3 ms·

> For getting into top-ranked colleges, "the summer business I started in HS is already paying me more than your median graduate's full-time job" is a slam-dunk

> For getting into top-ranked colleges, "the summer business I started in HS is already paying me more than your median graduate's full-time job" is a slam-dunk argument. No. It's really not. As someone who has been involved in the system that admits you to top ranked universities and whose summer hustle also paid well in highschool. This is not a slam dunk. It's one small piece. And it could easily backfire and be a negative depending on how you write it. For example by writing it as if it's a slam dunk. These sort of overt economic arguments tend to go over very poorly.

bell-cot 3y ago
Yes, point - there is no candidate good enough to get admitted, if he is stupid enough in making his case. That friend's son didn't build a people-oriented business by being stupid. (OTOH, I wouldn't call it a "summer hustle" when you've paid your CPA more for routine tax prep than any of your peers have earned before graduating. Hopefully yours was similarly lucrative.) An example of your point - another old friend had a nephew who was an "obvious" candidate for an Ivy / Stanford / etc. on academics, etc., etc. The nephew was also an out-of-the-closet white supremacist, both online and in his application essays. Zero offers, even from third-tier schools.
TehShrike 3y ago
It's not just an argument that they should let you in, it's a BATNA – it's an opportunity for them to argue that they are worth your time. If they don't even try to convince you, you should probably stick with your business.
- BeetleB 3y ago
  > If they don't even try to convince you, you should probably stick with your business. For someone invoking BATNA, I would hope you understood the concept of distributive bargaining. Top universities get lots of good candidates. The lawn care business guy - he's just one of them. The school doesn't lose much if he doesn't go there, and thus he is not worth that much of the school's time.

bell-cot 3y ago

Yes, point - there is no candidate good enough to get admitted, if he is stupid enough in making his case. That friend's son didn't build a people-oriented business by being stupid. (OTOH, I wouldn't call it a "summer hustle" when you've paid your CPA more for routine tax prep than any of your peers have earned before graduating. Hopefully yours was similarly lucrative.) An example of your point - another old friend had a nephew who was an "obvious" candidate for an Ivy / Stanford / etc. on academics, etc., etc. The nephew was also an out-of-the-closet white supremacist, both online and in his application essays. Zero offers, even from third-tier schools.

TehShrike 3y ago

It's not just an argument that they should let you in, it's a BATNA – it's an opportunity for them to argue that they are worth your time. If they don't even try to convince you, you should probably stick with your business.

BeetleB 3y ago
> If they don't even try to convince you, you should probably stick with your business. For someone invoking BATNA, I would hope you understood the concept of distributive bargaining. Top universities get lots of good candidates. The lawn care business guy - he's just one of them. The school doesn't lose much if he doesn't go there, and thus he is not worth that much of the school's time.