Craziest “pointy” narratives that worked this cycle

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Top colleges love student NPOs. Stop what you are doing and start setting one up for your child and her BFs to run.

I really wish they didn’t.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yuck. When are schools going to see through this stuff?

The kind of kid who goes to a manhattan private and pays for this is probably already a development admit

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it's very common among the 1% and despite everyone here saying "AOs are smart! they know! they see right through this" the fact is, they don't.

I think it will work for a while. Teen tours also worked for a lot longer than we remember. Colleges scoff they can see through that and I wish someone would say: "you didn't for 20 years so let's not be so smug! and now you love the passion project some adult made up for the kids"

I think AOs know what is happening. How can they not? I think they don't care because schools want these wealthy students. Plenty of recent research have noted that the 1% do well in elite college admissions.

1% also have tutors, and go to Choate, and tutored to 1530 min, and have private squash coaches.

Also, the colleges have financial data. they dont need to look for clues.

I bet we all listen to plenty of college admissions podcasts. This area is not full of best and brightest. They hear about an elephant whisperer and they're charmed. End of story.

[Anonymous]

I used to work with--maybe I should say for--very rich people, and there's definitely a lot of industries that exist to extract their cash. It's probably a wink and a nod game: colleges know it's a performance, but they know that anyone rich enough to be on that stage is probably going to donate money later.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I used to work with--maybe I should say for--very rich people, and there's definitely a lot of industries that exist to extract their cash. It's probably a wink and a nod game: colleges know it's a performance, but they know that anyone rich enough to be on that stage is probably going to donate money later.

^^Truth

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it's very common among the 1% and despite everyone here saying "AOs are smart! they know! they see right through this" the fact is, they don't.

I think it will work for a while. Teen tours also worked for a lot longer than we remember. Colleges scoff they can see through that and I wish someone would say: "you didn't for 20 years so let's not be so smug! and now you love the passion project some adult made up for the kids"

I agree. It worked for someone who got into Penn by founding a nonprofit focused on girls in Asia. Read the bios of these kids on Reddit. They all started a non-profit.

Read the Coca Cola scholar bios. Half of them seemed contrived.

Listen, you don't want your kid to be one of those kids. Yale can f right off. It's not worth it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How can college admissions officers fall for this cr*p? A blog? Seriously?

If I was back in college and choosing classmates, I'd love to have one who was interested and enthusiastic enough about something to create a blog with regular and thoughtful writing or videos. But not one who was doing it just to get into college or with the assistance of a college counselor.

No you wouldn’t. Because the actually pointy kids (I have one) are often neurodivergent and not polished with great social skills.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I used to work with--maybe I should say for--very rich people, and there's definitely a lot of industries that exist to extract their cash. It's probably a wink and a nod game: colleges know it's a performance, but they know that anyone rich enough to be on that stage is probably going to donate money later.

Ha. I bet you’re right. It’s a Veblen good signal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I used to work with--maybe I should say for--very rich people, and there's definitely a lot of industries that exist to extract their cash. It's probably a wink and a nod game: colleges know it's a performance, but they know that anyone rich enough to be on that stage is probably going to donate money later.

Ha. I bet you’re right. It’s a Veblen good signal.

I had to look that up. Yes. That's even in the article--the guy said he used to charge 75/hour until one client told him he'd get more business at 1.5 million.

[Anonymous]

I mean thousand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I used to work with--maybe I should say for--very rich people, and there's definitely a lot of industries that exist to extract their cash. It's probably a wink and a nod game: colleges know it's a performance, but they know that anyone rich enough to be on that stage is probably going to donate money later.

Ha. I bet you’re right. It’s a Veblen good signal.

I had to look that up. Yes. That's even in the article--the guy said he used to charge 75/hour until one client told him he'd get more business at 1.5 million.

Freakin rich NYC finance bros. Ugh.

But unfortunately this does trickle down to the less-rich. My sister in NYC is paying and stressing a lot for college counselors, fake service trips, and staged internships for her DD. She can afford it but definitely not NYC wealthy - she just believes it is what you “have to do.” Meanwhile her DD is a supersmart, hard working, funny sweet kid who will definitely be admitted to a decent college with or without the fake internshop.

[Anonymous]

this is not the beginning of this approach.

I live in Brooklyn a stone's throw from St Ann's and my own kids are at a "top tier" HS in Manhattan. Lots of blogs, NFPs, YouTube channels and podcasts started in junior year and abandoned 12 months later.

But I've also seen plenty of these kids get into HYP - yay! - and graduate and then, because they don't have another consultant (yet) they end up being SAT tutors themselves.

Not sure this is the outcome you want for your kids

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:this is not the beginning of this approach.

I live in Brooklyn a stone's throw from St Ann's and my own kids are at a "top tier" HS in Manhattan. Lots of blogs, NFPs, YouTube channels and podcasts started in junior year and abandoned 12 months later.

But I've also seen plenty of these kids get into HYP - yay! - and graduate and then, because they don't have another consultant (yet) they end up being SAT tutors themselves.

Not sure this is the outcome you want for your kids

And then their connections get them a real job and then go on and the circle of affluent NYC life continues. Yeah, it doesn't change that much.

As former New Yorker, I still have a lot of friends there with kids, some at BFS and St Anne's, etc. I think I envy that world more than I like to admit to myself, but I'm also relieved not to have to deal with it. So much that is done because everyone else is doing it.

I don't think the shifts that have abandoned elite schools to the very wealthy and the very poor have been all that great for academic thought, also. Lots of armchair revolutionary kids who suffer no consequences, and kids with genuine grievances who have some of the worst examples of capitalism living next door.

[Anonymous]

dont' envy BFS. it's a shit show.

and I disagree about connections. remember, these tops schools have a lot of first gen, etc. it's better for everything but connections. those first gen kids may grow up to be useful connections, but right now they're in grad school or starting at google.

the tutors who are 28 are going nowhere fast.

My favorite St Ann's quote was from a 40 yo st Ann's grad who was a SAHM and said "it's weird but I sort of assumed I win an Oscar one day". I mean .. wtf.

[Anonymous]

* I'd win