A matter of degrees
Re “Rejected by Stanford? You’ll live,” Opinion, March 30
I’m 20-plus years out of undergraduate school, and only recently have I felt I’ve hit my stride in life. As Stanford Dean of Admission Richard Shaw illustrates, “undergrad” is merely the beginning of a long and exciting journey of learning, experiences, setbacks and triumphs. Whether a student begins at a community college or is valedictorian from an Ivy League school, he or she ultimately can achieve his or her personal and professional goals through dedication, perseverance and flexibility.
I hope parents and students appreciate Shaw’s comments. I’m saving his article to remind me and my young daughters when they begin the college application process in a dozen or so years. Of course, I would be so pleased if they were accepted to Stanford -- and just as pleased when they matriculate at any institution of higher education; no pressure, just encouragement to pursue education as a life journey with no end in sight.
CARI COHN-MORROS
Mission Viejo
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Shaw writes: “I expect to be feeling quite a bit of pain” in regard to the thousands of students rejected from Stanford. How sorry I feel for him, not to mention the other directors of admissions at elite colleges and universities. However, I feel more sorry for the students such as I who received rejection letters after four years of hard, dedicated work in the classroom and extracurricular activities. While an undergraduate degree from a top-flight university may not make or break an individual in the long run, it has significant meaning in the short term.
BRIAN LINHARES
San Mateo
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Shaw tells us that it doesn’t matter where you go to college. On March 31, we read of the extraordinary lengths and expense parents are going through to get their children into the right schools, and thence colleges (“Admission to private schools is a stress test”). Are these people stupid? I don’t think so. Shaw is deluding himself and us. While success in life is not impossible without that prestige diploma, the chances with it are a whole lot higher.
RORY JOHNSTON
Hollywood
