<p>I'm not gonna lie, she obviously wasn't less qualified if she got in and he didn't, with legacy.</p>
<p>This is quite tragic, but also can have a positive impact on many applicants. Remember success or failure in life is not determined by which undergraduate school you attend. </p>
<p>I think that commercial for "The Loop" sums it up when the secretary says, "Yes, I can send an email. That's what they taught me at MIT... where I went."</p>
<p>Thanks, you know this story REALLY touched my heart.........as someone else said it could have been any one of us, who knows what sets you off, when you feel you have hit rockbottom? I have a little depressed in the last few days as I got a few rejections at once..OUCH! This story TO ME was worth sharing, maybe each and every fact is not right on the mark but this is basically as the story happened. I am sure there are other schools he was applying to and will hear from, as I heard he applied to a number of ivies and I know they are mostly coming out this week but clearly him going to college is not what is on their minds right now, they want to make sure he is OK. And I guess with the school and community finding out slowly but surely leaving town for a few days to not deal with people period was the smart thing to do. I am not going to sit here and defend this story, be cold hearted and unfeeling and numb to it and take nothing away or have a heart, show a little compassion and learn from this. I truly doubt the integrity of a few people on this board, in fact I pity them.</p>
<p>ARTI, you have sadly missed the point.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I'm not gonna lie, she obviously wasn't less qualified if she got in and he didn't, with legacy.
[/quote]
Actually some of the reason that I think DianeR thought the story might not be true is that things didn't work in the story the way that they were supposed to. The other person got into Cornell and he didn't. That should not have happened and so therefore it was impossible since the adcoms never make mistakes while looking at the standardized forms for an hour each. He should not have been so depressed. Therefore his parents must have been putting too much pressure on him. The doctors should have kept him in the hospital after the attempt. Actually this would not have been possible for the doctors to do. They can no more do that than hold an alcoholic against their will. Obviously things did not work here the way that they should have worked and hopefully things will work out in the future. I don't have a problem with any of the facts in the story. Denying that the story happened seems to be a form of denial about this sort of thing happening. I am sorry that people attacked kellyconn with so little reason. You should at least check out her other posts before making accusations. Good luck to everybody.</p>
<p>It is extremely disheartening to receive a rejection from your first choice, especially when you have been working hard towards it for at least four years, but I dont think it means youre anything close to a loser. College admission in the US is no well defined thing it depends only what some adcom thinks you are like, from the bunch of papers you have submitted.</p>
<p>Things are entirely different in India throughout high school you might not have stepped on the track, touched a ball, or spoken two words before an audience, and you can still beat 50,000 competitors to be one of the 36 people who get into the nations best medical college IF you do sufficiently well in the entrance exam. So, your future is TOTALLY in your hands. But I dont feel it is a healthy practice.</p>
<p>The guy must have had some extreme underlying mental problems if he attempted to commit suicide over not getting into his first choice.</p>
<p>Guys, feel sorry for guy? Wow, I mean there are far more worse things in this world. It's his fault, not the fault of his teachers/friends/pressure/so on. Life is unfair, live with it.</p>
<p>its funny that people who get great grades still manage to be so pathetic and ignorant...</p>
<p>educated individuals understand that prestige is preferible, but not everything</p>
<p>obviously there are idiots out there with great grades who don't have the common sense to realize theres more to life than attending a brand name college....</p>
<p>any 'educated' student would know that they make the best of their education.</p>
<p>I feel sorry for him. He was obviously mentally unstable before the incident, and the rejection from his top choices made the guy go over the edge. I'm sure he's mentally ill and hopefully, he will get the help he deserves and so desperately needs.</p>
<p>Feeling sorry is very different than being empathetic. The latter is preferable.</p>
<p>I dunno about some of you. I think I'm pretty tough, but there are times when things happen and you do hit rock bottom. You think that only unstable people can be unreasonable at times???</p>
<p>I've gotten bent out of shape because my team lost a play-off game, when my my best friend was killed by a drunk driver, when my mom and grandmother both were diagnosed with cancer. I thought about it and considered seriously about drinking myself into oblivion--even though I don't drink. I passed out after a few. Don't get me wrong, I learned my lesson... but I can see that happening.</p>
<p>Perhaps I'm a wuss. Or people have different expectations. I was highly pressure for most of this year both personally and in school. Did I feel like throwing up my hands? Yep. Did I stay in bed because I did not want to deal? Yep. And, in the end, was it in proportion to what I'm stressed about now? NOPE.</p>
<p>Took me some time to find and reason out that getting into a top 10 or being rejected from a school should not be as glorified as it is. It is not validation, and it cannot be the finish line. </p>
<p>I still need to be reminded when I get hyper-competitive, that life can be amazing. Most of the time it's pretty good. Sometimes it throws you a curve. We deal with it by making mistakes as well as having successes.</p>
<p>Just my opinion.
IB</p>
<p>PS--even teachers and peers said that I would be a shoein everywhere. If that did not happen something would be wrong or I forgot to do something. It was constant. How do you block that out, unless you are supremely confident or arrogant?</p>
<p>Umm.. I would think that the story is so sad in the fact that this person thought that not getting into that college was the end of his life.</p>
<p>i'm really fretting over if i'll get into my top choice school (Berkeley)..the OP's story gave me a perspective..even if i don't end up getting accepted (I still hope i do...gahh) it's definitely not the end of the world..but it sure would feel like it. i still hope i get in though arrgh.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Took me some time to find and reason out that getting into a top 10 or being rejected from a school should not be as glorified as it is. It is not validation, and it cannot be the finish line.
[/quote]
This is particularly well said. It is perfectly reasonable to be bummed out because you can't go, but it is just wrong to take it as a personal failure. New things come down the road and when you do look back on it, it really won't be that big a deal.</p>
<p>How tragic and a real hard look as to how this process can really spiral out of control. The cynacism and cold heartedness of some of you is really bone chilling. Being a mom of a kid who is completing this process albeit not to the top ivies but good middle of the road schools, I took care to put very little pressure on him, sometimes wondering is that a mistake? But in the end, he got into 5 of the schools he applied to out of 11, which is fine. He didn't get into his top two choice, waiting for one more decision............but has some nice schools to choose from.</p>
<p>It seems like the higher caliber of schools one is applying to, the more intense the game. It is heartbreaking to hear of the destruction and despair a young person can feel when he has gotten rejected, to equate that with failure, is very sad indeed. I hope that family recovers and can ultimately learn from this horrible incident, thankfully he survived and I am sure being the bright leader he is, will help him to succeed no matter where he may end up.</p>
<p>Thanks for sharing the story, I do believe it offers some insight into why everyone should do their best to keep it in perspective and move on from the rejections and be proactive about where you are able to go. In other words, don't look back, look forward and make the best out of what you have been given. There are young 18 year olds in Iraq right now losing their limbs, and lives leaving behind loved ones fighting for our country, now THAT is something to despair about. Keep those brave young men and women in mind when you start to feel depressed about your situation. Good luck everyone!</p>
<p>This guy didn't want to kill himself because he got rejected. It's just what pushed him over the edge. Someone that wants to commit suicide has deeper underlying issues and are truly sick. </p>
<p>All one can do is if you know someone who even mentions it jokingly is to get them help. You may just save their life.</p>
<p>I understand this boy... it is a stressful process and being rejected can be very painful to some people.</p>
<p>IsleBoy, what a mature outlook you have. Good luck this week. I've read your other posts and I admire your thinking.</p>
<p>Three:</p>
<p>Thank you for the best wishes. :)</p>
<p>I still have my moments (i.e. behaving my age), but I try remember that the situations I face (even if they are less positive) can help someone else, or at least make them feel less alone. </p>
<p>Funny as it sounds, I like to read a lot because it gives me a sense (or context) that we are together in all of this (whether looking at colleges, or at living in general). Once in a while, when I have obligations that seem daunting or have the pressure of expectation bearing down on me before or during a game, I feel surrounded by people but not connected. A strange feeling. </p>
<p>Although it always is brief and it passes, the only way I can reconnect is to slowdown, have dinner or go to the movies with friends or family, or help out by doing something for other people. Knowing that generations upon generations past have face much of what we do daily makes the "simple" things richer: a burst of laughter after a comment between friends, the tilt of my dogs head when you spell O.C.E.A.N., or when my Mom smiles when she thinks no one is looking (she likes to think she is a stern task master).</p>
<p>It took a combination of things to make me slow down. I know that I used to hurl myself headlong into the future without quite noticing the present. I think teenagers are in a rush to grow up. And, we don't know the meaning of "Whoa!" Then we get confused when we miss things. (BTW some things I don't care that I miss, like taking out the garbage or mowing the lawn). :)</p>
<p>Sorry this was a bit long, but the issue of my peers (and other people) knowing themselves and appreciating their experiences (whether gained through hardship or success) seems to be given less focus in our fast moving world. It seems we're losing ourselves to technology (especially, Blackberries, cell phones, PDAs, etc...) In fact, I visited UW--Madison and walked up State Street (where many students hang out) and there were many who were talking on cell phones instead of talking with friends they were with. It was a strange sensation. And, everyone of my friends noticed. I hope that was an anomaly. In a strange way, it was almost like "1984".</p>
<p>Sincerely,
IB
:)</p>
<p>Isleboy, I can't feel empathetic. I don't know what it's like to be a fringe lunatic. So feeling sympathy is the next closest thing.</p>