This is your third and final post for The Gatekeepers. Remember that your response should be two full paragraphs and should include and explain two quotes that support your answer. Remember to cite you quote with a page number.
Topic 3: The last quarter of the book is about how students respond to their college decision letters and how they choose the right college for them. What stands out to you from this section? Did you learn anything new or begin to think about something in a new way? How should you respond to a rejection letter or to being waitlisted? How do you choose which college is right for you?
Post your response in the comment box below.
"He had been rejected,and didn't even wait to get to the bottom of the letter before tearing it into pieces"(pg211)- this is Jordan's reaction to the Brown letter.
ReplyDelete"His dream of attending an Ivy League college had ended......He told her about Brown and Penn,and that he had now been rejected by his top 3 choices....Melanie tried to console him with the suggestion that he was the victim of a numbers game"(pg211)-He only had Wesleyan University left as an option.
What stood out to me in this section was Jordan feeling of defeat from the letters,as I know I will more than likely feel the same at some point.I learned that even though you may not make it into the school of your choice it doesn't mean you will be a failure.Jordan went to Wesleyan University but then went to Oxford and made a couple of college guide books.I think I would respond to the rejection letters in a more "Ok i didn't make the cut.....o well" type of way,but i wouldn't let the letters define me.Personally I would be happy if I got wait-listed because there is still some hope even though I didn't get into the school.You choose which college is right for you by being comfortable with the atmosphere and making sure what you had in mind of studying is available.
Wesleyan was the first decision letter Aggie received and this excited her until Wesleyan offered Aggie a place on the waiting last and this saddened her “but she was also a realist” (pg.222) .Aggie had knew that her low grades during her senior year was the cause of her not be accepted right away. However being on the waiting list did not stop Aggie from exploring the other colleges that accepted her. She also knew that this was the process that every college and applicant faces and that she would have to keep her options opened. Aggie reaction to her being put on the waiting list was surprising to me but in a positive way, because she did not let not being accepted from Wesleyan stop her from looking elsewhere. She still had a positive attitude with her outcome with Wesleyan. However Aggie was “confident that no matter what college she chose, she would receive a good education” (pg.222) and that school would offer her a better future for her and her family.
ReplyDeleteFrom Aggie’s experience I learned that even if I receive a rejection letter from the school I desired to attend I would try to have a positive outlook and not be to hard in myself and let myself know that there are many other colleges that would except a student like me. However I would be more frustrated with being on a waiting list because I would feel like I was not complete accepted and that would make me a bit nervous and upset. Choosing the right college is hard to find I think. I think it is mostly up to the student where they consider they would receive the best education for them and if they could picture being there for four years to say they had greatest college experience ever.
I would have to respectfully qualify with Keyonna on her comment about "it is mostly up to the student where they consider they would receive the best education for them". In the work force or the corporate world, you will be judged based upon what school you went to for college, so it's important that you chose one with a good status. That's why Jordan Goldman made sense to me when he spoke on going to ivy schools because America is very judgmental country and so the people that hire you will be the same way. The grades in high school matter for a college to accept you so if a boss had a choice of hiring somebody from Harvard or Boston College, the ivy school student would most likely get the job.
ReplyDeletealthough, "no matter what college you chose, you can still receive a good education", (pg.222). I'm stuck in between both ideas because there is the judgmental expect to every application to see if you qualify as a human being, even though you may be "the first person in your family to go away to college",(pg.222). I would not be the first in my family to go to college necessarily, but I would be the first to receive a college diploma. I relate to Aggie because I too have "parents that work hard to take care of me and my siblings", (pg.222). So often I am open minded to any opportunity that would get me ahead in life. When I chose my college it is gonna be what's best for me in all areas, as far as status and the educational opportunity; with the opportunity at MATCH I have no choice, but to take advantage of it.
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ReplyDeleteBecca on the other hand, after a long road of rejection to colleges such as Wesleyan was accepted into cornell. she accomplished this by being very constant in "asking sharon if she had received any word from their favorite admissions officer at cornell"(259). this taught me that even though peoples circumstances are different, if you try hard enough you can succeed. one thing that i am nervous about is the feeling of rejection because i know i would be discouraged if had the luck Becca had with this process. now i know that i need to focus on my work and think about what i need to do especially if i plan to try to get a scholarship. I have also learned that the big names schools are not the only hard schools to get into. while reading this book, i thought about why i didn't do better in my previous years at match. it worries me that my past will come back and play a major role in my future.
ReplyDeletebecause there are "julinnas" and "Beccas" in the world, the anxiety that accompanies acceptance or rejection varies. some people like becca have to wait for many different letters to see if she was accepted into colleges. julianna was accepted into yale without a problem so her anxiety was not a problem since "julianna didn't have to wait long to hear Yale's response to her mothers plea"(pg.249)
ReplyDeleteWhen Mig finds out that he has been accepted to Wesleyan and many other colleges, he feels accomplished. Though, financial problems got a little in the way, Wesleyan decided to “send Mig a free plane ticket to help him make his decision” (pg.215). From this act of kindness it shows that colleges are willing to chip in some money to help students as much as possible. Also when Mig decides to attend Wesleyan college he is “awarded a $24,890 annual scholarship, which when combined with a $1,750 federal grant, $3,500 in loans and a $1,600 work-study job meant that his mother’s contribution to Mig’s $35,000-a-year education would be a modest $3,600” (pg. 218) Since Mig had pushed himself to reach for better grades and improved his GPA so much a lot of money was awarded to him which pushed off the financial worries. When Mig only needs to pay $3,500 for college, it really shows that hard work does pay off, both financially and how well your college is. For my senior, it has pushed me to work harder than ever to pull up my GPA as much as possible because I could then be qualified for a greater scholarship that would cover more than regular scholarships. Like Mig I will choose a college that is fit for my needs. These colleges will need to be succeeding academically, have my favorite activities and will fit my financial needs.
ReplyDeleteAnother student whom I learned from was Tiffany, she had been waitlisted by Wesleyan. She was disappointed in herself because “[she] wish [she] studied more” (pg. 219) and had “taken school more seriously” (pg. 219). I kind of felt bad for Tiffany but then again she had her education at her hands she could have done better but didn’t and now she regrets it. Tiffany’s experience lets me know that I should always take responsibility of my actions. If I don’t take school seriously and stayed on the computer instead of studying for my test is would hurt me in the future. From this I learned that I do not want to be in Tiffany’s position saying “I should have taken school more seriously” towards the end of my senior where I will regret it when colleges I wish I had gotten into had rejected me. Instead, I will be working at my best and keep Tiffany’s situation in the back of my head to remember I don’t want to be in her position later in the future.
What stands out to me the most in this section is the fact that Becca Jannol thought that "attending a college that ranked near the top of the guidebooks' ranking"(pg.227) would benefit her because of its "prestigious name"(pg.227). She felt as though'" Everyone sort of measures you by where your going,where your parents went,[and] how smart you are'"(pg. 237) which is primarily true,but i feel as though that should not intervene with the colleges you want to apply to. What I learned from this section is that when you apply early “over the course of two days,the admission officers were told,they would consider 97 of the 356 students who applied early”(pg. 94). I’ve learned that at some colleges such as Wesleyan University have to get 5 votes to be admitted into the school.
ReplyDeleteThere are many ways in which one can respond to a rejection letter.Becca took the approach of writing a letter with a minimum of “two paragraphs [thanking] each admission committee for its consideration thus far,[assuring] its members that she remained interested if accepted”(pg.229). I really liked the way in which she chose to deal with this indecisive process it shows not only her maturity, but it shows that she’s faithful and hopeful not giving up on the college process. You choose the college that’s right for you by talking to admissions councilors, visiting campuses, and living on campus for a day trying to catch the vibe of the campus. Choosing a college by name is the not the wisest choice because the name could fit you,but the lifestyle doesn’t necessarily have to either.
Malik said
ReplyDeleteI think that if people apply to a lot of schools, they would be alright because they have other colleges as backups. Mig applied to several or more colleges and out of all of them, he got rejected by two. “Mig has also been accepted to Pitzer, Beloit College in Wisconsin, Colorado College and Bard in upstate New York, all schools that his counselor had recommended; he had only two rejections, from Grinnell in Iowa and Oberlin”(216). Mig has many back up schools, but this is not where his interest is at though. Mig wasn’t waitlisted and he wasn’t mad about the colleges that rejected. Mig traveled to Wesleyan College and toured the campus, which is beautiful. When he decided to go to Wesleyan College, the tuition stood in the way. “Mig had been awarded a $24,890 annual scholarship……that his mother’s contribution to Mig’s $35,000 a year education would be a modest $3,600.”(218). This shows you can’t put a price on education
I learned that you shouldn't respond so harshly to a rejection letter. Because you aren't always rejected due to your qualifications. You could have been rejected because you were a "victim of a numbers game"(pg.211) Simply because a college received too many applications than they have seats. Many times some people don't get an acceptance due to space and figuring out how to place everyone.
ReplyDeleteI also learned that you should really take your time in High School seriously because it can better you chances of getting into a better college. Also I agree with Malik because I believe that the narrower your list is the less of a chance that you will be safe when it comes to choosing. If you have a list with 15-20 colleges than a couple rejections won't be detrimental to your future college experience. If you have less than you have less of a selection and making the decision will be more difficult. I was already aware of these things but this book helped me to be more aware.
"just as he had when he got the word from Amherst, Jordan called his mother at the school where she worked.' "he told her about Brown and penn, and that he had now been rejected by his top three choices." pg 211. In this example a studenT, Jordan, is rejected from three of his collages and he is very hurt and in shock about it. This situation is a great example of how i would feel, but it also speaks to me because eventhough he didnt get into his top three schools he wanted he still tryed. That takes a lot of corage to over come the though of rejection and still apply for schools that you really want to go to. THE Character Jordan reminds me of myself as a person and its very imspiring. lastly i also learned form this character that collage doesnt make you who you are you make who you want to be anywhere and that if rejected thats their lose not yours.
ReplyDeletefurthermore what stood out the most to me was this quote,"I dont know what i'm going to do," he told his mother. "But im dealing with the reality of the situstion" pg 211. This was very inspiring to me because its hard to overcome big obticals such as being rejected from your top three schools but to see it as the reality of a situation was something out of the ordanary. I wasnt expecting that, i was expecting emontion and anger but instead he was calm and mature about it. This interest me because that is something im personaly going to have to overcome and its interesting to see a charcater who is like me to grow. overall rejecions and acceptence are very interesting and exciting part of the process of applying to collage and from this novel i learned a lot.
I learned that when you get a rejection letter don't make it seem that its the end of the world.I feel like Becca's first intials thoughts is the way to go where she had "vowed that she wouldn't get caught up in a frenzy of attending a college with a prestigious name"(p.227).I feel like that is a good idea so you will get so wrapped up in the idea. I feel like becca made it seem that it was a personal issue on why she was not choosen. I learned that the rejection letter should'nt make one feel as though they are not qualfied and there are other options.I like becca's idea of writing a letter to all the colleges that rejected her. That is a good idea and a perfessional way.In reading everyones way of dealing with a rejection letter i learned that you need to have a postive attitude and not to give up.Also to explore other option just because one school rejects doesnt mean your not going to get accepted to other schools. I also learned that not even the best of student dont get into schools, i mean you can grieve but not for long. and dont ever give up
ReplyDeleteWhat stood out to me the most was how Jordan had reacted to the fact that he actually was rejected by his dream colleges. Jordan had to have "His dream of attending an Ivy League college had ended. “ (pg 211) He chooses three schools that he had a great interest in and they all rejected him. Of course I would feel devastated by the news but would have to make sure to give solid grades and several different choices in mind. In order to do so you must do lots of background checks on the college to have a solid understanding of what the college has that interests you and stands out to you the most. Personally for me if there is a solid basketball program and great academics then I’m pretty much fine with that. But the key is to have several colleges in mind cause some are going to reject you either cause grades, essay wasn’t strong enough, or they had enough recruits. All happens to the best of us but you can react differently depending on the section. If a person is wait listed there still a possibility that one can get into that school compared to one whom is rejected all together. If your rejected of course you will take it hard especially if it’s a top choose but you need to push forward in order to have a solid career in life. That’s just how I feel what about you ?
ReplyDeleteOne Student I learned from was Tiffany because when she got the rejection letter she thought her life was over. That she had failed her self and her family. “[she] wish [she] studied more” (pg. 219), When a rejection letter has nothing to do with that it could have meant so much more then her not just studying. This taught me not to be so hard on my self and that everybody gets rejected at some point. But I just look at it this way they're missing out not me.
ReplyDeleteAnother Student I learned from was Becca Because she was not mad, angry or ready to lash out on someone. She took the adult approach to it and decided to write them a two paragraph essay thanking them for taking their time and reading her letter. “two paragraphs [thanking] each admission committee for its consideration thus far,[assuring] its members that she remained interested if accepted”(pg.229). I thought that it was a good idea to do that because not only is she being polite she is letting them know that she is thankful. Those were the students i learnt the most from
John S. said...
ReplyDeleteI learned that not everyone gets accepted into the college of their choice. It's okay though because one can learn from that and work harder to get into another college. For example, Jordan who wanted to be part of an ivy league college but his dreams were shattered when he was rejected. The author stated, "His dream of attending an Ivy League college had ended" (pg 211). This is the most challenging part, getting rejected from a college one wanted to go to. It's not good to stress it because there are multiple options still available.
Also, there was Aggi's perspective in which she was rejected but still had a positive view on the future. After she was rejected, she was “confident that no matter what college she chose, she would receive a good education” (pg.222). This is powerful because it shows perseverance and discipline to reach her goal of making it to college as a hispanic woman.
VICTOR said...
ReplyDeleteIN this section of the book is the most emotional that can happen in the highschool through college process. "He had been rejected,and didn't even wait to get to the bottom of the letter before tearing it into pieces"[pg.221]. This reaction by Jordan is one of complete impredictability because he did not see it coming , and him being soo confident really made it clear that he was going to get in. It really stinks to know that there will be a lot of suprises even in the decissions that you may think are going to be good.
So i can really qualify with John H, comment and side when he states the negativity of the diffrent elemnts in the decission making process. Jordan was one that was left in distress, and was left hopeless without really knowing what else to do. The defeat that Jordasn felt is one that many people will feel if they dont get the college of their choice but there must be plenty more options. The ivy league didnt work but Jordan was still dreamshattered.Early decissions then will be a good thing to do so that if your top school denys you then you will have backups, that will help a lot. Jordan was a good help in the analysing of college decission making time, jhe opened my eyes to emotions that might be felt in that time period.
A student’s reaction that caught my attention was Jordan Goldman ‘s after founding out that he hadn’t been accepted to brown University and University of Pennsylvania . He dint not try to read the letter in order to know why he didn’t get accepted, but just ripped it up. This showed me ho some students were just consumed with going to a school with a popular name.” His dream of attending an Ivy league college had ended “so for that matter, had the only other scenario that would have permitted to save face with his peers, at Amherst”(pg.211).
ReplyDeleteI also learned that there are times when one won’t be able to go to a college of their choice due to it number of applicants such as Penn and Amherst received in that year in the novel. I think when someone gets rejected by the college they wanted to go to the proper way to react is top think about why he or she wasn’t accepted and to make sure they have back up colleges that offer some of the things the dream college has .
I learned that even if you do receive a rejection letter, that you should take it as a learning experience and not be upset. Aggie, as both Keyonna and JRave have both stated, was wait-listed which somewhat brought her down. But she knew that her lack of perseverance during her senior year was to blame. "She was also a realist, and had always suspected that her C's and D's during her senior year might weigh down the rest of her record, which was mostly A's and B's. She really and truly had no one to blame except herself, which is why an angry letter to the school would have been unreasonable.
ReplyDeleteIt is also key to realize when receiving response letters, that someone fought for you. Unless one's application was totally ridiculous. And not to e upset if you are not accepted, you along with others were just "victims of a numbers game"(211). That did not turn out in your favor. This does not mean to not pursue your dreams but should actually be motivation to work harder.
But what had shock me is that people such as Becca thought that "attending a college that ranked near the top of the guidebooks' ranking"(pg.227) would be the place for her because of its "prestigious name” I don’t believe anything had stand out for me of their reaction to their rejections letter because I have seen a couple of people going through that stage differently and some have melt downs and some just don’t care. But I hope people take in consideration that them being rejected might not be their fault because as Glory stated how they should not take it the wrong way because they could have been a "victim of a numbers game". (pg.211) Because colleges are only able to accept a certain amount of students and they receive millions of application a day. But I personally would just be happy to get accepted in to a college and they are willing to help pay for my education. If I have got rejected to a college which almost everybody do I would just say okay that college was not meant for me and I will look for another sign from God.
ReplyDeleteFrom this section I learned that the college application process takes a person's personality into account and look for outstanding student, but if you do not have the academics to honor your own self, then college will not accept you. When i read Ralph Figueroa say that Aggie's SAT's would "likely decide her fate" (pg 142) i realized that it is time for my grades to be handled with care an dedication for my incoming year as a senior. Having known what colleges take interest in, my plan now is to boost my scores avademically and challenge myself with extracurricular activities that will show my leadership skills. When receiving a rejection, it is only right to remain civil and optimistic; you never know what college is actually right for you until you take the experience head on.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that stand out to me was the emotions that all the students showed either being accepted or rejection which to some student is the same as being on the waiting list. In the case of Mig all his hard work was payed out because he got “accepted to Pitzer, Beloit College in Wisconsin, Colorado College and Bard in upstate New York, all schools that his counselor had recommended; he had only two rejections, from Grinnell in Iowa and Oberlin”(pg. 216). This showed that the work Mig put in and the people who supported him, both felt accomplish and excited to start a different chapter in his life. I learned that working hard in school will in the end pay off. Mig has many schools to pick and have many backup plans that are one thing I want to do is to have many back up schools.
ReplyDeleteBeing rejection is hard for anyone but the way I want to look at it is in a positive light. Being rejection is not the end of the world it just means that you aren’t right for the school and in the end is better for you. "He had been rejected, and didn't even wait to get to the bottom of the letter before tearing it into pieces"(pg.221) this is the case of Jordan. I want to choose a small school with different things I can learn in that school
If i were to be rejected or waitlised i would respond by crying because i would feel like i would not get into any school that i applied to. But then i would have to realize that i may have not gotten in due to being a "victim of a numbers game"(pg.211) Which means the college has gotten too many applications. To decided on which college is right for me i would fiest need to see the location and if my major is offered there. Also i need to be aware of what im getting myself into and i need to be “confident that no matter what college [I] chose, [I] would receive a good education” (pg.222).
ReplyDelete