Life Through the Looking Glass

On Friday, I discovered that I was placed on the Wait List at the University of Chicago. I wasn’t especially worried or bothered by this; I was previously accepted to McGill University, my top choice, so I have known for a while now that I would be going to the school I wanted to go to. However, more troubling is that all six of the students from my school who applied were placed on the W.L. We are all students who would be highly attractive to schools, with wide-ranging interests and activities. However, we were all placed on the list—whilst five students from a school in the suburbs were accepted. Now, what is more interesting is, in many ways, our school is superior, and constantly shows as such in competition. Instead, there seems (at least to us) to be a systemic bias … it is entirely as though our school has been blackballed for some reason. One of the possible reasons that has been floated is that there are economic considerations: statistically, students from an inner-city high school (like ours) are more likely to require financial aid. Then again, unless the need-blind policy has changed, that shouldn’t even be a consideration. All we are left with is seething resentment.

Maybe I’ll ask my counsellor, and see what I can dig up.