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This anecdote fills me with hope for what a determined person is capable of. Lately I've been stuck thinking credentials are supremely important. I'm happy that

This anecdote fills me with hope for what a determined person is capable of. Lately I've been stuck thinking credentials are supremely important. I'm happy that people can challenge this and become successful!

brandnewlow 18y ago
I think the key here was that the kid called up and said he wanted to play ball. he didn't call to strong arm the admission office, he called and essentially said "what do I need to do to be a stronger applicant next year?" That's just a winning attitude in general. It shows the guy's got a goal and is willing to do what it takes to make it happen.
endtime 18y ago
>Lately I've been stuck thinking credentials are supremely important. I'm happy that people can challenge this and become successful! Credentials are supremely important. For every plucky kid who does something like this and succeeds, there are a hundred plucky kids that try something like this and still don't get accepted.
carpo 18y ago
When I was at university and doing a course that I wasn't really interested in (but which was the only one I could get into with my poor marks), I attempted to do an internal transfer to a degree in Computers. I was rejected. I ended up doing it different to this story ... I was young, angry and annoyed - couldn't they see my passion and enthusiasm? I left university that year and began teaching myself what I wanted to learn. My success has been nowhere near the college drop-outs you hear of in the news, but in just a few years I was earning a very good salary programming. I'm from Australia, where a degree seems to be not as important as in other countries - most jobs will have "degree or industry experience" so if you can get the experience somewhere small, you can work your way up. However, sometimes I wish I'd gone to university, and I still play with the idea of getting a degree - but I've got too much work to do on my startup now. Maybe later I will. It's true that determination can help you do wonders. And in my case, that initial rejection just added more steel to mine.

brandnewlow 18y ago

I think the key here was that the kid called up and said he wanted to play ball. he didn't call to strong arm the admission office, he called and essentially said "what do I need to do to be a stronger applicant next year?" That's just a winning attitude in general. It shows the guy's got a goal and is willing to do what it takes to make it happen.

endtime 18y ago

>Lately I've been stuck thinking credentials are supremely important. I'm happy that people can challenge this and become successful! Credentials are supremely important. For every plucky kid who does something like this and succeeds, there are a hundred plucky kids that try something like this and still don't get accepted.

carpo 18y ago

When I was at university and doing a course that I wasn't really interested in (but which was the only one I could get into with my poor marks), I attempted to do an internal transfer to a degree in Computers. I was rejected. I ended up doing it different to this story ... I was young, angry and annoyed - couldn't they see my passion and enthusiasm? I left university that year and began teaching myself what I wanted to learn. My success has been nowhere near the college drop-outs you hear of in the news, but in just a few years I was earning a very good salary programming. I'm from Australia, where a degree seems to be not as important as in other countries - most jobs will have "degree or industry experience" so if you can get the experience somewhere small, you can work your way up. However, sometimes I wish I'd gone to university, and I still play with the idea of getting a degree - but I've got too much work to do on my startup now. Maybe later I will. It's true that determination can help you do wonders. And in my case, that initial rejection just added more steel to mine.