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EDIT: This turned out longer than I thought it would. A LOT longer.
To start off, I come from an extremely academically rigorous school. Going to the #1/2 public high school in California means that competition is tough and academics means a LOT to everyone. I've always grown up thinking that I was smart, could achieve a lot, and would do just that. All the influences from peers, the academic environment, and parents only served to carve this into my nature. As a result, failure is something that I can't take easily.
I've always thought - no, believed - that I wouldn't settle for anything less than the best of the best, nor would I have to. My sisters went to UCSD and UCLA. I would do one better and go to UC Berkeley. Every time I heard of people going to UCD, UCI, UCM, etc I secretly felt I was their superior. After all, to me it was a shame that one couldn't get into a better UC than those.
Now, at this point, you might think I'm some humongous douche with an ego to match but really, I'm not like that. I don't know how to explain it. I hate it when those who are "superior" rub it in the faces of those who never taste anything other than failure. With such a competitive nature at my school it's really not too uncommon to see those who get 100s on their tests or quizzes to run around and ask others what they got, only to rub it in their face. Perhaps some are just curious, but I always hated those who did it just to brag.
But at the same time I always compared myself to others. Eventually I put some into those who I am better than, those who are equal, and those who are better. Such was the way I viewed people. I realized that this severely blocked my view of people who I viewed as inferior but I couldn't help it. I could keep doing this because I never had to join them. I was their better.
Boy was I wrong, hahahaha.
Just last week I checked my UC apps in my digital photo class and discovered I had been accepted to UCD and UCI. I wasn't particularly elated as I felt it was expected but my friend, sitting next to me, asked me about it and the girl nearby congratulated me. I shrugged it off and said "Eh... it's not like I'm going to go there anyway". My friend retorted "what?! don't say that Eli". I'm still not sure why he said that but we laughed it off. At that time I thought about what it would be like if I did have to go to UCI or UCD, only to forget about it.
This Saturday I came home from a sobering Track invitational which none of my friend or I were particularly happy about. I googled "UCSD admissions" and tried to register my account. I didn't expect UCSD to come out but there it was, my rejection letter. I couldn't believe it. I just sat there and read it again to make sure. Then I decided to hide the truth from my mom. No, not because of shame. I wasn't ashamed but afraid that my mom would worry over it.So I pretended that I hadn't gotten a reply. I had planned to wait til today. Today, I would get an acceptance from UCLA and all would be fine. My mom wouldn't have to worry about it and my rejection would be my little burden to carry.
I frantically checked the UCLA site in the morning, in digital photo, before track practice, and after practice. And then my friend IMed me with a link. I entered my information and read the letter. There it is again. The rejection letter. I had to read it over again to make sure. Sure enough I wouldn't be going to UCLA. I let it soak in a bit and I looked out the window. Just some minutes ago I was out there, carefree at practice. Here I am, rejected from UCSD and UCLA.
I'm not going to lie. I cried. Everything in the past week just crumbled around me and I couldn't take it anymore. Several friends asked me about UCLA, some got in and some also got rejected. My friends comforted me but I knew I had no choices other than UCD and UCI now. UC Berkeley was a longshot. If I couldn't get into UCSD or UCLA with Bio E., no way was I getting into Cal with it.
I think this convo of me with my friend sums it up:
(8:27:15 PM): jeez to be honest
(8:27:22 PM): i think the worst part of me having to go to davis/irvine
(8:27:26 PM): is having to swallow my pride
(8:27:37 PM): i don't know how i'm gonna do it but i have to
I feel lowly to have to go to these school. But I think it's a good thing for me. I need to humble myself. I am no better.
 
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K, granted everyone has their own problems and everyone's own problems seem bigger than other people's problems...but wow man.
' I feel lowly to have to go to these school. But I think it's a good thing for me. I need to humble myself. I am no better.'
Are you fucking serious? What a joke...how can you honestly say that you aren't one of those people with a superiority complex or someone who gets off secretly feeling ' awesome ' on the inside whenever you do better on a test/grade.
You feel lowly? This is your much needed reality check. If you are so confident in your abilities then don't let something like college acceptance be the marker for your life. For all you know they were full or something else fucked up. Someone I know from my graduating class got into Princeton but got rejected from UGA.
Point is, there's no need to fret over shit like this. If you work hard, chances are high you'll get to where you want to in life. Just don't be a fucking jackass on the way there like you have been until this point.
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Dude, you must realize that UCD and UCI are perfectly fine schools. If you put your heart and energy in it, you'll still get a great college experience and education at those places.
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Sucks man, while the admission process for UC's are systematic (more than privates), it is still pretty random from what I heard. Don't lose hope for UCB. Also I'm sure you'll do fine in the colleges you got accepted to too.
P.S - You didn't apply to any privates?
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On March 19 2009 16:06 Ack1027 wrote:Point is, there's no need to fret over shit like this. If you work hard, chances are high you'll get to where you want to in life. Just don't be a fucking jackass on the way there like you have been until this point.
Jackass? Wtf? How in the world have I been a jackass up until this point? I don't patronize others like it may seem I do.
It's not so much confidence in myself as it is reaching the expectations of everyone around me. You don't have to take my word for it but I don't feel superior just because I do better on a test than someone. My initial reaction is "that sucks, I sympathize with you". I can't help but feel "less happy", even if I did well.
On March 19 2009 16:08 SiZ.FaNtAsY wrote:
Sucks man, while the admission process for UC's are systematic (more than privates), it is still pretty random from what I heard. Don't lose hope for UCB. Also I'm sure you'll do fine in the colleges you got accepted to too.
P.S - You didn't apply to any privates?
Only UCs. I knew well enough that privates were likely out of reach for me. Also with my father getting laid off and a sister in college there was no way I could afford any. :\
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Again, don't lose hope on Cal, they have the most diverse admissions process than the rest of the UCs. and like the others have stated, UCI and UCD are also great schools.
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United States10774 Posts
hey man keep your head up, UCD and UCI will be perfectly fine as long as you continue to push yourself and achieve high marks. i am not gonna lie and say that i have never felt that "superiority" that you were talking about. i wouldn't be happy to go to a state school that all my friends who received average grades in non-challenging classes will be attending. it's not like i share those thoughts with any of them, but i just can't seem to help it. then again, like everybody says, it's about how you thrive at the college you attend. lastly, don't lose hope for uc berkeley as college acceptance can be really random sometimes. best of luck.
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No, you're right. The way you've viewed other people, especially in an academic light up until this point has been completely right.
I mean really think about why you made this blog. Sympathy perhaps? Discussion? Advice? I'm sure you'll get all of that. I'm just saying that if YOU say stuff like:
' Such was the way I viewed people. I realized that this severely blocked my view of people who I viewed as inferior but I couldn't help it. I could keep doing this because I never had to join them. I was their better. '
How is that not being a jackass? I mean, not to make it sound like your problems aren't important [ because obviously they are important to you ] but I'm pretty sure the majority of people reading:
' I'm not going to lie. I cried. Everything in the past week just crumbled around me and I couldn't take it anymore. '
in the context of college application acceptance, when you got accepted to perfectly good schools are gonna tell you to man up. It's not worth crying about. If you didn't get into college at all, that would be worth crying about....or I don't know maybe you're too ' above ' that as well. Please consider I'm just trying to point things out as a third party.
Edit: My point about you acting like a jackass is separate from you actually physically doing anything such as going up to someone and asking their test grade knowing that you did better. Even if you feel the same way on the inside as the people who actually do it, you're just as much of a jackass. Stop thinking in those terms, it won't get you anywhere. There will almost always be someone who knows more or performs better than you its better to realize how you acted before and ' swallow your pride and act humbly ' as you suggested yourself.
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top #1 or 2 pub hs in cali is like auto-berkeley/ucla lol
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Realize that due to the budget crisis the amount of people admitted to the UC system has gone down by a significant amount. I probably would not have been admitted to UCSD had I applied this year.
What high school do you go to anyway? Where are a lot of good schools in cali, specifically the asian ones
Edit: ah ok
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On March 19 2009 16:14 Ack1027 wrote:
No, you're right. The way you've viewed other people, especially in an academic light up until this point has been completely right.
I mean really think about why you made this blog. Sympathy perhaps? Discussion? Advice? I'm sure you'll get all of that. I'm just saying that if YOU say stuff like:
' Such was the way I viewed people. I realized that this severely blocked my view of people who I viewed as inferior but I couldn't help it. I could keep doing this because I never had to join them. I was their better. '
How is that not being a jackass? I mean, not to make it sound like your problems aren't important [ because obviously they are important to you ] but I'm pretty sure the majority of people reading:
' I'm not going to lie. I cried. Everything in the past week just crumbled around me and I couldn't take it anymore. '
in the context of college application acceptance, when you got accepted to perfectly good school is gonna tell you man up. It's not worth crying about. If you didn't get into college at all, that would be worth crying about....or I don't know maybe you're too ' above ' that as well. Please consider I'm just trying to point things out as a third party.
I'm not saying my view on others is right but I never discriminate because of my "superiority" over others. I really don't know how to explain it but it's not as expressed or as severe as you seem to take it to be.
To be honest, I just wanted to put it out. While writing it i just kept ranting on and on without any particular aim.
It's hard to understand unless you've been in my environment your entire life. Now I don't know your life but for me and everyone around me, education is absolutely huge. I realize now that my standards are set high because around my friends UCI and UCD ARE considered lower-tier schools. Lately I've been talking a lot about college with friends and we all agree that it's exaggerated too much. You can get just a good an education at those schools as any other UC. Please don't think that I'm one of those snotty nerds who have absolutely no life outside of education (I can see how one would assume that from the OP). You have to admit that when something happens, the initial reaction is always strongest and will always seem blown out of proportion by viewers. Not to say that I didn't make it a bigger deal than it is.
All-in-all, what you said is exactly what I'm trying to say I've finally figured out. I needed a reality check and I got it.
On March 19 2009 16:23 Fontong wrote:
Realize that due to the budget crisis the amount of people admitted to the UC system has gone down by a significant amount. I probably would not have been admitted to UCSD had I applied this year.
What high school do you go to anyway? Where are a lot of good schools in cali, specifically the asian ones
I go to Mission San Jose HS in the Bay Area. Some people here on TL also go there.
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Ah yeah, I was thinking Monta Vista/Gunn but that's pretty close too.
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This was a horrible year to apply to the UC system. Schools had to cut back on acceptance because of budget shortages and there were 3x more applicants easy.
Application numbers for UCD are up from 12-13kish to 42k, 4600 of whom where accepted. UCSB has 44k applicants and 4100 were accepted. SDSU had like 60k applicants, 6k were accepted. I forget UCSD's numbers.
If you wanted to get into the UCs this year you had to beat out 9 of 10 students.
Edit: LOOOOOOOOOOOL Mission San Jose
I've been in the wrestling tournament that Mission holds every year. The school is asian. I looked at the cross country team pictures one year and it had like 4 white kids on a team of like 41 asians.
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you place too much of your self esteem on which colleges you can get into
if you backed a step up, you'd realize that UCI and UCD are fucking good, and the only thing really different in quality of education is in specific programs
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On March 19 2009 16:27 SingletonWilliam wrote:
This was a horrible year to apply to the UC system. Schools had to cut back on acceptance because of budget shortages and there were 3x more applicants easy.
Application numbers for UCD are up from 12-13kish to 42k, 4600 of whom where accepted. UCSB has 44k applicants and 4100 were accepted. SDSU had like 60k applicants, 6k were accepted. I forget UCSD's numbers.
If you wanted to get into the UCs this year you had to beat out 9 of 10 students.
that definitely doesn't sound right
those sound like recycled matriculation numbers from last year, not admittance/acceptance numbers
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On March 19 2009 16:28 SpiritoftheTunA wrote:Show nested quote +On March 19 2009 16:27 SingletonWilliam wrote:
This was a horrible year to apply to the UC system. Schools had to cut back on acceptance because of budget shortages and there were 3x more applicants easy.
Application numbers for UCD are up from 12-13kish to 42k, 4600 of whom where accepted. UCSB has 44k applicants and 4100 were accepted. SDSU had like 60k applicants, 6k were accepted. I forget UCSD's numbers.
If you wanted to get into the UCs this year you had to beat out 9 of 10 students.
that definitely doesn't sound right those sound like recycled matriculation numbers from last year, not admission numbers
I'm just going to post my UCD rejection letter. Decide for yourselves.
Dear William,
After careful review of your application, we regret that we are unable to offer you admission to UC Davis for fall quarter 2009. You were part of an exceptionally talented group of over 42,000 applicants from which UC Davis could enroll a freshman class of 4,600.
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On March 19 2009 16:31 SingletonWilliam wrote:Show nested quote +On March 19 2009 16:28 SpiritoftheTunA wrote:On March 19 2009 16:27 SingletonWilliam wrote:
This was a horrible year to apply to the UC system. Schools had to cut back on acceptance because of budget shortages and there were 3x more applicants easy.
Application numbers for UCD are up from 12-13kish to 42k, 4600 of whom where accepted. UCSB has 44k applicants and 4100 were accepted. SDSU had like 60k applicants, 6k were accepted. I forget UCSD's numbers.
If you wanted to get into the UCs this year you had to beat out 9 of 10 students.
that definitely doesn't sound right those sound like recycled matriculation numbers from last year, not admission numbers I'm just going to post my UCD rejection letter. Decide for yourselves. Dear William, After careful review of your application, we regret that we are unable to offer you admission to UC Davis for fall quarter 2009. You were part of an exceptionally talented group of over 42,000 applicants from which UC Davis could enroll a freshman class of 4,600.
yeah that's definitely matriculation numbers
i.e. http://admissions.ucla.edu/prospect/Adm_fr/Frosh_Prof08.htm
look at admits # vs enrolled #
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Omg lol...so what u didnt get into those schools....u cried? man people have way wose problems than this...Are your diamond sandles too tight? is your wallet to small for ur 100's? come on dude.
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Looks like you need to learn how to write proper letters to attach to your admissions application.
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On March 19 2009 16:47 brad3104 wrote:
Omg lol...so what u didnt get into those schools....u cried? man people have way wose problems than this...Are your diamond sandles too tight? is your wallet to small for ur 100's? come on dude.
I know, I'm a hypocrite for thinking the exact same thing to other people who complain about seemingly trivial things. But you have to admit that sometimes there are things that you care about so much that other people just don't understand at times. Not to mention, just because the world suffers doesn't mean I don't.
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On March 19 2009 16:27 SingletonWilliam wrote:
Edit: LOOOOOOOOOOOL Mission San Jose
I've been in the wrestling tournament that Mission holds every year. The school is asian. I looked at the cross country team pictures one year and it had like 4 white kids on a team of like 41 asians.
Haha, yea. MSJ is still about 70% Asian I think.
Basketball and baseball are like the only sports we have with a good amount of non-Asians (wrestling too maybe?)
On March 19 2009 16:27 SpiritoftheTunA wrote:
you place too much of your self esteem on which colleges you can get into
if you backed a step up, you'd realize that UCI and UCD are fucking good, and the only thing really different in equality of education is in specific programs
After thinking about what you said, too true. Everyone at my school places so much emphasis on what college they get into though.
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MSJ, really? haha do you know... um... ill PM you with some names
i go to harker in SJ xD
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T.O.P.
Hong Kong4685 Posts
You know what your mistake is? Your mistake is going to one of the best high schools in California. If you went to a crappy school, you would have got into UC Berkeley. Going to a good school means that you'll get a lower GPA. Going to a crappy school means you'll get a 4.5 without knowing anything. But, you're gonna have an advantage over other college freshmen because you went to a rigorous high school.
It seems that most people in this thread doesn't parental pressure and what goes on in competitive schools. Going to a good college is a symbol for how good you are.
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oh no I got into [insert random decent college here] instead of [random better college here]
LIFE IS PAIN
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is awesome32269 Posts
People need to stop thinking of university as magical machines that turn you into a professional.
A good university will be better for you if you like to study yes, but it's 95%+ hard work/vocation and the rest is just random factors, and one of them is university.
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On March 19 2009 16:27 Fontong wrote:
Ah yeah, I was thinking Monta Vista/Gunn but that's pretty close too.
Hey MV, my high school!
Anyway, I think about the same way you do, and if I don't get into at least UCSD (next year), I will be very, very fucking disappointed in myself...Guys, that's just how it is in some schools. Many people at my school (myself included) have the mentality that a B grade is unacceptable and UCI and UCD are for the worse off people.
On a side note, I'm fairly sure MV or Gunn hold a higher ranking than Mission.
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MV/lynbrook/gunn/paly/mission are all about the same to me
i would've gone to MV if i hadn't gone to harker (I went to kennedy for middle school)
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is awesome32269 Posts
God I hate number based test and means of filtering people out. They are as subjective as the teacher picking with the finger who should pass a test / school and who shouldn't.
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On March 19 2009 17:02 T.O.P. wrote:
You know what your mistake is? Your mistake is going to one of the best high schools in California. If you went to a crappy school, you would have got into UC Berkeley. Going to a good school means that you'll get a lower GPA. Going to a crappy school means you'll get a 4.5 without knowing anything. But, you're gonna have an advantage over other college freshmen because you went to a rigorous high school.
It seems that most people in this thread doesn't parental pressure and what goes on in competitive schools. Going to a good college is a symbol for how good you are.
The dumbest thing ive ever heard...
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On March 19 2009 17:02 T.O.P. wrote:It seems that most people in this thread doesn't parental pressure and what goes on in competitive schools. Going to a good college is a symbol for how good you are.
Stop giving us asians bad rep! ><
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Dude...that was a great story. So heartfelt. Ignore the people bashing you. These people have not felt your pain and your struggles.
You are still in high school, you are young and naive. I am a few years older, and I can say with certainty how much you will grow over the next couple years. I love how you wrote, "I entered my information and read the letter. There it is again. The rejection letter. I had to read it over again to make sure." That is beautiful man. It reminds me of an English class, where I spent a week working on my paper, even working on it with an author, to a point where this paper was no longer a paper, it was me. I ended up with a C, and I was crushed. Crushed.
You see man, these people, they don't know the pain you are feeling because they have never done something so passionately with so much intent. Most people are content with mediocrity, and to those who are not, mediocrity is our worst enemy. You know this. You feel this.
Listen, I don't know who you are. I have an idea, but I really have no clue. You could be the next Charles Manson. I'm sure you've heard all the old cliches like "Don't give up" or "Keep trying!" Ignore them as well. Those cliches are the tools of the masses to rationalize their lives. Instead, feel exactly what you feel: the pain, the rage, the shame, and just remember it. Just fucking remember it man.
And when it comes down to crunch time, when its you against the world, you'll remember that pain, that rage, that shame. And then man, you'll know what to do.
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lol the elitism that some people exude is pretty disgusting. like "OMG I GO TO X COLLEGE THAT IS RATED (insert number 5-20) IN THE COUNTRY BY Y SOURCE! I AM AUTO-SUCCESSFUL AND SET FOR LIFE AND SO SMART AND AMAZING AND MUMMY IS SO PROUD OF ME ANYONE WHO GOES TO A WORSE COLLEGE IS A FAILURE BOUND FOR MCDONALDS AND ANYONE WHO GOES TO A BETTER COLLEGE IS JUST A LUCKY NERD WHO GOT IN THROUGH SPECIAL CONNECTIONS."
Yeah, i've heard people actually spew that shit, I used to a cute little nerd in like junior high thinking that going to a college with a selectivity rating than a 90 on princetonreview.com meant you were bound for a life in the fast food industry.
Anyway, by 10th grade I realized how ridiculous this point of view was and by 11th grade I stopped caring because I realized paying 40k+ per year to go to a top private school just really wasn't worth it to me (a random middle-class kid whose parents make like $80k or so per year). I did well enough to keep my parents happy and graduated like a 4.0 because my high school was a joke. I go to a pretty decent university now (penn state), not amazing, but affordable, not far from my home, and has pretty much any major/program under the sun available since it's such a big university.
A lot of my friends are going to community college and I have no feelings of superiority at all, not everyone has the financial resources, parental support, or real need to go on to anything better than small, affordable local college or community college. I mean after graduating, the degrees are all the same and the level of education is not that much different. I really think that the amount of passion you have for your field of study and how much work you are willing to put in are so important to how far you are going to get in life. I mean, obviously an employer is going to favor hose who go to top universities. like, "oh, you went to harvard? HEY SECRETARY TELL THAT KID IN THE LOBBY WHO WENT COMMUNITY COLLEGE WAITING TO APPLY GG NO RE." However, if that community college student has a 4.0, multiple internships and work experience during college, good recommendations from professors along with an obvious aptitude and genuine interest in his line of work, then he or she is going to be chosen over a harvard grad with a 2.0 GPA and no obvious passion for what he or she does. Also, if you are going into a field not for the money, but because you really enjoy the work, why worry about how prestigious the university you went to was if you are going to making roughly same modest amount of money, and have to worry about paying back a student loan that is going to be $100k+. Is that huge debt you are going to leave school with worth it to be able to brag to people that you went to a better university than them?
sorry if this doesn't all make too much sense, I am playing a crapload of tables of poker as I write this lol.
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On March 19 2009 18:06 Exteray wrote:
what rank were u in HS?
My GPA is horrible. I was ranked something like 200/550.
Unweighted UC GPA is ~3.75 and weighted UC GPA is ~4 I think
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Well if you were a really really smart student you would've applied to other schools like Stanford, Harvard, Prineceton, etc? But sorry about you not making in, by no means are they bad schools.
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I know what you mean by saying you've always thought of yourself as "superior". I used to think that way as well, simply because I would generally understand a lot of things other people didn't. Perhaps superior isn't the right word, maybe just having higher expectations for myself.
However, once in the university, I began to start thinking everyone was basically equal (there are exceptions..). Perhaps it was because my intelligence in relation to my peers diminished. However, I now genuinely think that pretty much anyone has the capability of learning anything. For example, I am confident that I could get any degree offered by my university (perhaps not all Phds).
The key to learning is your attitude. If you have noticed, most really smart people are really nice, and they will take time out for you to explain something to you. This is because the act of always being willing to listen and explain things is what allowed them to attain the level that they are at. Even if you ask really basic/dumb questions, they will treat you like you are equal in intelligence to themselves, in my experience.
What I'm saying is that you should not base your intelligence off what school you are accepted to. That is flawed for a number of reasons. You need not "swallow your pride", you must simply learn from this experience. Thats what is important, always learning new things and being flexible. Being weak and brittle as you are now is not the key to learning. It is being humble and flexible.
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Baa?21242 Posts
I can't help but think, while reading this, that you had this coming. Despite what you say, I still think you have a superiority complex, and now it's come to bite you in the ass when a normal person would've been perfectly happy to get into those schools.
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On March 20 2009 14:49 Carnivorous Sheep wrote:
I can't help but think, while reading this, that you had this coming. Despite what you say, I still think you have a superiority complex, and now it's come to bite you in the ass when a normal person would've been perfectly happy to get into those schools.
My standards were high; I know that my high school specs going into college applications weren't good. Even so, perhaps I do.
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On March 20 2009 13:54 BanZu wrote:My GPA is horrible. I was ranked something like 200/550. Unweighted UC GPA is ~3.75 and weighted UC GPA is ~4 I think
No offense or anything, but expecting to get into a top level school with only a weighted 4.0 is pushing it.
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On March 20 2009 15:13 Fr33t wrote:Show nested quote +On March 20 2009 13:54 BanZu wrote:On March 19 2009 18:06 Exteray wrote:
what rank were u in HS? My GPA is horrible. I was ranked something like 200/550. Unweighted UC GPA is ~3.75 and weighted UC GPA is ~4 I think No offense or anything, but expecting to get into a top level school with only a weighted 4.0 is pushing it.
I know that but plenty of people I know with worse/same GPA and worse/same SAT1/2 scores as me got into UCSD and UCLA.
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Baa?21242 Posts
Extracurriculars, recommendations, and good essay writing probably helped them there.
Moral of the story: Don't have a superiority complex if you aren't actually superior.
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What were your test scores Banzu?
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On March 20 2009 15:39 Carnivorous Sheep wrote:
Extracurriculars, recommendations, and good essay writing probably helped them there.
Moral of the story: Don't have a superiority complex if you aren't actually superior.
I don't get why you keep using that word. If you don't even know me that's quite a leap to take. I never act better than other people, and not because I hold in how I feel about others or try to act in a way that I'm not.
On March 20 2009 16:01 koreakool wrote:
What were your test scores Banzu?
SAT1 was 2210 and SAT2 was 800 for math2c and chemistry
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On March 19 2009 16:59 SpiritoftheTunA wrote:
i go to harker in SJ xD
I live less than half a mile away from Harker high school. 
I'm glad I went to a high school full of underachievers where no one even asked about what colleges we were going to.
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United States10774 Posts
nice test scores. i guess they weren't too pleased about those grades :o
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You'll probably get into Cal and feel stupid for having posted this.
But then again, if you don't, UCD and UCI aren't bad at all. A lot of people got rejected... you should be glad you're going to a UC
I'm going to a CSU, Cal Poly SLO to be exact
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On March 20 2009 16:28 koreakool wrote:
You'll probably get into Cal and feel stupid for having posted this.
But then again, if you don't, UCD and UCI aren't bad at all. A lot of people got rejected... you should be glad you're going to a UC
I'm going to a CSU, Cal Poly SLO to be exact
Yea... after getting rejected from UCLA I've realized how good I have it compared to many others. My friend has also been rejected from all UCs and is most likely going to Cal Poly.
I've decided that I'm more than likely going to go to UCD even if I get into Cal. All my friends agree that engineering at Cal is deadly
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On March 20 2009 15:39 Carnivorous Sheep wrote:
Extracurriculars, recommendations, and good essay writing probably helped them there.
Moral of the story: Don't have a superiority complex if you aren't actually superior.
How about not having a superiority complex regardless?
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Here I come UC Davis/Irvine!
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On March 19 2009 16:27 SingletonWilliam wrote:
This was a horrible year to apply to the UC system. Schools had to cut back on acceptance because of budget shortages and there were 3x more applicants easy.
Application numbers for UCD are up from 12-13kish to 42k, 4600 of whom where accepted. UCSB has 44k applicants and 4100 were accepted. SDSU had like 60k applicants, 6k were accepted. I forget UCSD's numbers.
If you wanted to get into the UCs this year you had to beat out 9 of 10 students.
Edit: LOOOOOOOOOOOL Mission San Jose
I've been in the wrestling tournament that Mission holds every year. The school is asian. I looked at the cross country team pictures one year and it had like 4 white kids on a team of like 41 asians.
Basically this. The economy fucked your chances of getting into an UC school. If this was ten years ago, I am sure you would've have gotten in.
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Back in the day when 1600 was the max I nabbed a 1500 (780 math, 720 language). I got a rejection letter from Ricks College in Rexburg Idaho.
*writes an I got an awesome score but woe is me some shit college rejected me post*
*wonders if I did it right*
/is white. Went to high school on an Air Force base
+ Show Spoiler +
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OP is so Asian, jeez.
Be happy—a lot of people are getting shut out because everyone is going to college. Besides, the benefits of going to a name school are often greatly overstated. It really only matters for certain fields, and a lot of times you're better off with the cheaper alternative (esp now). A degree from a well known school isn't an auto-job—they'd pick out in the interview process if you're smart, but totally socially inept, etc etc..
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On March 27 2009 22:50 Hawk wrote:
OP is so Asian, jeez.
Be happy—a lot of people are getting shut out because everyone is going to college. Besides, the benefits of going to a name school are often greatly overstated. It really only matters for certain fields, and a lot of times you're better off with the cheaper alternative (esp now). A degree from a well known school isn't an auto-job—they'd pick out in the interview process if you're smart, but totally socially inept, etc etc..
I don't know, I would say Asian-like XD. A true Asian would not feel in superior no matter how well they are doing, because anything less than perfection is worthless.
I went to a sub-par Canadian high-school, so I did very well academically and had substantial extra-curriculars. But I always underestimated myself while always try my hardest. It's okay to set the standard high, but meeting or not meeting those expectations doesn't make you awesome or horrible. There are people who try their hardest but still don't do well, and that's the way it is.
Now I'm doing Eng at Waterloo, and I'm in the top 20 of the program with one of the highest entrance averages of the university, but I still don't think that's good. And if people ask me, I'll say I'm doing 'okay'. It's kind of mixing up the 'you are nothing and are worthless' with 'I'll show you I can do this.' It's like an ambitious child and a demeaning and abusive parent rolled into one!
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I've always kept really low standards so that I'd have an easy life, doing just enough to please my parents. I'd always be humble and not compare myself with others. Had free education all the way and didn't go out of my way to do extra work.
But somehow I ended up in a tough course at a prestigious university, must've screwed up somewhere.
Anyway a diploma from a good university is mostly a ticket to job interviews, how successful you are depends on so much more.
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Blog posts like this make me sick. Honestly.
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I think if some people like this took half the time they devote to being over achievers and put it towards doing what makes them happy they would have a much more fulfilling life.
A great uni will do wonders for your career sure, but it's not your entire life. You'll see in time what uni you go to doesn't really matter just what you make of it, and if your really motivated you might be able to upgrade/transfer anyway.
As for thinking your superior/inferior it's all in your head. No matter how great you are at something, someones going to be better. No matter how bad you are at something, odds are someones even worse. Don't let those sorts of things define who YOU are.
I know someone who got into one of the ivy league universities there. They are one of the smartest and friendliest people I've ever met. Sure at school subjects and studying, they did a lot better than I ever could have and yet at times they still require my help or need me to explain things.
I suppose what I'm trying to say is no matter how 'smart' you are at school, it's still just school not real life.
ps think this is my longest post on tl
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On March 19 2009 19:58 Elite00fm wrote:
lol the elitism that some people exude is pretty disgusting
ya how would they know what its like to really be elite?
and LOL at the OP. Major fail there, i would consider getting yourself into physical labor since you cant compete with smart guys
construction is good and it will give you another chance at feeling superior to all the nerds around you( "rofl you go to college? good thing im not a pussy")
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SAT1 was 2210 and SAT2 was 800 for math2c and chemistry
I feel for you.
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I'm in the same boat as you man. I got into - what was once my - backup school, Loyola Marymount University, but shrugged it off because i am sure i would get into the more prestigious schools i have applied to, such as UCLA and Cal. I have gotten nothing but rejections since then, and now I am basically waiting on Occidental which didn't rank high for me in the first place.
This same situation has happened to many of my peers as well. I guess it's somewhat of a reality check. Either that or there are just so many qualified students out there and just not enough spaces for them.
The feelings you experienced are completely normal in my eyes. I can totally relate to your whole story, and i am sure there are many others who can too. The way i see things now is that I will be a big fish in a little pond, and hopefully things will work out in the coming years.
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On March 28 2009 08:00 TommyG wrote:
I'm in the same boat as you man. I got into - what was once my - backup school, Loyola Marymount University, but shrugged it off because i am sure i would get into the more prestigious schools i have applied to, such as UCLA and Cal. I have gotten nothing but rejections since then, and now I am basically waiting on Occidental which didn't rank high for me in the first place.
This same situation has happened to many of my peers as well. I guess it's somewhat of a reality check. Either that or there are just so many qualified students out there and just not enough spaces for them.
The feelings you experienced are completely normal in my eyes. I can totally relate to your whole story, and i am sure there are many others who can too. The way i see things now is that I will be a big fish in a little pond, and hopefully things will work out in the coming years.
One heck of a reality check haha
Good luck to you and your undergrad/grad education!
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I guess this was a good experience for you. Changed the way you think for the better.
Not getting into a top-ranked college is a let down if you've always done well in school. It's not the student's fault that they've always held the belief that they should go to a good university; it seems like it's been drilled into them, pressured into it. Perspective is important. What you make of your education is a lot more important that where you are going for your education.
I'm actually very similar to you - I go to a mediocre public school, but I've always done well, gotten top grades, etc. And I've always told myself that I would go to a great school; it was like my entire goal of doing everything I've done in high school was to get accepted by a good college. And it's been like this always because my parents had always told me I would. And if I did get into a great college, they would be so happy and so proud, and I wanted to do that for them.
But being happy depends on what your goals are and what you define success as.
edit - i just realized that this post was sorta convoluted and i didn't get my point across as well as i wanted to lol
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On March 28 2009 01:07 Rayzorblade wrote:
Blog posts like this make me sick. Honestly.
?
I totally understand this guy's situation. Throughout middle and high school, any high-achiever gets the 'fact' that they need to get accepted to a top university drilled into their brains, including me. It's not all his fault.
It IS a fact that you can be successful not going to college, going to a community college, going to a mediocre school, or an ivy league school. Yet most people only realize this once they've graduated and received a job. Getting into a good school = success is emphasized too strongly in American schools systems (and at home).
And part of it is the student's fault for not looking beyond college and being reality checked. Getting into a top school requires awesome grades, test scores, extra curriculars, essays, recommendations. But once you have all those, it's still a crap shot if at an ivy league school, since a majority of their applicants have those grades, scores, etc. It's a super reach school for pretty much everyone. A lot of people tell a bright student that they'll be going to harvard because they get straight As, and that's so wrong if they don't know much more about college admissions, they'll end up only applying to top schools and being rejected by all of them.
Well, i went off on a tangent lol. My point is that, yes, he's had the belief that he's a top student, better than many other students, and that he should be going to a top school, but I don't see that being enough to make someone "sick." He's gotten the reality check, and realized the faults of that belief. I'm sure he doesn't act superior to other students even though he thinks he is. Anyone who does better in school than someone else will think that. Hell, I think I'm better than a lot of kids at my school because I legitimately believe that. That doesn't mean I'm all arrogant about it and act like a total dick to them.
Holy shit that was long.
edit - sorry bout the double post. i forgot i was the last one who posted in this thread when i went to respond to someone else.
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On March 28 2009 11:29 ieatkids5 wrote:edit - i just realized that this post was sorta convoluted and i didn't get my point across as well as i wanted to lol
Actually, I think you hit everything spot on
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I had a similarly sobering experience when I applied to colleges. Not quite the same, but definitely a massive humility check that threw a ton of shit into perspective for me. In hindsight, though, I would have been miserable if everything had gone my way, so consider this something to be grateful for.
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it's definitely a humbling experience
I shrugged off everything because I was sure I'd get into everything I applied for. I was surprised when I didn't get into berkely. Luckily, I'd already decided to go to ucsd over ucla or berkely by the time that rejection came in.
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EPT
