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#1
04-04-2007, 05:34 AM
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George Will\'s \"The Last Word\" on College \"Acceptance\"
From George Will's "The Last Word" column in this week's Newsweek :
"April 9, 2007 issue - Ivies," "safeties," "AP prep courses," "legacy," "résumé-enhancing activity," "nonbinding early acceptance," "rolling admissions," "single-choice early action." If this argot is familiar to you, poor you: You have a child in high school, and these are the days that try your soul, the spring days when many college admissions are announced, often by e-mail, which is how AP Harry learned he was deferred by Harvard." This is the start of Will's review of (quoting Will) "Susan Coll's new novel "Acceptance," set in Verona County, Md., which is the real Montgomery County, Md., thinly disguised—rich, liberal, full of strivers and contiguous to strivers' paradise.". Good read even if you don't like Will. I missed all this but was a srtiver relatively speaking since I took the sample test in the exam notice before taking the actual SAT. Was it similar to what was described in Will's column review for any of you younger people? Has anyone read the actual book? There are only two reviews so far on Amazon. I nead some light reading for my trip back East to see family and I'm considering picking this up before the flight. ~ Rick 
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#2
04-04-2007, 06:18 AM
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Re: George Will\'s \"The Last Word\" on College \"Acceptance\"
[ QUOTE ]
I missed all this but was a srtiver relatively speaking since I took the sample test in the exam notice before taking the actual SAT. [/ QUOTE ] After realizing that I didn't intend to take the SAT, my parents managed to schedule me for it the summer after graduation. Yeah . . . I read ~80 pages of God Emperor of Dune during the test. Definitely no strivers over here. There were two 1600s in my graduating class of 273 though, if that counts for anything. Scott
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#3
04-04-2007, 06:41 AM
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Re: George Will\'s \"The Last Word\" on College \"Acceptance\"
I grew up in Montgomery County. I thought this was just how life was. Most of us actually enjoyed the competition. I'm sure the parents agonized a lot more than we ever did. I just applied to a big bunch of schools, got into a small bunch, went to the best I got into, started drinking heavily.
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#4
04-04-2007, 10:29 AM
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Re: George Will\'s \"The Last Word\" on College \"Acceptance\"
I also grew up in Montgomery County (and still live there), and went to the somewhat well-known math/science magnet program. But I don't remember this degree of competition over colleges. E.g. I never took an SAT prep coure, had college counseling, or applied anywhere early. I guess some of my friends did early admission or SAT prep, but it wasn't what our lives revolved around. My parents did make me participate in the swim team, which I hated; I'm not sure whether that was more to give me a resume item or because they wanted me to get some sort of exercise.
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#5
04-04-2007, 10:59 AM
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Re: George Will\'s \"The Last Word\" on College \"Acceptance\"
this sounds like pretty much the exact opposite of my high school experience. iirc, no one at my high school was even remotely like this. then again, I am pretty sure no one went to an ivy for undergrad either.
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#6
04-04-2007, 01:24 PM
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Re: George Will\'s \"The Last Word\" on College \"Acceptance\"
Rick,
I went to a public school with over 2,000 students, so all that stuff is very foreign to me! I'm sure we have many prep school kids here who had experiences just like that.
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#7
04-04-2007, 01:32 PM
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Re: George Will\'s \"The Last Word\" on College \"Acceptance\"
I went to public schools my entire life so this is totally foreign to me. I'm sure it's foreign to Will too. I can't wait to see what else he has to say about crazy liberals based on the next novel he reads!
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#8
04-04-2007, 01:57 PM
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Re: George Will\'s \"The Last Word\" on College \"Acceptance\"
[ QUOTE ]
I went to public schools my entire life so this is totally foreign to me. [/ QUOTE ] By reputation, there are some pretty crazy public schools in Montgomery County, so I don't think that's the entire issue here. I went to a public school, but it was also the kind of place that did have about 923 AP courses. Getting into good schools was certainly a bit of a competition, but I don't think I knew people who were this obsessive. (Part of that was also who I hung around with.) Not to mention that since all of this seems to be taken from a novel, it seems like a pretty healthy dose of caricature is being put into play.
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#9
04-04-2007, 02:06 PM
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Re: George Will\'s \"The Last Word\" on College \"Acceptance\"
el d, daver,
most of these new phrases and obsessions only apply to people who have graduated high school in the last 20 years. this might explain why these concepts are so foreign.
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#10
04-04-2007, 02:13 PM
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Re: George Will\'s \"The Last Word\" on College \"Acceptance\"
[ QUOTE ]
el d, daver, most of these new phrases and obsessions only apply to people who have graduated high school in the last 20 years. this might explain why these concepts are so foreign. [/ QUOTE ] I know El D is older than me but I'm class of 1993.
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