<p>since when does improper punctuation, incorrect use of singular / pluralization, and misplaced modifiers make people appear to be more human? also, since i found these mistakes in a quick 5 minute read, i think it's reasonable to suggest that they didn't really put in their all when looking it over. </p>
<p>i'd like to suggest that you ask bear to read his essay before making any more superfluous accusations about how much of a dick i am.</p>
<p>i can't possibly be alone on this, and i shouldn't have to defend myself for having given my HONEST opinion without taking his feelings into consideration, which, by the way, is the only type of opinion worth anything. </p>
<p>your essay wasn't life-changing kind of memorable, but it wasn't incredibly bad either. i think it was average. that's my opinion. you welcomed it. i gave it. wished you luck. end of story. </p>
<p>oh, and chibi, the word limit isn't indicative of anything other than the notion that one probably shouldn't exceed it.</p>
<p>why, they dont work there anymore, they are retired, and were never part of the selection commitees. They are family friends in fact. So even if they were to get "fired" they are retired haha. They didn't help me they just said "yea I like your essay" don't try and make this a big deal.</p>
<p>i'm not! all i meant was that it wasn't very professional of them to have overlooked the things i caught. seeing as they are no longer professionals, yeah.. whatever.</p>
<p>^^^^
HAHAHA. That's funny. I have to agree on that one.
Bear, I know how easy it is to write cliches on your personal statement because that's the direction i was headed for when I did my PS. Thankfully my ucb-educated sister helped me ALOT and I wrote (hopefully) a better essay in the end. Writing ain't easy, that's for sure.</p>
<p>Guys this got way out of hand. For Berkeley apparently my GPA is higher than the average for Mass Comm. anyways, and I did the best I could for my essay, it has color, and its real so I did what I did. With a 38-40% acceptance rate for Mass Media majors, and hearing about people with lower than 3.7's getting in, I am not worried, if I get in or not we will wait and see. But I sure hope so, I worked my ass off in community college, i had a 3.0 in highschool and worked for a 3.76 so I could go to Berkeley or UCLA.
So cross your fingers.
Everyone remember this is a site for opinions and questions. So lets just remember that.
Everyone cross their fingers for me I have a pretty good chance. Thanks Again.</p>
<p>you're right, and i apologize to you bear. for that purpose, im not going to respond to the ignorant's rebuttal. </p>
<p>"I did the best I could for my essay, it has color, and its real so I did what I did. With a 38-40% acceptance rate for Mass Media majors, and hearing about people with lower than 3.7's getting in, I am not worried, if I get in or not we will wait and see. But I sure hope so, I worked my ass off in community college, i had a 3.0 in highschool and worked for a 3.76 so I could go to Berkeley or UCLA."</p>
<ul>
<li>that's the spirit! dont let anyone tell you that you didnt do well in something when u felt u did your best. i hope you get in buddy. same for all of us.</li>
</ul>
<p>"i can't possibly be alone on this, and i shouldn't have to defend myself for having given my HONEST opinion without taking his feelings into consideration, which, by the way, is the only type of opinion worth anything."</p>
<p>You're not. I'm not sure whether I should be highly amused or utterly appalled by the reaction to your criticism. Gotta hand it to MrBear for taking things in stride, though. Some of the others, I don't really know...</p>
<p>But for future reference, making criticism about grammar, mechanics, and formatting is usually not grounds for calling witch on a person. I don't see where Pinker went bat**** insane with their supposedly scathing and malicious insults towards MrBear's essay. Or have standards changed? Does correcting minor grammatical mistakes count as an unspeakable atrocity now?</p>
<p>We're supposedly college students here. No need to throw weak fallacies around like some kids on an internet forum. </p>
<p>I think you are misinterpreting people's complaints on this topic. It isnt a matter of correcting grammar mistakes; its a matter of maturity. Pinker's statement for "retired UC officials" to be fired for not being capable of finding small grammar mistakes was uncalled for. Later on for him to flat-out publicize the mistakes that bear made on his essay, when he should have sent it to bear privately, was unnecessary. Now, you might see it as something we are "supposed" to do and that because bear brought it upon himself, it is only necessary to do so. And you might be partially correct. But the way Pinker presents his claims are wrong. </p>
<p>And we don't call Pinker a "witch" just for making criticizing about grammar. It's an accumulation of many other things on this board. If the purpose of this board is to create an environment where students can ask questions about their academic endeavors without the fear of being ridiculed upon, clearly that isnt being met with ignorant comments from Pinker.</p>
<p>I'm sure Pinker is a smart person. But he doesnt need to show his ego off on this board.</p>
<p>"...the objective of the personal statements isnt to see how well of a writer you are..."</p>
<p>"when someone does a favor for you, you thank them; not insult them and say - "they did you a disservice"..."</p>
<p>"...dont let anyone tell you that you didnt do well in something when u felt u did your best."</p>
<p>"...im not going to respond to the ignorant's rebuttal."</p>
<p>it is my hope that when all is said and done, you'll be remembered both for your sharp wit and your obvious mastery of the english language. i'd like to give mention to, and commend you for, the infallible maturity and devout commitment to logic with which you continually display your virtue. know that your contribution hasn't gone overlooked.</p>
<p>on behalf of myself and my 300+ friends on myspace, thank you.</p>
<p>"...the objective of the personal statements isnt to see how well of a writer you are..."
- quote from a UCLA tap adviser at the UCLA TAP conference... that was coming from someone who actually reads the statements. of course, if someone had horrible, atrocious mistakes - they would hurt their chances. but a few minor ones are no biggy. </p>
<p>""when someone does a favor for you, you thank them; not insult them and say - "they did you a disservice"...""
- simple teaching of manners. i went to the writing center for someone to proof-read my essay since it was required of my eng165 class. the dude spent an hour with me and in the end, made my essay worse. rather than flat out calling him a ******, i said thank you and learned not to ever go to the writing center again. </p>
<p>""...dont let anyone tell you that you didnt do well in something when u felt u did your best."'
- why do you feel the urge to dehumanize people and tell them - "you did horrible; your best isnt good enough" ? are you an admissions officer? like you said, interpreting one's essay is a totally objective job. what you might find as "not the best" might be the best for someone else reading it. </p>
<p>but again, who am i to say anything? it's right for someone to post criticism of someone's private matters on a public message board. ahh yes, pinker, let's all bow down to you for you're the smartest one on this board who knows everything.</p>
<p>if you think what you are doing is right, then you, my friend, are a hypocrite. if im not mistaken, werent you turned off by the ignorant person before you formally known as anchor? so now the oppressed has become the oppressor? </p>
<p>and for the record, i never said i was an obvious master of the english language. and im sure you arent too. you go to a community college for a reason, right?</p>
<p>haha wow this got rediculous...i agree he should have just privately sent it to me...but hes a community college student and i had teachers read it over and counselers and it was who i am and it was the best i could do. I am purposely typing incorrectly to poke fun at all this grammatical nonsense, everyone just relax. Hopefully I get into Berkeley or UCLA I have the GPA (on average and over) for both, so just cross you fingers.</p>
<p>Chibi- Maturity? Really? And calling someone an "ignorant dick" and throwing punches at their apparently less-than-stellar academic past in order to invalidate his opinion isn't an issue of maturity? Pot, kettle, black, etc. I honestly don't think you're in a position to be accusing others of maturity, based on how you present your own reasoning and your own opinions. </p>
<p>The argument itself may it's more of an issue of disagreeing standards. Personally, I don't find Pinker's opinions entirely out of line. All the UC advisors and counselors I've worked with and learned from have always emphasized the importance of proficient grammar and formatting in the essays, so I also find it pretty ridiculous that Bear's previous proofreaders just let these supposed grammatical mistakes slide. I may not have expressed my disapproval for them in the same way that Pinker did, but the sentiment would still be there. And from the looks of it, Pinker did eventually back up his claim with a rational argument. The only problems I see here are some overly defensive posters who may need some adjusting to freedom of speech on the internet. But again, different standards. </p>
<p>As for Pinker's reputation, well, I really couldn't care less about how big of a jerk he's supposed to be on these boards. I'm more concerned with the idea of people immediately writing off someone's opinion (and poorly, I might add) merely because of their reputation or perhaps a personal dislike. I think the intelligent and rational thing to do is to read and consider a person's post and perspective before flying off into a hysterical tizzy about how horrible of a person they are. I mean, just disregarding someone's opinion simply based on who they are is easier, yeah, but its also pretty ignorant. In this case, it would definitely explain some of the poor rebuttals I've been reading in this thread.</p>
<p>pinker criticized the essay like he was certainly allowed. and despite the fact that he caught many errors, he still qualified his criticism saying that he is not an admissions officer and he wishes bear luck. i do not find anything wrong with that, an there should not be a 3 page thread about this.</p>
<p>kemikaruu, the way i see it - yes, i was out of hand for not taking the high road and calling him immature names. for that, i apologize to pinker. this thread has gotten out of hand. </p>
<p>"I may not have expressed my disapproval for them in the same way that Pinker did, but the sentiment would still be there."
- Like i defended anchor before, people on this board have a right to be critical. if everything was roses and daisies, people wouldnt get the answers they needed to hear. however, i fell that the way his criticism was published was out of hand. call me a defensive person all you want, but when there are tons of people being discouraged by the rude remarks a poster gives and asks nicely for him to stop, there has to be some regulation. yes, maybe im not in the place to be the one regulating it, but i cant just stand by and let people be mocked at. if i were in pinker's position, i would have told bear my criticism privately and not in a public matter. i also wouldnt have advocated for the people who reviewed his paper to be fired. but again, that issue has been settled. different standards nowadays? if im not mistaken, the same argument were against people like anchor who, even pinker agreed on, was out of hand. but again, you are right, i am in no position to be regulating this board and for that, i apologize.</p>
<p>with that being said, i hope this thread dies.</p>
<p>Whenever you get negative feedback about an essay, even if it is from a narcissistic SOB, you should take his critique into consideration. You should just go over punctuation and stuff like that. Pink is obviously sounding rude at times, but maybe he did find a couple of mistakes that should be fixed.</p>
<p>I really hope you get into any of the schools. I’m just amazed by this human potential stories. I went from a 2.0 in High School to a 3.87 in college, and all it took was to realize that I had potential to be exploited. GOOD LUCK!</p>
<p>those guys morons (pinker, chibi, grey, anchor…) who had an undeserving sense of superiority because they had hundreds of posts are the last people to take advice from.</p>