(May 2, 2013) — Spring is known as the time of flower blooms, sunshine, and of course the nerve-wrecking college acceptance letters. However, for those seniors who were rejected from their dream schools, this seemingly happy time can take on a bitter, dismal outlook. Among these unhappy, rejected teens was Pittsburgh senior Suzy Lee Weiss who wrote an Op-Ed in the March 29th issue of The Wall Street Journal called “To (All) the Colleges That Rejected Me,” which detailed her satirical criticism of the colleges’ “unfair expectations” and preferential treatments of students who offer more “diversity.” Although I find her sharp wit humorous, I mostly disagree with her theories for why students like her (Caucasian students with only great academic achievements, “as much diversity as a saltine cracker,” and little to no significant extra-curricular involvement) are not often admitted into prestigious colleges. I disagree with Weiss’s whole pompous notion that colleges seem to blindly favor students based on their diversity. College admission is such an intricate process – GPA, personal statements, extracurriculars, etc. – that it’s not reasonable to generalize race as the deciding factor that supposedly hindered her acceptance. Assuming that minorities get a free pass on acceptance is not only misguided, but discriminative too. Believe it or not, Ms. Weiss, minorities have to work hard to get into college too. Weiss goes on to sarcastically attest that she should’ve “started a fake charity” and have “nine extracurriculars” to increase her chances of getting accepted. Although Weiss is quick to mock people that use “someone else’s misfortunes to try to propel themselves into an Ivy League,” she fails to acknowledge any impact or extracurricular activity that she has participated in. I believe that the reason colleges value people with many extracurriculars is that it demonstrates good time management and social skills necessary to be successful both in college and in life. Additionally, admissions officers usually have decades of experience and can easily tell the difference between the superficial, résumé -padding activities and the genuine activities that the applicant is truly passionate about. The fact is colleges in general don’t want a homogeneous campus full of solely academically-based students. Colleges want to admit people who are intellectually diverse and are active in at least trying to generate some sort of change and success in the world. Not passive people who use their sense of superiority to justify their lack of involvement. As a student aiming for Ivy League colleges as well, I can understand Weiss’s frustration with being rejected from colleges that you really want to be accepted into. Nowadays, competition for college entrance is extremely rigorous and overwhelming, and requires a student to be very well-rounded. However, most of the schools that Weiss applied to are extremely selective and looking for a wide array of students with impressive academics and extracurriculars. Only having a 4.5 GPA isn’t enough to guarantee a spot in some of the nation’s most competitive universities. Consequently, it isn’t fair to blame these highly selective colleges for being so highly selective (that is why they are called Ivy Leagues). Most of these prestigious institutions only have a few thousand spots available out of the tens or hundreds of thousands of applicants that apply. Life’s not fair and you can’t always have your way. Getting rejected from your dream school is tough, but if Weiss is truly looking for someone to blame for her rejection on, she should start with herself.