2010-05-11, 01:46 AM
Just to clarify, the respect I have for you is not that in which I feel superior or pity or any other crappy, exclusive emotions. I respect you for your choices, and believe that, for the most part, you make wonderful ones, Keith, but that as a friend I want to raise the red flags where they should be raised. Please don't think I'm sitting here trying to push you around or bully you; my only intention is to ensure that video games don't control someone's life like they did mine. I still did well in school and am attending a phenomenal university, but to be honest I was lucky, and if I could do it all over again I wouldn't pick up MS or equate video games with academics like I did. It's a very dangerous mixture of priorities, and again, my warnings come from personal experience and a desire to not see the same happen to friends.
But here's the bottom line:
I'm sorry, but that's how it works. You shouldn't be worried, because the basic concept is that if you do more work than someone else, you get more credit. However, like many have said (esp. Delicae's wonderful post), college admissions officers look for so much more in a candidate these days than simply academic merit. If you earn straight As in the colloquial "regular" classes, but show you spend your free time doing something worthwhile (ie. not video games), then you stand just as much of a chance as others. Basically, colleges these days look for students they feel would be a "best fit" for the university, and considering so many more people are going to college now than in the past, the criteria for determining a "best fit" student extends out to how you spend your time as compared to just grades. Erefore, if you're applying to a school whose motto revolves around service to the global community (ex. Princeton), and your application shows that you've spent all your free time reaching Lv. 200 in an online video game, they're not going to consider you a "best fit" for the school.
It all comes down to where you want to apply, and making yourself the best candidate for that particular school. If you want to go to the absolute top schools, I'm sorry, but you are essentially required to take AP classes. However, if you have your eye set on in-state schools such as the UC system, you stand an excellent chance with what you've accomplished. Oh, and keep in mind that in-state public schools such as the UC and UW systems of California and Wisconsin are required to accept a certain quota of students from the state, so just living there gives you a huge edge over others.
P.S.: College admissions horror story: I knew of two guys who applied to Princeton, one of whom was the valedictorian of their school, and the other the salutitorian. The salutitorian was captain of the Varsity swim team his Senior year, and participated in a number of extra curricular organizations and community service programs, while the valedictorian simply focused on his studies. The two were essentially in all of the same classes, but of course one edged out the other in GPA by the end of the year. When they got their letters from Princeton that April, the valedictorian had been accepted, while the salutitorian was denied.
Case in point: Some schools still use GPA and evidence of an intense academic schedule as the ultimate deciding factor for admissions. It proves that you worked harder and studied harder than others, and in the end every school's "best fit," #1 criterion is to ensure their students are the best of the best academically, willing to work hard and challenge themselves. No school wants to waste the time and resources on a lazy student who is just going to skip class to play video games, and ends up flunking out.
But here's the bottom line:
Goals Wrote:It worries me that colleges would pick a candidate with AP classes over one without. :[
I'm sorry, but that's how it works. You shouldn't be worried, because the basic concept is that if you do more work than someone else, you get more credit. However, like many have said (esp. Delicae's wonderful post), college admissions officers look for so much more in a candidate these days than simply academic merit. If you earn straight As in the colloquial "regular" classes, but show you spend your free time doing something worthwhile (ie. not video games), then you stand just as much of a chance as others. Basically, colleges these days look for students they feel would be a "best fit" for the university, and considering so many more people are going to college now than in the past, the criteria for determining a "best fit" student extends out to how you spend your time as compared to just grades. Erefore, if you're applying to a school whose motto revolves around service to the global community (ex. Princeton), and your application shows that you've spent all your free time reaching Lv. 200 in an online video game, they're not going to consider you a "best fit" for the school.
It all comes down to where you want to apply, and making yourself the best candidate for that particular school. If you want to go to the absolute top schools, I'm sorry, but you are essentially required to take AP classes. However, if you have your eye set on in-state schools such as the UC system, you stand an excellent chance with what you've accomplished. Oh, and keep in mind that in-state public schools such as the UC and UW systems of California and Wisconsin are required to accept a certain quota of students from the state, so just living there gives you a huge edge over others.
P.S.: College admissions horror story: I knew of two guys who applied to Princeton, one of whom was the valedictorian of their school, and the other the salutitorian. The salutitorian was captain of the Varsity swim team his Senior year, and participated in a number of extra curricular organizations and community service programs, while the valedictorian simply focused on his studies. The two were essentially in all of the same classes, but of course one edged out the other in GPA by the end of the year. When they got their letters from Princeton that April, the valedictorian had been accepted, while the salutitorian was denied.
Case in point: Some schools still use GPA and evidence of an intense academic schedule as the ultimate deciding factor for admissions. It proves that you worked harder and studied harder than others, and in the end every school's "best fit," #1 criterion is to ensure their students are the best of the best academically, willing to work hard and challenge themselves. No school wants to waste the time and resources on a lazy student who is just going to skip class to play video games, and ends up flunking out.