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The Magic of Time - The Last One Standing:
http://www.unlikelysalsero.com/2007/08/magic-of-time-last-on...
> When her best friend tried to get Kara to drop a difficult linear algebra class, Kara, to her friend’s horror, simply shrugged and replied, “I like linear algebra.”
I picked David because his achievements seemed more concrete. The "marketing" and "sustainability" stuff sounded like fluff to me. I didn't read much more of the article after I found out he chose the other guy.
Track captains are a dime a dozen and there is nothing "impressive" about signing up for calligraphy class. Maybe those were the easy classes at his school - I don't know. But there's nothing inherently impressive about taking calligraphy. I don't even know why you would put that on your resume unless you were going to write an essay about it.
Working with the UN as a high schooler is something that grabs the attention of an admissions officer. I'm sure his essay about the experience sealed the deal.
I picked David because his achievements seemed more concrete. The "marketing" and "sustainability" stuff sounded like fluff to me. I didn't read much more of the article after I found out he chose the other guy.
As someone who actually goes to top school, I cannot even fathom how someone would think that being captain of a track team and learning calligraphy would be more impressive than lobby U.N. delegates. Track captains are a dime a dozen and there is nothing "impressive" about signing up for calligraphy class. Maybe those were the easy classes at his school - I don't know. But there's nothing inherently impressive about…
It sounds like bragging. And worse: it doesn't do anything for your argument.
(And for the record, I agree with you.)
I picked David because his achievements seemed more concrete. The "marketing" and "sustainability" stuff sounded like fluff to me. I didn't read much more of the article after I found out he chose the other guy.
As someone who actually goes to top school, I cannot even fathom how someone would think that being captain of a track team and learning calligraphy would be more impressive than lobby U.N. delegates. Track captains are a dime a dozen and there is nothing "impressive" about signing up for calligraphy class. Maybe those were the easy classes at his school - I don't know. But there's nothing inherently impressive about…
I picked David because his achievements seemed more concrete. The "marketing" and "sustainability" stuff sounded like fluff to me. I didn't read much more of the article after I found out he chose the other guy.
As someone who actually goes to top school, I cannot even fathom how someone would think that being captain of a track team and learning calligraphy would be more impressive than lobby U.N. delegates. Track captains are a dime a dozen and there is nothing "impressive" about signing up for calligraphy class. Maybe those were the easy classes at his school - I don't know. But there's nothing inherently impressive about…
To use your own words, the following is equally as true: there is nothing "impressive" about signing up to lobby the U.N. as an unpaid intern.
Show me a student making real money, and that is actually valued by the free market, and I will be impressed.
The whole concept of highly selective schools is distasteful. I can't imagine myself in the position of choosing between prospective students for one. The selection process is highly arbitrary just like hiring. I wouldn't accept the responsibility of turning away prospective students who actually want to come to a school to learn.
It always sounded easy, but after hiring a few people, it is very hit or miss no matter what you do.
To imagine you can predict what a developing student mind is capable of is simply hubris.
I picked David because his achievements seemed more concrete. The "marketing" and "sustainability" stuff sounded like fluff to me. I didn't read much more of the article after I found out he chose the other guy.
As someone who actually goes to top school, I cannot even fathom how someone would think that being captain of a track team and learning calligraphy would be more impressive than lobby U.N. delegates. Track captains are a dime a dozen and there is nothing "impressive" about signing up for calligraphy class. Maybe those were the easy classes at his school - I don't know. But there's nothing inherently impressive about…
As a data point, I got mediocre grades (barely top 10% in my high school class at a pretty run-of-the-mill high school) while playing football (it's a year round commitment) and for some reason Carnegie Mellon chose to let me in [0]. When push came to shove I managed to put myself ahead instead of behind because I was willing to work a little bit harder than I needed to, and I learned how to do that with every miserable, awful football practice I ever went to.
In all likelihood, "Steve" isn't as mentally tough as "David", and I think (assuming a similar grade and test score standing) it'd be foolish to take Steve over David.
[0] In fairness, I had also programmed a lot and I think I was able to convey a passion for it, but I think that's pretty standard for a lot of people who didn't make it in.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
As someone who actually goes to top school, I cannot even fathom how someone would think that being captain of a track team and learning calligraphy would be more impressive than lobby U.N. delegates. Track captains are a dime a dozen and there is nothing "impressive" about signing up for calligraphy class. Maybe those were the easy classes at his school - I don't know. But there's nothing inherently impressive about…
In a world of 7 billion people, you will find that just about everyone is a dime a dozen. To use your own words, the following is equally as true: there is nothing "impressive" about signing up to lobby the U.N. as an unpaid intern. Show me a student making real money, and that is actually valued by the free market, and I will be impressed.
And nobody's trying to impress you. These kids are trying to impress college admissions, who are in turn trying to build interesting and diverse student bodies.