Rest In Peace Meritocracy

[Anonymous]

There are too many violin players so by listing 10 years of violin without listing any accomplishments is meaningless.
He also doesn’t list his GPA
Why should he automatically be entitled to enter based solely on an sat score. It doesn’t look like he got into Caltech which is known to be a pure meritocracy in terms of test scores and grades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just between us gals, if he was another race, do you think the results would have been different?

No he had bad ECs. You need to do more than school activities if you want a spot. His profile was not interesting to top schools which is why he was shut out. He was a regular smart kids who was a good test taker.

didn't he play an instrument for 10 years? that is hardly nothing.

also these comments that the rest of his application must have been lacking are so dumb. a kid that bright knows how to play the game.

My personal take on elite admissions is that they like certain extracurricular activities above others. A kid who devoted ten years to mastering the violin and plays in a county youth orchestra is less attractive than a kid who played varsity lacrosse. A kid who is the team captain for their soccer team would be looked upon more favorably than the kid who was the President of the school History club.
An applicant could have a deep and long standing commitment to an activity but colleges don’t rate all activities equally. American colleges seem to place a great emphasis on athletics and on competitive activities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMeaB1Nm9/

Truly sad what this country has become.

I don't know who this kid is but if he claims to be smart enough for the Ivies he should have know that high SAT, APs and "10 years of violin" as an Asian dude will not get him there. Please.

As any dude or dame. What classes did he take - did he do really well in the most rigorous classes available? that is the most important task.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are too many violin players so by listing 10 years of violin without listing any accomplishments is meaningless.
He also doesn’t list his GPA
Why should he automatically be entitled to enter based solely on an sat score. It doesn’t look like he got into Caltech which is known to be a pure meritocracy in terms of test scores and grades.

The grades seem to be unworthy of mention.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMeaB1Nm9/

Truly sad what this country has become.

I don't know who this kid is but if he claims to be smart enough for the Ivies he should have know that high SAT, APs and "10 years of violin" as an Asian dude will not get him there. Please.

As any dude or dame. What classes did he take - did he do really well in the most rigorous classes available? that is the most important task.

It should be, but, in real life, it is not.

These are the rules of the game called 'Elite college admissions in the United States of America'. If you want to play the game, know the rules and use them to your advantage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMeaB1Nm9/

Truly sad what this country has become.

I don't know who this kid is but if he claims to be smart enough for the Ivies he should have know that high SAT, APs and "10 years of violin" as an Asian dude will not get him there. Please.

As any dude or dame. What classes did he take - did he do really well in the most rigorous classes available? that is the most important task.

It should be, but, in real life, it is not.

These are the rules of the game called 'Elite college admissions in the United States of America'. If you want to play the game, know the rules and use them to your advantage.

Valedictorian is not going to hurt your chances. It is not enough but it sure will not hurt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMeaB1Nm9/

Truly sad what this country has become.

I don't know who this kid is but if he claims to be smart enough for the Ivies he should have know that high SAT, APs and "10 years of violin" as an Asian dude will not get him there. Please.

Not op, but we already knew that Asians especially boys have been discriminated in the colleges admissions. But it seems that this year the situation has become extreme.

My friend's son in a magnet program in NJ that sent 20+ to Ivies every year, who is ranked #1, didn't get into any Ivies. The best college one he could get into is Geogia Tech.

Not just Asians are affected, many high performance kids are also affected by the test-option/test-blind policies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just between us gals, if he was another race, do you think the results would have been different?

No he had bad ECs. You need to do more than school activities if you want a spot. His profile was not interesting to top schools which is why he was shut out. He was a regular smart kids who was a good test taker.

didn't he play an instrument for 10 years? that is hardly nothing.

also these comments that the rest of his application must have been lacking are so dumb. a kid that bright knows how to play the game.

Its NOTHING. kids who get in play an instrument at a national or regional level. No one cares some old lady came to your house and taught you violin or you went to a local music shop. Ivies want violinist who can play for symphonies and athletes who can play on their teams (travel and national players). A high school varsity player probably can't even make an intramural team! So now the kid is trying to get in based on original creation (not published in a regional or national publication) (not creating any sort of great community good or performance) or original thought ( has not discovered anything0. For stem you are competing against intel scholars, kids coding for tech start ups and the like. Again he was a smart regular kid according to his video. Many kids with the same stats have done more and those are the ones that get in-- they have had an impact on the wider community.

This is just a dumb statement.

The vast majority of students do not need to play musical instruments at a national level on top of a 1590 SAT and 800s in Math and Physics with a very high GPA with a rigorous curriculum, to get into a school like Dartmouth or Cornell.

The vast majority of students at Dartmouth and Cornell are not freaking Carnegie Hall-level musicians nor Olympics athletes

But unfortunately if you are Asian, you apparently have to be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Charlie, my kid will see you in UMD. Similar stats...+ he is Asian American male like you too. Congrats on getting UMD because all of you high stat Asian-American kids have made it a powerhouse where STEM majors are concerned. Will you be super successful in life? Absolutely.

Both of you keep safe and remember this is the beginning of your life and yes, the racism inherent in college and work place was not just something your parents faced. USA is not even pretending to be egalitarian and fair.

Umd is a great education but that is ridiculous to say that this student could not have had many more acceptances if his application list had been more realistic.

If he is going for CS or Engineering...he made the right choice to go in-state (I am guessing here that he is an MD student) because how highly ranked UMD is for these two majors. Try for Ivies and know that it is a crapshoot and then also apply in-state for MD and get a free education. Well done, Charlie!

And no point in doing majors that does not get you a high paying job. He maximized his education dollars. Good for him. And while this was put in tiktok by him, I can bet that he was very aware that while he was an Ivy-level kid who was going to UMD, he was always going to be successful. Regardless of if Ivy rejected him because of racism, this kid is going to UMD with the best credentials. That is a mark of the candidate. I say this is Harvard's loss.

I also think that it is about time that the Asian-Americans realize the kinds of racism they are facing in USA. This is a valuable lesson for Charlie and my kid. Watch, experience and learn the reality of this country and society.

Quit with the whining already. All those Ivies are private schools. You are not owed a place there.

And the world does not only spin for STEM majors with 1590s.

The Ivies are private schools that get billions of dollars in tax-payer funded federal research money every year and enjoy non-profit tax-free status on their donations and investments.

If they are privates and are going to discriminate based on legacy status etc., why the hell should they receive tax-payer funded research money to hire top professors and gain worldwide prestige, just to turn around and give easy admittance to wealthy donors? It's a literal handout to the wealthy and a golden ticket to a lifetime of career/social pedigree for their offsprings.

Want to admit students based on how much their parents have donated, or legacy status? Fine, you don't receive any tax-payer funded research money - that goes directly only to schools that don't discriminate based on such non-academic social class system factors - Berkeley, Caltech, MIT, Hopkins, etc.

As for the world not revolving around STEM majors with 1590s, believe it or not - universities have these things called "majors". Admittance to STEM major should revolve around the STEM merits of the candidate, not how wealthy their parents are or how good they are at horse riding.

The entire admissions process is about discrimination. I don't mean that as a criticism - in making admissions decisions, schools discriminate against one set of criteria in favor of another. You favor *only* permitting discrimination in favor of academic credentials - SATs, GPA, etc. - and no other factors. That's fine I guess, but schools go for a well-rounded student body. And they also are businesses, even though they are nonprofits, so admitting students based on name recognition and financial resources isn't exactly unreasonable either.

All you are doing is favoring one type of discrimination over al others - really, to the exclusion of all others. While you think it's a logical type of discrimination, you seem blind to the possibility that others make different determinations, which are just as reasonable, though for different reasons.

FWIW, I didn't attend an Ivy League school, my kids won't, and I don't have a personal stake in this discussion.

Colleges discriminating based on academic scores and academic extracurriculars such as science fairs or research, etc. is consistent with the fact that the sole purpose of college is academic education.


Colleges discriminating because the applicant's parents haven't donated enough to the school or didn't attend themselves is corrupt.
Colleges discriminating because the applicant is an Asian is racist.
Colleges discriminating because the applicant didn't play a sport in which they won't play professionally, or some esoteric sport that no one but the very wealthy play is idiotic.

Discriminating against someone because they are Asian or their parents are not wealthy enough to donate is not reasonable at all. , in any circumstance. All viewpoints are not created equal - some viewpoints are flat out wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Charlie, my kid will see you in UMD. Similar stats...+ he is Asian American male like you too. Congrats on getting UMD because all of you high stat Asian-American kids have made it a powerhouse where STEM majors are concerned. Will you be super successful in life? Absolutely.

Both of you keep safe and remember this is the beginning of your life and yes, the racism inherent in college and work place was not just something your parents faced. USA is not even pretending to be egalitarian and fair.

Umd is a great education but that is ridiculous to say that this student could not have had many more acceptances if his application list had been more realistic.

If he is going for CS or Engineering...he made the right choice to go in-state (I am guessing here that he is an MD student) because how highly ranked UMD is for these two majors. Try for Ivies and know that it is a crapshoot and then also apply in-state for MD and get a free education. Well done, Charlie!

And no point in doing majors that does not get you a high paying job. He maximized his education dollars. Good for him. And while this was put in tiktok by him, I can bet that he was very aware that while he was an Ivy-level kid who was going to UMD, he was always going to be successful. Regardless of if Ivy rejected him because of racism, this kid is going to UMD with the best credentials. That is a mark of the candidate. I say this is Harvard's loss.

I also think that it is about time that the Asian-Americans realize the kinds of racism they are facing in USA. This is a valuable lesson for Charlie and my kid. Watch, experience and learn the reality of this country and society.

Quit with the whining already. All those Ivies are private schools. You are not owed a place there.

And the world does not only spin for STEM majors with 1590s.

The Ivies are private schools that get billions of dollars in tax-payer funded federal research money every year and enjoy non-profit tax-free status on their donations and investments.

If they are privates and are going to discriminate based on legacy status etc., why the hell should they receive tax-payer funded research money to hire top professors and gain worldwide prestige, just to turn around and give easy admittance to wealthy donors? It's a literal handout to the wealthy and a golden ticket to a lifetime of career/social pedigree for their offsprings.

Want to admit students based on how much their parents have donated, or legacy status? Fine, you don't receive any tax-payer funded research money - that goes directly only to schools that don't discriminate based on such non-academic social class system factors - Berkeley, Caltech, MIT, Hopkins, etc.


As for the world not revolving around STEM majors with 1590s, believe it or not - universities have these things called "majors". Admittance to STEM major should revolve around the STEM merits of the candidate, not how wealthy their parents are or how good they are at horse riding.

Mr. "I Pay Taxes but Don't Understand Civics!" Hello again!

That's not how things work. If it did, nothing would get done because everyone dislikes and disagrees with something that gets tax benefits of some kind.

What? Did you even read the post, or comprehend it?

This is not solely about non-profit status that essentially gives them massive tax breaks on investment and donations.

It's about billions of dollars in direct cash transfers from the tax-payer funded federal government in the form of research grants, that is then used to hire top professors, maintain facilities and build a global prestige and repute.

Harvard would not be Harvard if its graduate and medical research schools weren't some of the best in the world. And they wouldn't be some of the best in the world if they didn't receive billions of dollars in research grants from the federal government every year, further topped-off by tax-free investment gains from their endowments and direct tax breaks for donations.

If you don't understand what research grants are, not sure why you are discussing universities.

Yes I read it, and your response is dishonest. The first paragraph states "enjoy non-profit tax-free status on their donations and investments". So my response was exactly coherent.

I think you are the one who does not understand research grants. Do you think they are handouts colleges can spend on anything they want? Or do you think it is research that is designed to benefit commerce and society? You know that this very internet we are using was funded by research grants? That it was done so it could be used by the military?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Internet

Your arguments are completely without merit and demonstrate basic lack of understanding of civics.

Another utterly idiotic post.

I made it rather clear that universities use these federal handouts to improve their reputations throughout the world, gaining prestige and recognition through public tax payer money, to then exclude those tax-payers based on corrupt criteria such as donations or legacy status.

If you do not see a problem with that, you're an idiot.

Not all universities corrupt their admissions process for donor money - Berkeley and the rest of the UC's, Caltech, MIT, and Hopkins have no legacy admissions. The contributions of these universities to society far exceeds the Ivies.

The federal research money should solely go to these institutions and others that don't have corrupted admissions processes. Then Harvard, Yale, etc. can choose between donor money or tax-payer money.

[Anonymous]

Another high stats kid rejected even by umd. Looks like TJ kid though

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMeagueyw/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It has never been a meriticracy. It has been a rich person's playground.

This. In a meritocracy, people would start with the same opportunities and resources so you could see how really have skills and drive vs. those who are being held back by circumstances beyond their control.

[Anonymous]

Jeez, I guess that TikTok girl is going to VT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just between us gals, if he was another race, do you think the results would have been different?

No he had bad ECs. You need to do more than school activities if you want a spot. His profile was not interesting to top schools which is why he was shut out. He was a regular smart kids who was a good test taker.

didn't he play an instrument for 10 years? that is hardly nothing.

also these comments that the rest of his application must have been lacking are so dumb. a kid that bright knows how to play the game.

Its NOTHING. kids who get in play an instrument at a national or regional level. No one cares some old lady came to your house and taught you violin or you went to a local music shop. Ivies want violinist who can play for symphonies and athletes who can play on their teams (travel and national players). A high school varsity player probably can't even make an intramural team! So now the kid is trying to get in based on original creation (not published in a regional or national publication) (not creating any sort of great community good or performance) or original thought ( has not discovered anything0. For stem you are competing against intel scholars, kids coding for tech start ups and the like. Again he was a smart regular kid according to his video. Many kids with the same stats have done more and those are the ones that get in-- they have had an impact on the wider community.

This is just a dumb statement.

The vast majority of students do not need to play musical instruments at a national level on top of a 1590 SAT and 800s in Math and Physics with a very high GPA with a rigorous curriculum, to get into a school like Dartmouth or Cornell.

The vast majority of students at Dartmouth and Cornell are not freaking Carnegie Hall-level musicians nor Olympics athletes

But unfortunately if you are Asian, you apparently have to be.

If you really want to throw a pity party for this student we need to know what classes took and how he performed, what HS he attended, where he lives, and what the rest of his application looked like. He does not get for few seconds of complaining on tik tok.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another high stats kid rejected even by umd. Looks like TJ kid though

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMeagueyw/

OK, whatever. She and a million others. This is getting old.