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**Victor Galis** · June 30, 2002, 16:33

Oh yes, I also had almost no volunteer/work experience to list on my application and my activities were largely academic (I don't think they liked that).

**Apocalypse** · June 30, 2002, 16:34

Originally posted by Victor Galis
-It could also have affected the selection of the book, although given the book selection process, any sort of purpose when picking the book is unlikely.

I forget the exact formula my school uses when selecting books, but SAT didn't factor in.

**TCO** · June 30, 2002, 16:37

essays have some importance but I suspect that they function as more of a hurdle. If you have a clear, thoughtful essay (versus BS about being the next coming of Leonardo Da Vinci) than they will give you the upcheck on the essay. But you still need to meet the bar on grades, scores. of course, for harvard, MIT, Stanford its a crapshoot sicne those places are so choosey.

I doubt the game has changed so much since I went to school.

**TCO** · June 30, 2002, 16:44

My best college essay was for Cornell. They asked you to address a social problem. I picked a windy road near where I lived (Lawyer's Road) which needed an upgrade. Title: "Fix the Deathtrap". Did some research on it and everything. Was prettyn fun. I heard that they thought it was a lot better than all the people who blathered on about solving world hunger. Goes to Owen Johnson's famous words of advice for new writers, "write about what you know".

Took that advice to heart when I applied for an NDSEG fellowship and consulting companies. Wrote my essays in that manner and they really stood out. (Plus I had a lot more real life things to draw on than younger candidates.)

**Victor Galis** · June 30, 2002, 16:44

essays have some importance but I suspect that they function as more of a hurdle. If you have a clear, thoughtful essay (versus BS about being the next coming of Leonardo Da Vinci) than they will give you the upcheck on the essay. But you still need to meet the bar on grades, scores. of course, for harvard, MIT, Stanford its a crapshoot sicne those places are so choosey.

I doubt the game has changed so much since I went to school.

-Trust me... SAT scores and grades could not help me enough. I was salutatorian (of the magnet program) at my school and had a 1540 (the only time I took the SAT) and a pair of 800s (Math II and Physics) and a 670 (Writing) on SAT IIs. I'm telling you, a bad essay, and lack of certain activities they currently seem to favor killed me. Heck, even my MIT interview went well. (Unlike the one for President's Scholarship at Tech.)

**Victor Galis** · June 30, 2002, 16:47

My best college essay was for Cornell. They asked you to address a social problem. I picked a windy road near where I lived (Lawyer's Road) which needed an upgrade. Title: "Fix the Deathtrap". Did some research on it and everything. Was prettyn fun. I heard that they thought it was a lot better than all the people who blathered on about solving world hunger. Goes to Owen Johnson's famous words of advice for new writers, "write about what you know".

-Lol... about every through road in Atlanta that has less than 2 lanes is a deathtrap

Now in college, I'm getting involved in a lot more stuff on campus so that at the very least I will have some more solid foundations to build my next set of BS on. Hey, it got me priority housing and registration next year

so I must be on the right track now.

**Apocalypse** · June 30, 2002, 16:49

Originally posted by Victor Galis
-Trust me... SAT scores and grades could not help me enough. I was salutatorian (of the magnet program) at my school and had a 1540 (the only time I took the SAT) and a pair of 800s (Math II and Physics) and a 670 (Writing) on SAT IIs. I'm telling you, a bad essay, and lack of certain activities they currently seem to favor killed me. Heck, even my MIT interview went well. (Unlike the one for President's Scholarship at Tech.)

Well getting good grades isn't too hard when that is all you do. I haven't done that much activities either (just a web site and a few school things) but I have some hardship things I can use.

**Victor Galis** · June 30, 2002, 16:53

I was at a rather severe disadvantage, not having any means of getting home if I stayed after school. Before school and on many of my weekends I had my various academic activities (math team, and scholar's bowl). Those were fun and our school was pretty good.

**TCO** · June 30, 2002, 16:55

Well...they obviously identified you as a grind. (No activities, no leadership.) The SAT II writing is pretty lousy too. Maybe it carried over to your essays? Clear writing is clear thinking, son. Put some effort there...it will help you all around.

I would think that your recent travel experience has broadened you. Provided that you traveled without parental supervision.

**Apocalypse** · June 30, 2002, 16:59

Originally posted by Victor Galis
I was at a rather severe disadvantage, not having any means of getting home if I stayed after school. Before school and on many of my weekends I had my various academic activities (math team, and scholar's bowl). Those were fun and our school was pretty good.

I have a very hard time getting home too. I ride public transportation. Even with that, I sometimes have to walk many miles home after that. There have been a few afternoons were I've been a few hours just walking home.

Also, Math Team and Scholar's Bowl seem pretty wimpy. You could have at least been on the debate team.

**Victor Galis** · June 30, 2002, 17:04

Well...they obviously identified you as a grind. (No activities, no leadership.) The SAT II writing is pretty lousy too. Maybe it carried over to your essays? Clear writing is clear thinking, son. Put some effort there...it will help you all around.

-I think they hated my essay. I can't remember the topic, but I think I took a controversial position. I have very little respect for places that do not have respect for my academic activities, but hey what can I do... I would have been unhappy at MIT, so not getting in was a blessing in disguise. I do enough work at Tech, and it's good to at least know a bunch of people that go to the same school.

I would think that your recent travel experience has broadened you. Provided that you traveled without parental supervision.

-That was long after the applications were turned in. I would like to think that I was as broad-minded before as I am now, but I think my travels have given me a lot more self-confidence, which is good.

In my college application days, I frowned a little too much on BS, and strove a little too much for honesty, which didn't help given that I didn't have much leadership to begin with. I can see clearly why I got into Berkeley Their essay was about writing about stuff they should know about me that was not asked for on the application, and I think I told a good bit about my earlier travels and linguistic skills, something I don't often get to talk about on these applications

. And it flowed freely, largely BS free. I wrote that essay in under two hours, unlike the others which I went over and over again. I knew once it had come out that it was pretty close to as close to perfect as it was ever going to be

**Victor Galis** · June 30, 2002, 17:07

I have a very hard time getting home too. I ride public transportation. Even with that, I sometimes have to walk many miles home after that. There have been a few afternoons were I've been a few hours just walking home.

-That sort of thing just isn't safe in Atlanta. I would have been run over a long time ago if I tried walking home 8miles, and the public transit is pure **** here. I just couldn't really spend time doing something I didn't really love doing, and then walk home for like 3 hours dodging cars.

Also, Math Team and Scholar's Bowl seem pretty wimpy. You could have at least been on the debate team.

-I was one year, but the mechanical nature of debate did not appeal to me. Heh... our math team kicked serious ass, and I was the #2 person on it, not terribly wimpy I would think.

**Ramo** · June 30, 2002, 17:09

No, but they'd change for the better

Of course.

Au contraire. You are either going to a school that is doing a **** job of preparing you, or you are stupid, both of which I would consider serious barriers.

That may be true, but most colleges don't see it that way. Whether or not one takes vector calc or linear algebra in high school really is irrelevent to most places.

That is all we did aside from study the book though. That is the only way it affected my cirriculum.

Seems like a pretty big impact to me. Of course, since the SAT is set at such a low baseline wrt math, the impact is negative.

Not every school is the same.

Yep. That's what I was pointing out.

**Apocalypse** · June 30, 2002, 17:11

Originally posted by Victor Galis
-That sort of thing just isn't safe in Atlanta. I would have been run over a long time ago if I tried walking home 8miles, and the public transit is pure **** here. I just couldn't really spend time doing something I didn't really love doing, and then walk home for like 3 hours dodging cars.

It isn't safe in Houston either. That didn't stop me.

Originally posted by Victor Galis
-I was one year, but the mechanical nature of debate did not appeal to me. Heh... our math team kicked serious ass, and I was the #2 person on it, not terribly wimpy I would think.

If debate was mechanical, then you were doing it all wrong. Though there are set times, debate should be far from mechanical.

#2 on the math team still seems bad.

**Apocalypse** · June 30, 2002, 17:13

Originally posted by Ramo
Seems like a pretty big impact to me. Of course, since the SAT is set at such a low baseline wrt math, the impact is negative.

Less than .5% (probably much smaller but I'm too lazy to figure it out exactly) of time spent on SAT related things is a big impact?

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