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Old 05-02-2014, 09:14 AM
 
Location: Nassau
321 posts, read 593,524 times
Reputation: 420

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I find it amazing that people find a way to put a negative spin on this story.

Everyone loves to complain about bad neighborhoods and the trash they produce but then when an excellent young man like this comes up people want to say that the system gave him a leg up on his competition.

I would walk around with a smile on my face all day every day if we could produce students like this in the poor districts of LI. We spend obscene amounts of money on these districts and they give us terrible results time and time again.

My hat is off to this young man. I hope he becomes a neurosurgeon or some other specialty doctor. Maybe one day he'll save my life. Who knows?
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Old 05-02-2014, 11:00 AM
 
1,110 posts, read 668,246 times
Reputation: 804
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pinuzzo View Post
This is really not that news worthy. Minorities from poorer districts get into top schools all the time. However, not all of them apply to all 8 Ivies.
The student should certainly be proud of his academic accomplishments.

I'd be curious as to whether the Ivies were aware he was applying to all of them. Maybe essays with an emphasis on 'my life goal is to be accepted to all 8 Ivies (after all with unanimous approval, there would only be a 12.5% chance he'd say yes if they were to all accept his applications). Makes it easier to grant a little leeway to a student who might be considered wait listed or rejected by any one of the eight.
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Old 05-02-2014, 12:13 PM
 
791 posts, read 1,617,188 times
Reputation: 668
Quote:
Originally Posted by AKA Bubbleup View Post
The student should certainly be proud of his academic accomplishments.

I'd be curious as to whether the Ivies were aware he was applying to all of them. Maybe essays with an emphasis on 'my life goal is to be accepted to all 8 Ivies (after all with unanimous approval, there would only be a 12.5% chance he'd say yes if they were to all accept his applications). Makes it easier to grant a little leeway to a student who might be considered wait listed or rejected by any one of the eight.
His essay was actually published in the NYPost - no mention at all of Ivy aspirations (he focused on his experiences as a music student). Can't rule out that a teacher or guidance counselor didn't slip the fact that he was applying to all 8 into a letter somewhere, but I don't know that it would've mattered anyway - from an admissions perspective, he's got many/most of the hallmarks of a prime applicant. (And before some sour jealous downer brings up his "mediocre" SAT score and the fact that he was "only" 11th in his class for the 975th time, please shelve your 1980s notions of what makes for a successful college applicant and go read a book or two on the topic before spouting off.)
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Old 05-02-2014, 01:07 PM
 
1,284 posts, read 1,644,613 times
Reputation: 1155
Quote:
Originally Posted by skeeter31 View Post
Actually it doesn't. His SAT score is actually pretty mediocre when it comes to Ivy league colleges. It would have merited admission, but not to ALL 8.
Line taken from SAT data table for 2013
2250 1,850 99 994 99 856 99

The first number is the total score of the student, 994 is the number of male students nationwide getting that score, the 99 is the percent of students he did better than.

Since admissions at all the schools are independent why wouldn't he get accepted to all the schools? If he is good enough for one why not all eight?
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Old 05-02-2014, 01:18 PM
 
1,284 posts, read 1,644,613 times
Reputation: 1155
Quote:
Originally Posted by InfoSeeker52 View Post
People want to put their kids in top districts because not every kid is Kwasi - that is, not every kid has major internal motivation, a compelling personal story, music & athletic talent, and strong study skills. For kids like Kwasi, district doesn't matter - these kids are going to be who they're going to be regardless of their surroundings. But for Joe Smith, middle class kid with an average intellect and a standard middle-class-kid life story who just wants to hang out with his friends and text on his phone all day, a district like WF won't produce the same results as, say, Three Village.

A school like WF (or CI, or Brentwood, etc.) is faced with so many crisis-level problems compared with a Three Village that it doesn't have the resources to devote to taking Joe and pulling him up from being a C student to a B student. As far as a place like WF is concerned, if Joe is passing all of his classes and isn't in immediate crisis, he's doing A-OK; in a better district, he'd be pushed (both by teachers/counselors and through social pressure from peers) to do better than Cs. That won't happen in the worst districts on LI.

So yes, if your kid is gifted and self-motivated and academically inclined and able to brush off peer pressure to slack at school, WF will likely be fine. But if your kid is average, you're better off busting your butt to afford a better district.
Good explanation!
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Old 05-02-2014, 01:49 PM
 
Location: Long Island
9,531 posts, read 15,821,591 times
Reputation: 5948
Quote:
Originally Posted by SilverBulletZ06 View Post
Low expectations equate to low outcomes.

Start expecting more.
That's saying I should have a hand in students in other school districts. I don't.
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