The Slacker Paradox: Myth or Reality?
Uncategorized January 3rd. 2008, 4:01pmThe Successful Slacker
While conducting background research for an ongoing writing project, I’ve had several people mention an intriguing paradox involving high school students and college admissions.
I want your help to figure out if it is a true phenomenon or just a rare occurrence.
Here’s the supposed phenomenon: In most high senior classes there is at least one student who surprises everyone by getting accepted to a good college even though he or she seemed to do a lot a less hard things than other students who get rejected at the same places.
My question to you: Was this true for your high school senior class? And if so, what’s your theory to explain it?
To answer confidentially just shoot me an e-mail. You can also leave a comment on this post.
Is the slacker paradox real or just sour grapes from a disgruntled few? Help me figure out what’s really going on here!
January 3rd, 2008 at 8:26 pm
I was that kid. I was accepted to a lot of really good schools. I think it was mostly because of my admission essays I wrote. They were witty, creative, and pretty unique. I graduated with a 2.11, didn’t participate in many extracurriculars.. so I have no idea how I actually got into these schools other than my essay.
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:21 pm
I too am that kid. Current high school senior, I was recently accepted to University of Chicago via Early Action. Several people who definitely were not slackers didn’t get in, while I who definitely did slack got in. We’re still waiting for decisions from everywhere else, but in this particular case I can say that I agree with Sierra in that the essays were a huge help. Sorry, kid-who-deserved-it-more-whose-slot-i-took.
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:56 pm
I was that kid, too. I actually dropped out of the regular high school after skipping at least 2 days of school a week for about a month, and went to a self-paced school with a lot less structure and great teachers, but no oppurtunity for AP classes, which I had been taking at the regular high school. I graduated with a 2.8 GPA and was accepted into all 8 colleges and universities I applied to. I can only assume it was because I rocked my essays and my ACT… but I was definitely a slacker in school.