[FarmBoy]

And if you had asked my 17-year-old self what the big differences were in Northwestern, Syracuse and Stanford -- the three I really hoped to get into -- I doubt if I would have had a very good answer. Most kids don't turn the college application process into a thesis-level project. They maybe ask a teacher or two for advice, then couple that with what they pick up from the college websites and what they've heard, if anything, from other kids who attended them.

I think the college application game has changed since you your time on The Farm. The lengths kids go to nowadays to research schools and apply is amazing. I interview Stanford applicants. The kids I talk to have done a lot of research, can speak to specific programs, identify professors they want to study from and in some cases, have actually talked with some of them. Granted, I think a lot of that is for show because it's what you're "supposed to do", but I do think kids do a lot more investigation now than they did "back in the day."

Still, given the very low acceptance rates, I have no problem with a kid applying to all of the top tier schools he or she can. I think advertising the fact that you got it to all of them can be "douchy". I remember how meek I was in admitting I'd been accepted to Stanford because I knew several people who were not so fortunate. In this case, though, I can envision this kid's mentor learned about his success and wanted to make a big deal of it for the kid, for the school, and to set an example of what can be achieved for others. At least, I hope that's what happened.

It's also funny that people would slam a kid for being public about choosing Stanford over other great schools considering that's what happens in Football and Basketball ALL THE TIME. I hate the fact that kids hold news conferences to put on a hat. But that's the way of the world. Why should it be worse for a kid who's been accepted for non-athletic reasons to be held to a different standard?

[FarmBoy]

And if you had asked my 17-year-old self what the big differences were in Northwestern, Syracuse and Stanford -- the three I really hoped to get into -- I doubt if I would have had a very good answer. Most kids don't turn the college application process into a thesis-level project. They maybe ask a teacher or two for advice, then couple that with what they pick up from the college websites and what they've heard, if anything, from other kids who attended them.

I think the college application game has changed since you your time on The Farm. The lengths kids go to nowadays to research schools and apply is amazing. I interview Stanford applicants. The kids I talk to have done a lot of research, can speak to specific programs, identify professors they want to study from and in some cases, have actually talked with some of them. Granted, I think a lot of that is for show because it's what you're "supposed to do", but I do think kids do a lot more investigation now than they did "back in the day."

Still, given the very low acceptance rates, I have no problem with a kid applying to all of the top tier schools he or she can. I think advertising the fact that you got it to all of them can be "douchy". I remember how meek I was in admitting I'd been accepted to Stanford because I knew several people who were not so fortunate. In this case, though, I can envision this kid's mentor learned about his success and wanted to make a big deal of it for the kid, for the school, and to set an example of what can be achieved for others. At least, I hope that's what happened.

It's also funny that people would slam a kid for being public about choosing Stanford over other great schools considering that's what happens in Football and Basketball ALL THE TIME. I hate the fact that kids hold news conferences to put on a hat. But that's the way of the world. Why should it be worse for a kid who's been accepted for non-athletic reasons to be held to a different standard?