Wednesday, April 05, 2006
|You've just been f-ed in the a.|
I'm sure I've used that title before, but now it feels especially apt.
My interview for the NYU scholarship is April 20th and then the following Monday or Tuesday, I find out if I got it. If I got it, I will have until the end of that week to make a decision. Coincidentally, that is also the same week of the Penn deadline and when I have to tell the SEO internship program where I'm going to school so they can decide if I am into the program or not (yes, apparently where I choose to go to school may very well be the deciding factor and, no, I do not agree with that policy and I do think it's highly elitist and unfair). I am, however, still waiting on five schools: Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, Stanford and Yale.
Looking at my calendar, between now and the end of April, I have exactly one weekend to visit a school. Next weekend. This weekend I'm visiting Madison, Wisconsin. The weekend after next is the NYU Interview and the NYU Admitted Students' Weekend. And the weekend after that is my Birthday Field Day Party (my birthday, btw, is tomorrow). So, if I am to be able to make an informed decision on the law school that I am going to attend, I have to find out within the next 7 days so then I can initiate the financial aid process (while you would think that these schools would be nice enough to have that information ready for you when they let you in this late in the cycle, if they let you in, you would be incorrect -- Harvard might let me in the first week of May, but they won't let me know if I can afford it still until the last week of May, possibly first week of June -- yes, they expect that somehow I'll have either been able to ask other schools to wait for a whole month [or longer, in some cases] or that I will have been able to put down multiple deposits, once again indicating the power of money in this situation because I do not have multiple-deposit money and only intend to put down a deposit at the school I intend to attend) so that, if I get the NYU scholarship, I will have all of the necessary information to make an informed decision.
So I called Harvard. You know, I realized that they probably wouldn't give a damn, but I had to try because while I don't think I want to go, if I am going to have the option of going, I'd like to also have the option of excercising that option. But if I've already committed to NYU, then that is not the case, is it? In Harvard's mind, I can just ask for an extension, because it's Harvard and of course other schools won't mind, or at least I won't mind being placed in so awkward a position, because it's Harvard. And while I'm sure that most schools, for their regular deadlines, are alright to give extensions, I don't think that NYU, which, rankings-wise as of this past weekend, is only one step below Harvard, will like the idea that I think their full-tuition offer might not be as good as any kind of offer from Harvard and I don't think that they will be happy to let their 3-day rule slide a bit just for me.
So I called Harvard today. And I explained the situation. Harvard's response?
"Well, given that it's already so late in the cycle, you can imagine that most of the students in your position are also having multiple deadlines to work with and we don't think it would be fair to make exceptions for any one person. We do hope to get all of our decisions out by the end of this month, but we expect that some will stretch on into May."
Wow.
I mean, Wow.
They acknowledge the problem. They are aware that they are part of it. But do they care at all? Nope. Uh-uh. Not one iota of giveadamn over their in Cambridge.
I'm so nearly blind with rage right now because they aren't even trying to hide their total lack of concern for applicants. Honestly, I get the whole not being able to make an exception thing. I would like special treatment because my deadline cannot be extended, but I understand not being given it. But it's not as if this situation can't be helped. It's not as if Harvard couldn't work a little faster and get decisions out a little quicker. It's not as if the fewer than 200 ABA-approved law schools couldn't get it together like the thousands of undergraduate institutions and agree on one across-the-board date for letting students know, and one for students sending in deposits.
And it's not like what I'm asking for is so crazy. If I get into Harvard, I'd like to be able to go. Is that insane of me? Say I get into Harvard the week of the interview, while that's still over a week before I have to decide, when am I going to have the time to get up to Cambridge and see the place, sit in a class? And are they going to push my financial aid ppwk through to the top of the pile so that I can have numbers in hand by the end of the following week? No, probably not.
Not that I think I have a shot at getting into Harvard. Honestly, I don't. But I didn't think I had a shot at any of the schools I've gotten into. I didn't think I had a shot at a full-tuition scholarship from NYU. Clearly I am adept at underestimating myself when it comes to law school admissions, so while I don't think I have a shot at Harvard, all evidence is pointing unfailingly to the contrary. It would appear that I do have a shot.
Of course, none of this matters if I don't get the NYU scholarship. I mean, it will matter a little because timing will still be problematic, but I imagine that I could possibly get some sort of extension on their regular deadline. And the same goes for Penn.
But if I do get it, and last year 3 of the 6 finalists were awarded it, then I'd really like to have all of this worked out. I almost want to withdraw from these schools on sheer principle, but I need to know if I got it. If I could have gone. As much as it will kill me to know that I did not make my law school decision with all of the information on hand, I'd rather know what could have been than to not even be aware of the possibilities.
And, because I need to say it again, the most frustrating part about this is that I know that Harvard expects students to put down multiple deposits. Their deferral letters says:
"We will make final decisions as soon as possible. However, if you do not hear from us again before mid-April, you may want to reserve a place at a law school to which you have been offered admission while the final disposition of your application to Harvard Law School remains unknown."
It's not like we reserve our place by blowing dandelion seeds into the wind. No, it takes cash. But, and maybe Harvard forgets this, not everyone has it. Oh, and maybe Harvard forgets this too, but many schools, like NYU, have you sign a contract along with that bundle of moolah that says you have withdrawn applications from all other law schools and will not be generating any new ones. So, basically Harvard, because they are Harvard and think they can do whatever they damn well please and and treat people however they damn well want, including their peer institutions, thinks it's okay to 1) ask applicants to put down multiple deposits, even though not all of them can afford to do that and 2) to break a contract.
Perhaps, as a would-be lawyer, this is just something I should get used to. You know, total crap.
And please, if someone at Harvard Law (Tobias, the receptionist; Toby Stock, the Assistant Dean of Admissions, or any number of Harvard Law administrators or professors or students has a response to all of this, I'd be eager to hear it, because I would love to know how all or any of this is justifiable).
*Feel free to substitute "Stanford" and/or "Yale" anywhere in place of "Harvard" in this rant, save for the last part referencing the deferral letter, because while Harvard at least sends deferral letters, Stanford and Yale send nothing at all and have remained utterly silent this whole 7 months.
I'm sure I've used that title before, but now it feels especially apt.
My interview for the NYU scholarship is April 20th and then the following Monday or Tuesday, I find out if I got it. If I got it, I will have until the end of that week to make a decision. Coincidentally, that is also the same week of the Penn deadline and when I have to tell the SEO internship program where I'm going to school so they can decide if I am into the program or not (yes, apparently where I choose to go to school may very well be the deciding factor and, no, I do not agree with that policy and I do think it's highly elitist and unfair). I am, however, still waiting on five schools: Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, Stanford and Yale.
Looking at my calendar, between now and the end of April, I have exactly one weekend to visit a school. Next weekend. This weekend I'm visiting Madison, Wisconsin. The weekend after next is the NYU Interview and the NYU Admitted Students' Weekend. And the weekend after that is my Birthday Field Day Party (my birthday, btw, is tomorrow). So, if I am to be able to make an informed decision on the law school that I am going to attend, I have to find out within the next 7 days so then I can initiate the financial aid process (while you would think that these schools would be nice enough to have that information ready for you when they let you in this late in the cycle, if they let you in, you would be incorrect -- Harvard might let me in the first week of May, but they won't let me know if I can afford it still until the last week of May, possibly first week of June -- yes, they expect that somehow I'll have either been able to ask other schools to wait for a whole month [or longer, in some cases] or that I will have been able to put down multiple deposits, once again indicating the power of money in this situation because I do not have multiple-deposit money and only intend to put down a deposit at the school I intend to attend) so that, if I get the NYU scholarship, I will have all of the necessary information to make an informed decision.
So I called Harvard. You know, I realized that they probably wouldn't give a damn, but I had to try because while I don't think I want to go, if I am going to have the option of going, I'd like to also have the option of excercising that option. But if I've already committed to NYU, then that is not the case, is it? In Harvard's mind, I can just ask for an extension, because it's Harvard and of course other schools won't mind, or at least I won't mind being placed in so awkward a position, because it's Harvard. And while I'm sure that most schools, for their regular deadlines, are alright to give extensions, I don't think that NYU, which, rankings-wise as of this past weekend, is only one step below Harvard, will like the idea that I think their full-tuition offer might not be as good as any kind of offer from Harvard and I don't think that they will be happy to let their 3-day rule slide a bit just for me.
So I called Harvard today. And I explained the situation. Harvard's response?
"Well, given that it's already so late in the cycle, you can imagine that most of the students in your position are also having multiple deadlines to work with and we don't think it would be fair to make exceptions for any one person. We do hope to get all of our decisions out by the end of this month, but we expect that some will stretch on into May."
Wow.
I mean, Wow.
They acknowledge the problem. They are aware that they are part of it. But do they care at all? Nope. Uh-uh. Not one iota of giveadamn over their in Cambridge.
I'm so nearly blind with rage right now because they aren't even trying to hide their total lack of concern for applicants. Honestly, I get the whole not being able to make an exception thing. I would like special treatment because my deadline cannot be extended, but I understand not being given it. But it's not as if this situation can't be helped. It's not as if Harvard couldn't work a little faster and get decisions out a little quicker. It's not as if the fewer than 200 ABA-approved law schools couldn't get it together like the thousands of undergraduate institutions and agree on one across-the-board date for letting students know, and one for students sending in deposits.
And it's not like what I'm asking for is so crazy. If I get into Harvard, I'd like to be able to go. Is that insane of me? Say I get into Harvard the week of the interview, while that's still over a week before I have to decide, when am I going to have the time to get up to Cambridge and see the place, sit in a class? And are they going to push my financial aid ppwk through to the top of the pile so that I can have numbers in hand by the end of the following week? No, probably not.
Not that I think I have a shot at getting into Harvard. Honestly, I don't. But I didn't think I had a shot at any of the schools I've gotten into. I didn't think I had a shot at a full-tuition scholarship from NYU. Clearly I am adept at underestimating myself when it comes to law school admissions, so while I don't think I have a shot at Harvard, all evidence is pointing unfailingly to the contrary. It would appear that I do have a shot.
Of course, none of this matters if I don't get the NYU scholarship. I mean, it will matter a little because timing will still be problematic, but I imagine that I could possibly get some sort of extension on their regular deadline. And the same goes for Penn.
But if I do get it, and last year 3 of the 6 finalists were awarded it, then I'd really like to have all of this worked out. I almost want to withdraw from these schools on sheer principle, but I need to know if I got it. If I could have gone. As much as it will kill me to know that I did not make my law school decision with all of the information on hand, I'd rather know what could have been than to not even be aware of the possibilities.
And, because I need to say it again, the most frustrating part about this is that I know that Harvard expects students to put down multiple deposits. Their deferral letters says:
"We will make final decisions as soon as possible. However, if you do not hear from us again before mid-April, you may want to reserve a place at a law school to which you have been offered admission while the final disposition of your application to Harvard Law School remains unknown."
It's not like we reserve our place by blowing dandelion seeds into the wind. No, it takes cash. But, and maybe Harvard forgets this, not everyone has it. Oh, and maybe Harvard forgets this too, but many schools, like NYU, have you sign a contract along with that bundle of moolah that says you have withdrawn applications from all other law schools and will not be generating any new ones. So, basically Harvard, because they are Harvard and think they can do whatever they damn well please and and treat people however they damn well want, including their peer institutions, thinks it's okay to 1) ask applicants to put down multiple deposits, even though not all of them can afford to do that and 2) to break a contract.
Perhaps, as a would-be lawyer, this is just something I should get used to. You know, total crap.
And please, if someone at Harvard Law (Tobias, the receptionist; Toby Stock, the Assistant Dean of Admissions, or any number of Harvard Law administrators or professors or students has a response to all of this, I'd be eager to hear it, because I would love to know how all or any of this is justifiable).
*Feel free to substitute "Stanford" and/or "Yale" anywhere in place of "Harvard" in this rant, save for the last part referencing the deferral letter, because while Harvard at least sends deferral letters, Stanford and Yale send nothing at all and have remained utterly silent this whole 7 months.
promulgated by SWS2.1 at 09:49.
1 comments
1 Comments:
honestly, who founds a university in a city where they can't even pronounce the name
all New Yorkers can say NYU
all Pennsylvanians (even the Dutch) can say Penn State
I mean, honestly, what is Harvard law other than pompous assholes trying to slyly remove "R" from the english accent
...that said, I am quite fond of the boston accent...
then again, no one through any R's in "boston"
By 
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10:03 PM
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