Great piece. I have never understood why Ivy League admissions appear so dystopic-- having had experience in both the Canadian and UK systems, I feel pretty confident in saying that, unlike other vices of contemporary higher education, this one is uniquely American.
Thank you so much for this! I'm a high school senior in the midst of the application process, and seeing my friends go through hellish experiences for the past four years really does make me feel sad. I myself am trying to aim for top schools and I'm trying to remind myself that it really isn't the end of the world if I don't get into any ILs... but when you're surrounded by high-achievers, it really is hard to detach that sweet school name from your personality.
Wow, I have high schoolers reading Pens and Poison? This made my day! So happy to hear that there are teenagers who are still reading. Most of my seniors have not read a single book in the past four years. Wishing you the best of luck with your college admissions process!
Same colors exactly at graduation, as well as the tassel. Still an extraordinary school. My alma mater, where very high civilizational standards are still taught.
Tens of thousands of applicants. Low single digit acceptance rates. Is your proposed mechanism “finding students who care?” That would be the states goal of the entire system.
There’s so many people who claim to care, especially on a college application. So how do you *know* who cares? Well, lets look at their achievements.
So applicants need to find ways of demonstrating their passion, weaving an elaborate narrative from one adventure to the next accolade. Either that, or be so overwhelmingly capable (e.g. IMO Gold medalist) that the narrative speaks for itself.
The bigger problem is - this can be faked quite effectively if you start planning sufficiently far ahead (~freshman year of hs). Lo and behold, many people do.
Once you subtract the children of very influential people, the world class academic competitors, the outstanding athletes, the premiere dancers, the grassroots political organizers, the national award winning essayists/artists/photographers, the published researchers (in high school!), out of your tens of thousands of applicants, when you can only take like 2k people…. You get a couple hundred spots for people who’re otherwise “normal” but good at school and with essays you like. That group might as well be random.
Either you’re so good and so passionate that you can become recognized for it, in which case your admission is secured, or you roll the dice. So what exactly are you proposing?
I work with students applying to college. Yes, what students need to do is care. That is precisely it. You can tell in 5 seconds if you have a student with a genuine passion or a student for whom the passion has been engineered. The issue is that most people think that you can engineer passion and try to do so instead of just focusing on themselves.
So have I, and I presently am at one of these institutions. Caring is not a difficult bar to cross - it’s the bare minimum. The only way you can differentiate the tens of thousands of people who care is by looking at their achievements, and now we’ve looped back into the elite admissions meta.
Great piece. I have never understood why Ivy League admissions appear so dystopic-- having had experience in both the Canadian and UK systems, I feel pretty confident in saying that, unlike other vices of contemporary higher education, this one is uniquely American.
Inadvertant success. Ah yes, I know it well.
I just had my 14 year old read it out loud for all of us at a family dinner table. Thank you!
Aww that’s so sweet! Thank you and glad your 14-year-old enjoyed :)
Thank you so much for this! I'm a high school senior in the midst of the application process, and seeing my friends go through hellish experiences for the past four years really does make me feel sad. I myself am trying to aim for top schools and I'm trying to remind myself that it really isn't the end of the world if I don't get into any ILs... but when you're surrounded by high-achievers, it really is hard to detach that sweet school name from your personality.
Wow, I have high schoolers reading Pens and Poison? This made my day! So happy to hear that there are teenagers who are still reading. Most of my seniors have not read a single book in the past four years. Wishing you the best of luck with your college admissions process!
Same colors exactly at graduation, as well as the tassel. Still an extraordinary school. My alma mater, where very high civilizational standards are still taught.
Amen and amen, Liza! Keep spreading the good word!
My high school counselor told me to not even “think about college “. I did. And loved it….
Tens of thousands of applicants. Low single digit acceptance rates. Is your proposed mechanism “finding students who care?” That would be the states goal of the entire system.
There’s so many people who claim to care, especially on a college application. So how do you *know* who cares? Well, lets look at their achievements.
So applicants need to find ways of demonstrating their passion, weaving an elaborate narrative from one adventure to the next accolade. Either that, or be so overwhelmingly capable (e.g. IMO Gold medalist) that the narrative speaks for itself.
The bigger problem is - this can be faked quite effectively if you start planning sufficiently far ahead (~freshman year of hs). Lo and behold, many people do.
Once you subtract the children of very influential people, the world class academic competitors, the outstanding athletes, the premiere dancers, the grassroots political organizers, the national award winning essayists/artists/photographers, the published researchers (in high school!), out of your tens of thousands of applicants, when you can only take like 2k people…. You get a couple hundred spots for people who’re otherwise “normal” but good at school and with essays you like. That group might as well be random.
Either you’re so good and so passionate that you can become recognized for it, in which case your admission is secured, or you roll the dice. So what exactly are you proposing?
I work with students applying to college. Yes, what students need to do is care. That is precisely it. You can tell in 5 seconds if you have a student with a genuine passion or a student for whom the passion has been engineered. The issue is that most people think that you can engineer passion and try to do so instead of just focusing on themselves.
So have I, and I presently am at one of these institutions. Caring is not a difficult bar to cross - it’s the bare minimum. The only way you can differentiate the tens of thousands of people who care is by looking at their achievements, and now we’ve looped back into the elite admissions meta.
Maroon and grey...Hopkins Grammar School?
Not sure if I should be honored or offended that I come off as a Connecticut Prep School kid 😂
Nah I am from the plain ol' Midwest