Stanford admissions - Printable Version
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Re: I remember sweating & agonizing over my essay - qwerty49 - 04-05-2017
(04-05-2017, 01:43 PM)eric link Wrote:[quote author=Publius link=topic=16747.msg191184#msg191184 date=1491334514]
[quote author=Redrum link=topic=16747.msg191171#msg191171 date=1491325533]
Little did I know that brevity is the soul of virtue.
http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-39492187
Back when we allowed some political discussion, most of you probably gleaned that my politics are sympathetic to this kid's. I disagree with the admissions decision because it failed to answer the second part of the question. It reminds me of the story repeated here of a D-1 athlete who wrote "athlete" on his application essay to another school.
[/quote]
here's an article about this from the Daily, the comments are interesting...
http://www.stanforddaily.com/2017/04/05/admits-outside-the-box-essay-says-blacklivesmatter-100-times/
[/quote]
Here is a more insightful article about the young man, including his perspective re the second part of the question.
https://mic.com/articles/172970/meet-the-muslim-teen-who-repeated-black-lives-matter-on-his-stanford-application-and-got-in#.CGDvg138a
Re: Stanford admissions - 82lsju - 04-05-2017
and then there are these quadruplets from Cincinnati who all got accepted by "elite" universities, including at least one who was accepted by Stanford.
http://www.wcpo.com/news/education/lakota-east-quadruplets-make-it-into-ivy-league
Re: Stanford admissions - stupac2 - 04-06-2017
Is all this reporting on kids who got into particular schools a new phenomenon? I don't remember seeing anything like this when I was applying to college 12 years ago.
Re: Stanford admissions - 82lsju - 04-06-2017
(04-06-2017, 10:25 AM)stupac2 link Wrote:Is all this reporting on kids who got into particular schools a new phenomenon? I don't remember seeing anything like this when I was applying to college 12 years ago.
they are all "building their brands".......
Re: Stanford admissions - dabigv13 - 04-06-2017
Our school newspaper and local paper did stories on kids who got into Ivy's. Definitely does seem like these national stories are much more frequent of late, but I doubt it's the kids promoting themselves.
I think media consumers like reading these stories, probably for a variety of reasons, and CNN et al don't mind writing them.
Re: Stanford admissions - French Rage - 04-06-2017
(04-06-2017, 11:08 AM)dabigv link Wrote:Our school newspaper and local paper did stories on kids who got into Ivy's. Definitely does seem like these national stories are much more frequent of late, but I doubt it's the kids promoting themselves.
I think media consumers like reading these stories, probably for a variety of reasons, and CNN et al don't mind writing them.
When I think about it, it's hard to argue about kids being given attention to which colleges offers them and which offers they accept for academic reasons. I mean, we pay a lot of attention here to which high schoolers pick which colleges for athletic reasons (which yes, may also have some academic bearing too). It'd be great if they had a signing date and TV exposure for, say, the National Merit Top 300 too.
Re: Stanford admissions - stupac2 - 04-06-2017
(04-06-2017, 11:19 AM)French Rage link Wrote:[quote author=dabigv link=topic=16747.msg191286#msg191286 date=1491502128]
Our school newspaper and local paper did stories on kids who got into Ivy's. Definitely does seem like these national stories are much more frequent of late, but I doubt it's the kids promoting themselves.
I think media consumers like reading these stories, probably for a variety of reasons, and CNN et al don't mind writing them.
When I think about it, it's hard to argue about kids being given attention to which colleges offers them and which offers they accept for academic reasons. I mean, we pay a lot of attention here to which high schoolers pick which colleges for athletic reasons (which yes, may also have some academic bearing too). It'd be great if they had a signing date and TV exposure for, say, the National Merit Top 300 too.
[/quote]
Personally I'd rather a lot less attention be paid to both those things.
Re: Stanford admissions - dabigv13 - 04-06-2017
Same. I think we really need to stop glorifying pretigious colleges. I'm glad I went to Stanford, but I don't think my life would have been a failure if I went to a less competitive school.
The obsession with elite colleges wasn't healthy when I was in HS and I'm sure it's worse now. These stories only promote the narrative of how important selective schools are, and probably stir up a lot of resentment in people who think they should have gotten in.
But I'm sure the stories get lots of clicks because people are interested in college admissions since it's something many American families go through, and there are hot button lenses to view these stories through, particularly race.
(04-06-2017, 11:38 AM)stupac2 link Wrote:[quote author=French Rage link=topic=16747.msg191287#msg191287 date=1491502775]
[quote author=dabigv link=topic=16747.msg191286#msg191286 date=1491502128]
Our school newspaper and local paper did stories on kids who got into Ivy's. Definitely does seem like these national stories are much more frequent of late, but I doubt it's the kids promoting themselves.
I think media consumers like reading these stories, probably for a variety of reasons, and CNN et al don't mind writing them.
When I think about it, it's hard to argue about kids being given attention to which colleges offers them and which offers they accept for academic reasons. I mean, we pay a lot of attention here to which high schoolers pick which colleges for athletic reasons (which yes, may also have some academic bearing too). It'd be great if they had a signing date and TV exposure for, say, the National Merit Top 300 too.
[/quote]
Personally I'd rather a lot less attention be paid to both those things.
[/quote]
Re: Stanford admissions - stupac2 - 04-06-2017
(04-06-2017, 12:25 PM)dabigv link Wrote:Same. I think we really need to stop glorifying pretigious colleges. I'm glad I went to Stanford, but I don't think my life would have been a failure if I went to a less competitive school.
Right. I wish guidance counselors places more emphasis on the fact that the differences between schools are mostly in terms of the opportunities available, and you can fail to take advantage of them at an Ivy or succeed brilliantly at a Cal State.
Re: Stanford admissions - jacketree - 04-06-2017
It's been five years for us, but I think guidance counselors do help students try to find a good fit, rather than just spraying applications all over the wall like spaghetti. (Less work for the counselors too.) I also think kids have little fear of being scarred for life from multiple rejections, which is why applications to uber selective schools are at an all time high. Almost like we used to plaster "flush letters" from various plant trips all over our door. Ha, ha....look at all my clever rejections. When there are ten of them, each one doesn't hurt as much.
(Of course I busted a lamp over a job I really wanted that I didn't get, so talk is cheap.)
Re: Stanford admissions - washingtonismoney - 04-07-2017
I'm sure everyone has a bunch of reasons to be skeptical of the obsession with elite colleges, but one reason sticks out to me: from what I can tell, researchers think a major reason for the growth in college tuition is the increasing number of administrators and amenities at schools -- i.e. an effort to "keep up with the Joneses." If kids and their parents were more focused on finding a good fit, I suspect that pressure would be decreased.
Re: Stanford admissions - 2006alum - 04-07-2017
(04-07-2017, 08:23 AM)washingtonismoney link Wrote:I'm sure everyone has a bunch of reasons to be skeptical of the obsession with elite colleges, but one reason sticks out to me: from what I can tell, researchers think a major reason for the growth in college tuition is the increasing number of administrators and amenities at schools -- i.e. an effort to "keep up with the Joneses." If kids and their parents were more focused on finding a good fit, I suspect that pressure would be decreased.
My sense is that the amenities arms race is even more of a problem at less highly ranked schools where there's less to differentiate the experience. How many people are going to to turn down Stanford because you live in an ugly Stern cinderblock dorm room your freshman year? I sure didn't! But I suspect for students choosing between comparable mid-tier schools, amenities is one way for those schools to differentiate themselves. I remember marveling at how much better the cafeterias were at my home state's state schools when I visited friends there. If one in-state school has way better facilities than the other, and they are otherwise relatively similar, wouldn't that be a reason to pick the nicer one?
So yeah, the food at my state schools was insanely better than Stern dining. I wouldn't have traded my lukewarm Stanford veggie burgers for all the state-school truffle fries in the world, but I might have picked it over a comparably ranked private school with worse facilities and even higher tuition.
Re: Stanford admissions - washingtonismoney - 04-07-2017
(04-07-2017, 08:27 AM)2006alum link Wrote:My sense is that the amenities arms race is even more of a problem at less highly ranked schools where there's less to differentiate the experience. How many people are going to to turn down Stanford because you live in an ugly Stern cinderblock dorm room your freshman year? I sure didn't! But I suspect for students choosing between comparable mid-tier schools, amenities is one way for those schools to differentiate themselves. I remember marveling at how much better the cafeterias were at my home state's state schools when I visited friends there. If one in-state school has way better facilities than the other, and they are otherwise relatively similar, wouldn't that be a reason to pick the nicer one?
Right, that was exactly my point -- though I didn't make it clear. Because your next-tier-down schools are competing on the basis of being most like Ivy League schools, they're driving up costs. Ultimately people are chasing the indicia of prestige rather than what will, in the long run, make them happy and fulfilled. (I've seen way too many people adapt their life to shoulder college debt. I'll be spreading the gospel of low debt for ages.)
Re: Stanford admissions - stupac2 - 04-07-2017
(04-07-2017, 09:22 AM)washingtonismoney link Wrote:I'll be spreading the gospel of low debt for ages.)
Don't look at my mortgage then!
(I assume you just mean student debt, which, yes, don't have that. Student debt is bad.)
Re: Stanford admissions - BostonCard - 04-07-2017
You haven't been to the new business school cafeteria.
BC
Re: Stanford admissions - 2006alum - 04-07-2017
(04-07-2017, 09:43 AM)Boston Card link Wrote:You haven't been to the new business school cafeteria.
BC
I haven't, but I've heard about it. I went to Stanford in the dark ages of the mid-2000s, back when we had to bike barefoot, uphill, both ways, in the snow, down Escondido to and from Main Quad. These pampered kids with their deck chairs and latte bars! :P
Re: Stanford admissions - fullmetal - 04-07-2017
And their anti-stress therapy puppies...or was it kittens? My jealousy is clouding my memories of what the kids have these days...
Re: Stanford admissions - 82lsju - 04-07-2017
(04-07-2017, 10:10 AM)2006alum link Wrote:[quote author=Boston Card link=topic=16747.msg191327#msg191327 date=1491583385]
You haven't been to the new business school cafeteria.
BC
I haven't, but I've heard about it. I went to Stanford in the dark ages of the mid-2000s, back when we had to bike barefoot, uphill, both ways, in the snow, down Escondido to and from Main Quad. These pampered kids with their deck chairs and latte bars! :P
[/quote]
bah, back in the really dark age (1979-82) you had to go to LOTS to use a computer terminal, you had to schedule a time to use one........
on the bright side we were allowed to bring beer into football games :)
Re: Stanford admissions - Class_of_75 - 04-07-2017
(04-07-2017, 10:33 AM)eric link Wrote:[quote author=2006alum link=topic=16747.msg191329#msg191329 date=1491585000]
[quote author=Boston Card link=topic=16747.msg191327#msg191327 date=1491583385]
You haven't been to the new business school cafeteria.
BC
I haven't, but I've heard about it. I went to Stanford in the dark ages of the mid-2000s, back when we had to bike barefoot, uphill, both ways, in the snow, down Escondido to and from Main Quad. These pampered kids with their deck chairs and latte bars! :P
[/quote]
bah, back in the really dark age (1979-82) you had to go to LOTS to use a computer terminal, you had to schedule a time to use one........
on the bright side we were allowed to bring beer into football games :)
[/quote]
Back in ancient times (1971 - 1975), we used punch cards to submit our comp sci projects.
Re: Stanford admissions - pauloalto - 04-07-2017
(04-07-2017, 10:33 AM)eric link Wrote:[quote author=2006alum link=topic=16747.msg191329#msg191329 date=1491585000]
[quote author=Boston Card link=topic=16747.msg191327#msg191327 date=1491583385]
You haven't been to the new business school cafeteria.
BC
I haven't, but I've heard about it. I went to Stanford in the dark ages of the mid-2000s, back when we had to bike barefoot, uphill, both ways, in the snow, down Escondido to and from Main Quad. These pampered kids with their deck chairs and latte bars! :P
[/quote]
bah, back in the really dark age (1979-82) you had to go to LOTS to use a computer terminal, you had to schedule a time to use one........
on the bright side we were allowed to bring beer into football games :)
[/quote]
Scheduling computer terminals? What about scheduling time for punch cards on the Burroughs 5500?