It is hard to raise the bar on your own merit as a student, while at the same time expect others to respect you for your accomplishments. In an increasingly competitive world, everyone is raising their game and expectations. Some of these expectations are downright outrageous. Yet some of these expectations are reasonable. I speak from experience when I say that many of the messages conveyed by some of the more obnoxious (for lack of a better word) of our higher education administrators, are completely unrealistic.
The first step in setting yourself apart from the pack is to believe and speak up, "I'm an achiever!" Now, you might be wondering what the rest of this column has to do with your legacies. In reality, your legacies, or your parents' legacies, do not have a huge impact on your college and university applications. What I am referring to is your life story, your "why" you came to college. The reason you came to college is important, but the important question is, "Why did you come to college?"
Some of the more obnoxious (for lack of a better word) of our current higher education administrators, in my opinion, do not like to recognize that they are not perfect, despite their numerous credentials. To them, if they had done a good job, then they wouldn't have to worry about it. So, rather than focus on accomplishments, they would choose to focus on who they are as individuals. This is unfortunate, because many of our young, highly privileged, highly successful legacies students are absolutely stellar students. And many of our older, less privileged, less successful legacy students may not have achieved as much as they had hoped, or dreamed, if they had not taken the time to build their self-esteem, and self-confidence, in order to excel at their academic challenges.
Many of our young, highly accomplished, highly successful legacies students have come from low income, high minority, or disadvantaged backgrounds. They were all considered at a disadvantage in high school when they entered college. And most of them, although now entering their mid-life years, have never been able to become very well-established in their middle class backgrounds. Many of them were not encouraged to develop successful habits early on in their life. Fortunately, there are ample opportunities for those with high achievement legacies to develop skills and traits, such as discipline and persistence, which will serve them throughout their lifetime.
We owe it to the many wonderful, hardworking, and outstanding legacy students that have become some of the brightest minds that the United States has ever produced, to appreciate them. One way that we can all begin to appreciate these great people is by acknowledging their accomplishments, and their legacies. If you are presenting yourself to a prospective college or university as an accomplished and deserving young person of the elite middle class background, don't be afraid to make your case in terms of your achievements and your personal qualities. By doing so, you will demonstrate to the admissions board that you have the attributes that they seek in a well-rounded, integrated learning community.
Let's look at the recent academic rankings of some of our nation's most prestigious colleges. The University of Michigan, one of the respected names in higher education, recently came in second place behind Harvard University in the highly competitive field of selective colleges and universities. The University of Chicago, a top notch national university, came in fourth, and Stanford University, another of the most respected schools, ranked fifth. These accomplishments are significant and deserve our respect. However, there is another equally important category of achievements that these same schools failed to include in their academic comparisons with their Ivy League and University of Virginia peers - the ballot.
Did any of these highly respected institutions make mention of the many legacies and honors that these graduates and former students have earned? No, because they did not work hard enough to earn these achievements. How can we compare legacies when the only people who matter are those who made them happen? This is not to single out UVA and Harvard - other selective colleges and universities also boast impressive legacies and honors and have earned their place in the selective elite group of prestigious universities.
Now, if the University of Virginia or Harvard University would have acknowledged their legacies and the legacies of their graduates, then maybe these selective universities might be able to reclaim some of their pride for academic accomplishment. Perhaps the current crop of student leaders, which includes George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, John McCain, and Barrack Obama could have learned some lessons from their parents went to high school? In fact, I would go so far as to suggest that this is precisely what needs to happen. Please consider all this.