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Jack Ma: 'Harvard rejected me 10 times' [video]

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Re: Jack Ma: 'Harvard rejected me 10 times' [video]

#2
It's kind of funny how people who have made it as big as Jack Ma are still obsessed enough with Harvard to mention almost as a badge of honor that they were rejected from Harvard. As if to say "see Harvard was obviously wrong here". Harvard or any top school in no way can accept anywhere near all of the applicants that are qualified to attend those schools. As such there will be people that will be rejected and accepted almost arbitrarily at the whims of the admissions staff and or quotas of one type or another.

Re: Jack Ma: 'Harvard rejected me 10 times' [video]

#3
In my opinion elite universities are more for traditional career paths. They are nothing for entrepeneurs.

You waste too much time with exams.

There should be an opportunity to get credits for entrepeneurial work at university.

Edit: I am engineering alumnus of a so called elite university in germany and struggled much with exams because I just wanted to do more practical work which one can sell.

Re: Jack Ma: 'Harvard rejected me 10 times' [video]

#4
post #2

It's kind of funny how people who have made it as big as Jack Ma are still obsessed enough with Harvard to mention almost as a badge of honor that they were rejected from Harvard. As if to say "see Harvard was obviously wrong here". Harvard or any top school in no way can accept anywhere near all of the applicants that are qualified to attend those schools. As such there will be people that will be rejected and accep…

It's like calling an old girlfriend just to passive-aggressively tell her you bought a car dealership

Re: Jack Ma: 'Harvard rejected me 10 times' [video]

#6

He claims that out of 25 people, he was the only one rejected for a job at KFC. That to me is more inspirational. On the other hand, could he be lying about some of these hardships to make him seem more relatable?

Now THAT should have been the headline.

Re: Jack Ma: 'Harvard rejected me 10 times' [video]

#7
post #2

It's kind of funny how people who have made it as big as Jack Ma are still obsessed enough with Harvard to mention almost as a badge of honor that they were rejected from Harvard. As if to say "see Harvard was obviously wrong here". Harvard or any top school in no way can accept anywhere near all of the applicants that are qualified to attend those schools. As such there will be people that will be rejected and accep…

10 times is a lot worse than being wrong once, however.

Re: Jack Ma: 'Harvard rejected me 10 times' [video]

#8
post #2

It's kind of funny how people who have made it as big as Jack Ma are still obsessed enough with Harvard to mention almost as a badge of honor that they were rejected from Harvard. As if to say "see Harvard was obviously wrong here". Harvard or any top school in no way can accept anywhere near all of the applicants that are qualified to attend those schools. As such there will be people that will be rejected and accep…

It's like calling an old girlfriend just to passive-aggressively tell her you bought a car dealership

No it's like calling up the dealership you applied to (1o times!) in college, to tell them you now own a dealership.

Re: Jack Ma: 'Harvard rejected me 10 times' [video]

#9

In my opinion elite universities are more for traditional career paths. They are nothing for entrepeneurs. You waste too much time with exams. There should be an opportunity to get credits for entrepeneurial work at university. Edit: I am engineering alumnus of a so called elite university in germany and struggled much with exams because I just wanted to do more practical work which one can sell.

Many universities do have opportunity to get credits for entrepreneurial work. I would venture to say most do, if you talk to the department chair. Often they'll be called "independent study", but it is there.

The bigger question is whether you should be paying 3-4 figures per credit just to be recognized by the university for doing that independent study.

Re: Jack Ma: 'Harvard rejected me 10 times' [video]

#10
post #2

It's kind of funny how people who have made it as big as Jack Ma are still obsessed enough with Harvard to mention almost as a badge of honor that they were rejected from Harvard. As if to say "see Harvard was obviously wrong here". Harvard or any top school in no way can accept anywhere near all of the applicants that are qualified to attend those schools. As such there will be people that will be rejected and accep…

College admissions process over an year is an introspective and gut-wrenching experience and irrespective of the outcome, it does leave a lasting experience. Now considering if he did indeed apply 10 times, that says a lot about how much it would have affected him.
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