<p>Today I was talking with friends about an article I read on college that had an anecdote about how a mother tried to write her daughter's college essay. I was amused and appalled at how it revealed the depths of depravity people will descend to to get into college-but it really isn't funny when you think about it. This entire getting-into-college process . Most kids do EC's they hate and take AP classes they hate just so they seem well-rounded. They choose majors they hate just because those majors will yield a well-paid job. They cheat on tests and the SAT/ACT. Parents are writing their kids' essays! It's utterly disgusting.</p>
<p>I know these sorts of lowly tricks and ambitions have always been around, but it just absolutely revolts me that this is what our society is built on. No one cares about learning. All they care about is getting high points and then going to a college and cheating some more towards a soulless but high-paying job. I found it painfully ironic that in my AP English class we spent a lot of time studying Moby Dick and Dorian Gray, books that stress the importance of being true to oneself and "perishing in the howling infinite" instead of opting for a safe, impassionate life. We were talking (though the discussion was mainly between 3 students (including me) and the teacher, the other kids could care less) about these amazing books and then someone raised their hand in the middle of discussion and asked how many points the upcoming paper would be worth. Points. Cold hard points. It didn't suprise me but it really saddens me that people were not appreciating the overwhelming beauty of the books and caring about points more rather than the wisdom the books could teach them.</p>
<p>I know that's just what the majority is like. It's all social darwinism. Success is all that matters in our society. Forget having a heart and soul and actual integrity. It's just disheartening to my young, callow self. And it's leading me to question college itself. Should such a corrupted institution (at the process of getting into it) be done away with? Do I even want to go when so many people make it in through being hypocritical? Can this ghastly emphasis on points and achievement ever be made mild so people actually focus on learning and not just soullessly going through the motions of learning? I'd hope so, but I'm pretty pessimistic about it. People don't like admitting that they're hypocrites. My friend and I did a presentation in English class of Melville's story "Bartleby the Scrivener" and brought up points about philanthropy benifiting the philanthropist more than the recipient of the aid. No one would admit that there was a dark side to philanthropy; makes sense considering our school is big on giving out awards for community service.</p>
<p>I kind of love this post. Mad props.
I want to be myself. I want to LEARN. I don’t want a label.
Ivy League education is the best of the best. Or it’s supposed to be…
I know plenty of people who go to Harvard. Many are pretentious snobs with Daddy’s credit card. Many are not, and genuinely have worked to get a top notch education. But the fact of the matter is that if you’re in the latter, wherever you go, your potential will shine and you will be successful.</p>
<p>I want to be accepted to college for being myself (because the college likes ME!), not for employing tricks and schemes for getting into a top tier school. The latter to me at least, is sort of manufactured. I don’t want to go to a school where it’s a game to get in. It says a lot about the school.</p>
<p>Because we home-school and live in the country (the woods, actually, off the beaten path), our kids have never had a chance to knock themselves out doing ECs they hate. They’ve done just a few (e.g., youth group), which they really loved. So far, this hasn’t hurt older son’s college chances; he has been admitted to several places. But he hasn’t heard from all his colleges yet. And who knows whether lack-of-insane-number-of-ECs will hurt him when it comes to scholarships? Oh well. But at least he had time to actually be a kid. :)</p>
<p>On one of his essays (for a scholarship), he turned his relative lack of ECs into a positive by stressing that he was never pressured into taking on an insane number of ECs…so he could do what he really liked instead. I hope this cuts some ice with the scholarship committee, but who knows?</p>
<p>I can well believe the story about moms writing their kids’ essays. But…wouldn’t it be fairly obvious that they had done so? Adults and kids do not <em>sound</em> alike. They just don’t. Each generation has its own voice. Plus, a mature, experienced writer is not going to sound like a 17-year-old kid, no matter how gifted the latter may be.</p>
<p>SCHOOL for me is never equal to my life. just in my opinion. people are born like a white paper. ur parents and society throw lots of crap in it to determine how “suCcess” is.</p>
<p>but success for me should come along with happy. happy with yourself and your own interest. i dont like people who play music just to show off and people said its cool. its BS!</p>
<p>getting in or out ivy leagues doesnt mean u better than anybody. cuz u basically can learn from every one around you. </p>
<p>i know ppl spent lots and lots a lots of time doing “activiTIes”, studyin for SAT, work their butt off. they said they still hang out with friends and stuffs and social life. but c’mon. i hate doing something that later on in life you regret it. Be yourself at this time is probably the greatest thing u could ever be.</p>
<p>its great to be in top school. tbh! i would love too. but ppl likes to show off by doing that and following the definition of somebody’s expectation ( ur society or parents) . u can be whatever as long as u see urself successful than YOU ARE!</p>
<p>lol not to sound self-centric or st but lol just opinions . dont bunch me haha. if u wanna talk more i have facebook :)</p>
<p>I agree with Yelo. The post was a bit too extreme for my taste. You said it’s just what the majority is like, but the majority of what? The entire human race? Perhaps. But it just so happens that it’s not the majority of the people I personally interact with.</p>
<p>not everyone does that you know.
I got into Penn by doing what I love. Swimming, Debating, Research on Prosthetic Limbs etc etc.
This sort of pessimism should not be generalized. Some people do it. Shame on them. But, you must note that doing an EC is not good enough. You must excel at it. The best way to excel is too take interest in what you are doing. Live that commitment.
The people who go to these top schools. Just do what they love and do it well.</p>
<p>The world is grim place but please do not find reasons to seek mal intentions in every action. There is some good left.</p>
<p>if i got my parents to write my college essays, i don’t think i’d get in anywhere xD</p>
<p>i wrote my essays all by myself, and although i got some valuable feedback, i ended up not heeding any of it; i just write a certain way and it’s the only way i’m comfortable with.</p>
<p>I never bothered with things I did not like doing. I study sciences because I like studying them; I find social sciences irritating and I never bothered with them and dropped all those classes at the first opportunity.
I train as a classical musician because I love it. (which is also what I’m doing with my gap-year).
I couldn’t have cared less what colleges wanted to see, but I was very surprised and happy that they appreciated people who studied music etc. (which is not the case in my country).</p>
<p>When I get to Brown, if all I see are people with no integrity, I’d be very disappointed. But considering the sample of all the people I’ve met till now, this is not the case.</p>
<p>Not everyone is a genius, but they all have integrity. It may also have to do with the specific nature of the school.</p>
<p>P.S. - My SAT score was **** and I did not retake it. What a waste of time that was. Not everyone does these things.</p>
<p>It’s all because colleges stress the importance of good grades. Grades are emphasized to the extreme. It’s this emphasis that makes people ask questions like “do we have to know this for the test?” or “do you award partial credit?”</p>
<p>I don’t know how to correct this system. Maybe have everything be pass/fail and require 5 or so teacher recs to give insight on who the student is? Some teachers may be partial, true, but grades at all private schools are partial anyway (not sure about public schools). AP scores and SAT IIs should be stressed greatly. They show whether you mastered the material or not. It’s as simple as that. The SAT and ACT, however, can be stressed the same way they are now. They have their flaws and colleges know that. But APs and SATIIs are very accurate. If you know the material very well, you will get a 5/700+. </p>
<p>The emphasis colleges put on grades is NOT a good thing, not only because of the statements students say as I previously said, but also because it disrupts our own learning. There are some specific skills that many high school students do NOT have after graduating high school that they should, such as flawless writing skills, problem solving skills, ability to “think on their feet”, presentation skills, time management skills, ability to “think ahead”, etc. These skills are not taught in a direct way nor are stressed much at many schools. Some subjects cover the above skills (i.e. math and problem solving) but many times it’s “not part of the curriculum to stress these skills. they should be OK after they graduate” well, that’s not really the case for many students in my own school.</p>
<p>Although the system is flawed, it is not that bad really. If some students are doing things that they don’t enjoy though, that’s their loss. You don’t have to whine about them. If you are having a good time doing well in school and learning, great for you. Forget about the others.</p>
<p>sherpa, I don’t think the OP was saying that everyone is shallow except for him or her.</p>
<p>I don’t know that much about that EP stuff. But a colleague recently told me that a particularly obnoxious teenage girl at her church once announced to everyone else, “Ugh, I’ve gotta run. Got to go to that nasty nursing home.” Ummm, yeah. If that’s your attitude toward the folks in the nursing home, don’t bother. They don’t want you patronizing them.</p>
<p>Now, that’s just one little anecdote. But let’s face it: When your primary goal is to rack up hundreds of “service hours,” then it can easily become a chore, not something you do out of love.</p>