are looking for. He’s clearly a go-getter. There are plenty of tippy top colleges that want a student like him, clearly not just because of his race.
Re post #72, maybe they are willing to overlook lack of humility if other personal characterisitcs are stronger. There is no applicant who will be perfect in every aspect. But I do agree with the last comment in that post.
Both Stanford and Harvard claim, in C7 section of their respective CDS, character/personal qualities are among the most important factors in admission. Is humility no longer a desirable personal quality in our current society? Maybe that explains why we have what we have in the White House today.
It’s always funny and interesting to me how people can see the same thing but have different views of it. Some people read the story and came away asking why would he apply to 19 more school after he was already accepted to Stanford. I on the other hand just assumed he applied to all the school at the same time and by the time he found out about Stanford acceptance all of his other applications were already in.
Choices. He applied to multiple schools so that he would have choices, just like my DS and everyone else’s child. A top choice is not an only choice and everything is fluid until the deadline. I know California feels a long way from Texas. Dang, just getting to El Paso is a long way from Houston. Maybe East Coast will help him reach his dreams instead. I’m looking forward to hearing his final decision.
Just some facts, since my DDs go to school with this young man. He is an outstanding individual, is funny, friendly, kind and a great student and a great person. His fellow students are very proud of him and are smart enough to know his rewards are not at their expense. If he didn’t exist, the people rejected would still be rejected.
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That’s the point. Lots of ORMs started life off in a worse off position. Just because someone is ORM (Asian et al), let’s not assume they had all the advantages. Lots of ORM kids from China have been abandoned and adopted. Just because their adoptive parents went to college doesn’t give them huge advantages. The hugest disadvantage anyone can have is not having the love and support of their own birthparents, their native language and culture, and a constant nagging question (not all, but many), of why wasn’t I good enough to keep?
No, but he could very well have taken a slot from other kids in the same high school, since 1) Selective colleges like to have representation from many high schools, and 2) Their high yields means that most of their admitted students are likely to attend.
I don’t believe this thread. SMH.
@preppedparent thought more people will give me advice on daughter what to do. Guess it is not cool.
Might want to start your own thread @infinityprep1234 specific to your situation. This thread is about something else.
“imagine how these kids will react when they read this ‘inspirational’ story.”
Exactly. That’s the point.
Imagine a scenario in which you have a son or daughter that got shut out of every “reach” and “match” and will be attending a “safety.” And then a kid in the same senior class runs up and down the hallway yelling gleefully “I got into all of the Ivies! I got into all of the Ivies!” Then, with the parents’ permission, an article is written in the school newspaper about him/her. What would you think about that kid? and about the parents? and about the HS administrators?
These stories are so ostentatious and are utterly devoid of compassion/empathy for fellow students, some of whom haven’t been fortunate at all. IMO, they are viewed favorably by some only because they don’t hit close to home. I bet that the people following this thread would look with disdain at this kid and his parents, if he attended your HS.
Keep quiet. Be humble. Show compassion. Everyone will find out about your success through the grapevine. Don’t toot your own horn. It’s really ugly behavior.