“I bet that the people following this thread would look with disdain at this kid and his parents, if he attended your HS.”
See post #73.
“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.”
That’s not really plausible, the Stanford app is pretty time consuming wrt to their additional essays and to do that and other 19 apps and classwork, ECs at the same is really not believable. I guess you could do a lot of it in the summer before. And it’s not that hard to withdraw your application (most if not all ED admits have to), like maybe a phone call or email. And it would be good if other colleges didn’t have to process an application where the person has no intention of enrolling. Given he got accepted at all of them, maybe more time was spent on his app than the auto reject pile. We criticize people’s strategy all the time on cc for applying to all the ivies because they’re so different., the only thing tying them is prestige.
I have tried to teach my children by example that they need to know how to celebrate with and for someone else and not let bitterness take root. Jealousy is an ugly thing.
Sometimes you get what you “deserve”, good or bad, reward or punishment, and sometimes you don’t. Live with grace.
I don’t understand the motivation to publicize this. If you want to try it just to see if you can do it? I don’t agree with it but that is your choice. But to brag about it? Doesn’t compute with me. We preached empathy and being humble with our D regarding her acceptances. If her friends asked, she would share, but she wasn’t putting anything out on social media or celebrating each letter of affirmation. The only thing she publicized was when she made her decision and committed. Her one choice.
If I were this young man or his parents, I would have politely declined the article request.
At least for me, it’s not about bitterness or jealousy. Good for this kid. He seems to have a bright future. It’s rather about the behavior in publishing his success.
My kid was admitted to several very selective universities. His success in the admission process far exceeded that of his classmates. He kept it very quiet. Word got out, but he stayed humble and didn’t brag. I was proud of him, but was keenly aware that other parents would not appreciate it if I crowed. Idk, I just wasn’t raised that way.
Thank you TomQ. All read post #73. The other students were genuinely happy for this kid. We had a graduate that made it into H and most of the other colleges he applied to. Everyone, even the other kids rejected, were happy for him as he is very bright kid and even though he definitely had a hook as an immigrant and lower income. I saw a bit more sour grapes about the kids that got in above their level based on athletics.
RE: #47 @LIdadof3 I did not mean to suggest that all full pay families are wealthy or do not sacrifice. My family, like many on CC, falls into the so-called donut hole in which we do not feel like we can afford our EFC and still save for retirement. We chose less costly options and, yes it was frustrating that we both work hard and still could not afford to send our kids to their first choice, >$60K per year schools.
However, we are far from poor. If a family can afford full pay with sacrifice and have the ability to get loans or send a kid to a still costly merit money school, they are still in a better position than a kid that is eligible for high levels of financial aid. Assuming, of course, they aren’t emptying retirement accounts or taking loans thye will not be able to pay back out of future earnings.
I think it started off small but he knows a lot of people and the school is large.
I first saw the Stanford video on a private parent group page. All the acceptances are listed on the page and we all congratulate the students. He was filmed at a private home of a friend with his mother and close friends. I cry with joy every time I see the video and others have been touched like this. Therefore, the video spread. The rest has been an update to the story for people who cared in the first place. But I love graduation season any way.
I am guessing that this young man was being used as an example. Not sure, but I would assume there was an influencer encouraging him to apply to all these schools.
At least he is qualified.
I don’t doubt that this is a really nice kid, who has overcome “some” adversity, is supremely talented, hard working and deserving of his acceptances (no one is jealous or bitter, my family isn’t even playing on the same playground with high stat kids like him) @TQfromtheU I have also taught my kids to not be duped, to own the truth and to call a spade a spade. If you are prestige hunting or looking for your 15 minutes of fame then own it, don’t try to pass it off as doing it for the good of the “community”. If it isn’t fairly obvious, by just looking at the video, that group of kids has been egging each other on, from the beginning, to apply to multiple schools “just for fun” (why else would they all be standing around with their cell phone videoing reactions if they had no intention of posting their reactions and the whole process was just to “help”? How many of them posted about their rejections? Which is just, if not more, helpful!)…I suppose I am just skeptical.
regardless if he is over/under or sideways once he got his first choice early…and it’s Stanford no less…then I can’t help but think this is what contributes to the out of control applications and low acceptance rates that is the mess we are in today.
A couple more, for comparing purposes, ok, but not the amount and tier of schools in this list. This is contributing to the mess, nothing more.
Would be ‘happy’ for any deserving kid getting into any of those colleges but when I see that number of applications I smh since I went and got a part time job working nights and weekends, in addition to my full time job, to save enough to help pay the cost of the applications and sending test scores etc. for my equally high stat/well rounded kid for a shot at a few of those schools knowing full well that regardless of the script, that they don’t restrict how many they take from any one school, the years of results says different. When a college takes less than 1000 for an incoming class you are most definitely taking a spot from someone else. YMO
just to clarify, most of us don’t have the deposit fee to throw away when May 2nd comes around in case the waitlist comes calling
@theloniusmonk I disagree Not only is it plausible it probable. Most students in my DD schools submit their RD application before their EA/ED results come in. No one wanted to be in a mad dash in December and January trying to get applications in if they are rejected from their EA/ED school. However you are correct once they get acceptance they do withdraw their applications.
No, most kids hope for the one and done. Conventional wisdom dictates you have much better odds applying ED or EA, so most students are putting a lot into that first app. yeh, they may start on those other ones due Jan 1, but most are waiting Dec 10 for that ED decision and hope not to have to submit more. A few kids after gaining admission to Harvard, Yale and Stanford might apply to one or two more just to see, but not 19 more. There’s something sinister about that.
Sinister lol really. You just made my day.
Sinister is an interesting choice of words.
I actually suspect some sort of media/ marketing attention getting scheme here. I would hesitate to call it sinister.
However, it does have galling and in your face quality. I think we all know why it feels a bit in your face.
agree “sinister” just means underhanded, from Latin, the left hand side versus dexter the right
I think I meant to imply sumpin’s not right about this. You’re holding the golden ticket, but you want 19 more? You can only use one.
Glad I made someone’s day. Still waiting for mine to be made.
I don’t. Please tell me why it feels a bit in your face, @LIdadof3 .
From another perspective, the story is actually appalling. Not for this young man, of course, who we can hope will make the most of this opportunity. But this is a Supply and Demand situation. The demand for candidates who meet these criteria is high, as schools want to create diverse classes. The supply of qualified candidates meeting the criteria is apparently so small that the probability of being selected approaches 1. How much potential is lost on the streets and in prisons? What does that say about our society?
You lost me on that one @sylvan8798 The colleges would argue the demand of candidates is high, the supply of elite colleges is so low that there is an abundance of qualified candidates left out in the cold. I think many of us on this thread are saying the supply of colleges is low AND the process is rigged.
I would never give up making a dollar to get a nickel in FA! No one would. It’s fine. If my kids tuition pays some of this kids cost, then that is fine. It is in my benefit for smart kids to go to college and be productive. (Full disclosure, my kid doesn’t go to any of those schools, so I’m not paying anything for him!)