#Top 100 University admissions

[fazalkhan2914]

Anilkhare - Best consultant for Australia study visa As the top admission counsellor in Dubai, he is greatly satisfied with helping students succeed in the cutthroat world of college applications by offering them individualized and thorough advice. Contact us. https://www.anilkhare.com/service/study-in-australia/

[medicoabroad]

MBBS Admission in Gome State Medical University (Belarus) through Medico...

[thebrightgroups]

[assortedseaglass]

Talk Refined - Chapter Two

Michael Gavey x Reader

[Masterlist]

Summary: When Michael Gavey unwittingly insults a fellow Oxford student, they enter into a game of intellectual cat and mouse.

Content Warnings (this chapter in bold): Language, Smut, Saltburn Spoilers

Esme did not let you live your encounter with Michael Gavey down.

“You should have heard her. Like she was interviewing all over again!” At any given opportunity, she took the chance to tell the story of how her best friend had shot down the genius from Brasenose.

“Esme, everyone’s heard this story a hundred times,” you’d said when she once again brought the matter up at the pub. “And anyway, he didn’t even reply when I shouted at him. Just said he needed a piss.” People at the table tittered. Michael’s reputation as a genius made had its way around the university’s colleges. Mainly because he was the one telling them.

It was a fact begrudgingly agreed upon at each recounting of the tale. Esme would tell her college mates, or new friends at the pub, the story of you and Michael getting into a fight, and inevitably they would say “The self-proclaimed genius?”

“The maths nerd?”

“That dickhead?”

Before resigning to the fact that, despite his arrogance, Michael Gavey really was a genius.

“Didn’t you hear him shouting at dining hall first night?”

“Heard he got 100% on the maths admissions test!”

“Pretty funny really. If he wasn’t such a twat I’d invite him out, he’s great entertainment.”

Luckily for you, the spectre of his reputation loomed larger than the man himself who, since your encounter at the pub, you had not seen. Perhaps he was too embarrassed after his very public rejection. More likely, it was because you were preparing for your extended essay deadline. Burrowed in your room at the desk, or else tucked in a dark corner of the library, Esme almost had to drag you to leave your room these days.

“Should have done something on Gentileschi,” you muttered into the open book on the library table. Your endless studying on the use of women as decoration that formed the basis of your essay was slowly crushing you. “Wanted to do a feminist essay but this is fucking depressing.”

Esme shifted in her seat next to you, leant over your book to look at the pictures on the open page, then pushed it from your view. Before you could protest, she spoke.

“One minute not looking at that dull picture,” she gestured to the image of Turner’s Reclining Nude on a Bed, “-isn’t gonna hurt you. But I’ll tell you what won’t be depressing. My end of year party!” Esme grabbed your shoulders and shook you.

You laughed, stifling it behind your hand when a few pug-nosed students frowned at you.

“I thought you’d settled for a cheese and wine night? ‘Sophisticated with a chance of minor sluttiness’,” you quoted her and she winked.

“Yeah, well, it’ll still be a cheese and wine night,” she opened another textbook and riffled through the pages absent-mindedly. “With slightly more wine than cheese-”

“And about sixty people.”

“Only after the meal! Had to take the chance and get in there before Catton. No-one’d come otherwise.” Esme’s face dropped, a flash of worry crossing her bonny face at the prospect of competing with Felix Catton for the Party of the Year.

“It’ll be grand,” you grabbed her hand reassuringly. “Who wants Catton’s friends there anyway? Load of stuck-up snobs-”

“You sound like Gavey!”

You shot an irritated look at Esme. She grinned back and busied herself with the work in front of her. You looked at the title scribbled across the top of the page. “Semper femina: misogyny’s early beginnings.”. You really picked a corker when you saw her at the humanities social. You nudged her shoulder affectionately, rubbing off her last comment and, still a little distracted, look around the library.

Not all libraries in Oxford had vaulted ceilings of ancient oak, or were decorated with elaborately carved roses. Some had harsh fluorescent lighting and tiled navy carpets. It just so happened that you and Esme preferred the grander of buildings. So too, did most other students. When dedication and inspiration waned, the quickest way to feel inspired was to pop to the libraries with ancient tomes alongside the course textbooks, sharing silent exchanges with other students gazing in awe at the latticed windows and rows of paper possibility.

“By the way,” Esme whispered, not due to the setting but what she was about to say next. “Who are you bringing?”

Your eyes didn’t flicker from the book in front of you. “Bringing where?”

“To the cheese and wine party,”

You looked at her, a mixture of exasperation and amusement on your face. “Since when did I have to bring someone?”

“Well,” Esme fully turned in her seat to look at you. “You don’t, but I’m bringing Eleanor-”

“Pretty girl from the pub.”

Esme nodded and continued counting people on her fingers. “Laura’s boyfriend is visiting that weekend, Holly’s bringing some rugby lad, Joe’s best mate is coming and the other three all have boyfriends. Bit sad if you’re the loner.”

“How can I be a loner at a party?”

“You know what I mean! Come on, it’s the end of the year, loosen up a bit. Doesn’t have to be a bloke, just pick someone!”

You thought a moment. Though you hated to admit it, Michael Gavey had been right; a lot of the people on your History of Art course were public school wankers and horsey girls fast-tracked to jobs in their parents’ cosmopolitan art galleries.

Nope. No-one there you could bring, and all of Esme’s friends were already going.

“I don’t know!” You despaired, slumping back in your seat comically in mock defeat.

Esme laughed. “Tell you what, next person that comes round that corner,” she pointed to the last bookshelf of a long row, right by the library entrance. “You’ve got to take. Deal?”

“Absolutely not.”

“I’ll buy your cheese and wine for the night.”

You stared at her. Trinity term was almost up, and so too was your scholarship loan. “Fine.”

Esme laughed excitedly and stared excitedly at the shelves. You did so with apprehension. A minute passed and no-one rounded the corner. A group of gorgeous boys left the library, but not one person entered.

“Looks like you’ll be coming alone after all.” You pinched Esme’s side and she giggled. “Aha!” She pointed behind you and your stomach dropped. Turning slowly, you faced your fate. Date.

A wizened old man no taller that the fourth shelf shuffled along the wooden floor, his worn leather shoes squeaking with every step. There were more lines on his face than the tube map.

“No.”

“Don’t be a bitch!”

“People don’t want their fucking lecturers there, Esme.”

“Fine,” she huffed. “But it has to be the next person or my share of the food is on you.”

“Fine.”

You both stared at the bookshelf. The wizened old man shuffled past you, and soon the sound of his leather shoes faded. You glanced over your shoulder at Esme. “This is stupid-”

“Oh. My. God.” Esme was looking past you, and what had momentarily been shock was turning to unbridled glee.

“What?” You span in your chair. “No. Absolutely not.” Panic prickled the hairs of your neck. You whipped back to face Esme. She was laughing. “I can’t. Fuck. No!”

“This is brilliant,” Esme clapped her hands together. Some students shushed her and she sent them a two fingered salute.  “He’s coming this way! Go on, ask him!”

You took a deep breath and, with growing unease, turned to face your unknowing date.

Michael Gavey was walking stiffly along the rows of bookshelves. The muscles of his jaw were set in a tight line; he wasn’t here to browse; he knew what he wanted and was making his determined way towards it. You watched him carefully, waiting until the perfect moment to speak. How the hell were you going to ask?

“Let’s wait a minute-” Esme made to cut you off but you continued quickly. “Just to see where he goes. I don’t want to ask in front of everyone.”

Esme huffed but nodded, and you both went back to watching him.

“This feels creepy,” you said, watching as he got closer.

“All we’re doing is looking at him.” Esme said matter of factly. But that wasn’t quite true. It felt altogether more like you were studying him. Something about Michael Gavey meant you couldn’t look away.

Just as when you last saw him, his clothes looked second hand. Or like something an aunt would by. A crisp, short-sleeved shirt, starchly ironed, tucked into a pair of beige cargo trousers. Vile. Around his belt swung a number of carabiners, one containing his keys, another a collection of USB sticks. They jangled as he walked past.

You ducked your head to avoid being seen. Esme scoffed. You kicked her under the table.

The two of you watched his retreating back. You noticed you weren’t the only ones looking at him. A few other students, some boys smirking and some girls, were watching him to. None indicated that they knew him personally, for none sent him a smile or a wave. They simply watched as he passed. His reputation really did precede him.

You tried to think on what it was that made Michael Gavey so hard to ignore. He had done nothing today but enter the library and, by now, everyone knew him to be a stuck-up knobhead. So what was it that was making everyone stare?

Perhaps it was the rigidity with which he walked, so upright and solid. For one so thin, you imagined that if someone bumped into him now he would just continue walking as though nothing happened. Maybe it was the unnerving way in which his grey eyes stared. You remembered them from before. How he analysed people, unblinking, as he spoke to them, dissecting every minutia of their movement behind his glasses.

Could it be, that underneath the dreadful clothes and frankly alarming attitude, he was quite handsome? You blushed at the thought and turned away from Esme.

In another life, with better clothes, better glasses, a kinder face, he might have been attractive. Afterall, his hair was that Gisele Bündchen colour girls in your sixth form tried unsuccessfully to get from the bottle. His face was all angles, like the bassist in some boy band. Not front man handsome, but with a little something that appealed to the weird girls. And he was tall. God, was he tall. Not Felix Catton tall, but after him he’d been the tallest at the pub. You remembered the way he’s unfurled his body uncomfortably from the chair. Even now, he was almost half the height of some of the old bookshelves. When he came to a stop, depositing his Tesco carrier bag on the table with a rustle, his shoulder bumped into one of the shelves, and you noticed how broad they were, accentuated by the black leather belt holding up his trousers. Who’d have thought it? Michael Gavey vaguely good-looking. Shame he was a prick.

“There you go,” Esme whispered in your ear as Michael disappeared between two shelves. “Perfect chance.”

Your mouth went dry. You’d momentarily forgotten the reason you were both watching Michael. Sensing your apprehension, Esme turned you by the shoulder and looked you deep in the eye. “It’s fine, I’ll help.” She was loving this, and the two of you spent the next five minutes working out how to approach the Bastard from Brasenose.

You tried to get rid of Esme as quietly as possible.

“Just let me do it on my own!” you hissed.

“I don’t trust you, not after last time!” She was pushing you towards the bookshelf Michael was browsing. You were digging your feet in.

“Please, just let me-”

“No,” Esme giggled, pushing you closer to the shelves. “You’ll either have an argument or not ask at all. I want to see this.”

Your hand gripped the wooden bookcase just as you arrived and blocked her from going any further. She pushed against you, trying to force you towards Michael.

“I’ll do it, Esme, just give me a second!”

“Just get on with it, for God’s sake!” she whispered with a shove.

“Ouch! You’re hurting me!”

“Can I help you?”

You both jolted. Michael was staring at you, his hands balled into fists at his side. He looked…nervous. Esme had clearly pushed you closer to him than you’d thought.

“No, er, sorry,” you took a step backwards only to be blocked by Esme.

“Oh,” Michael relaxed a little, a tight smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. “It’s you.”

You stared at him. “You don’t need to sound so offended by my presence.”

“You’re the one stumbling around the library hissing like a banshee.”

You were about to retort when Esme caught your arm warningly. You looked back at her with annoyance. She simply nodded at you and gestured to take a deep breath.

“Sorry, Michael,” you said. He flinched a little as you said his name, not that you noticed. Esme did. “Erm,”

“She has something she wants to ask you, Michael.”

“Ask me?”

Fucking hell, here goes. You tired to smile at him. He stared back blankly. Why did he make everything so bloody difficult?

“Yeah, um,” you stepped forward and leant against the bookshelf for support, to make it seem less formal. “Well, Esme is having an end of year party-”

“A dinner party,” Esme cut in.

“-and we wondered.”

“She wondered!”

“We wondered,” you said louder, drowning out your friend. “If you’d like to come? Maybe?”

Michael stared at you. His head jerked almost imperceptibly, as if it had suddenly fallen out with his neck, and he scoffed quietly. “Is this a joke?”

“What?” You and Esme said together.

“Are you taking the piss?”

“What? No-”

Michael placed the book he was reading back on the shelf and faced you both fully. “Get out of the way please, you’re blocking the exit.”

“Michael,” he stopped again when you said his name.

“Honestly, we’re not taking the piss.” Esme said kindly.

“We saw you come in, and Esme keeps reminding me what a bitch I was at the pub.” Never mind the fact that you were an absolute arsehole. “And we just thought, as a way to apologise, you might like to come to the party? Fresh start?”

“I don’t do parties.”

“It’s-a-cheese-and-wine-night-actually.” Esme said quickly.

“Right,” he continued staring at you. The longer he did it, the more you regretted asking. Fucking blink. He glanced quickly back at the shelves of books, and screwed his eyes tightly shut, as if working out something impossibly difficult. When he opened his eyes again, you weren’t sure whether he was going to scream or cry.

Then you realised he wasn’t looking at you. He was looking past you. With surprising force and speed, Michael pushed past the both of you.

“Oliver Quick.”

Esme looked at you with excitement. Without a word, you both hurried to the end of the bookcase. There he was. Oliver Quick, caught in a staring contest with Michael Gavey. Oliver glanced quickly at the two of you, eagerly poking your heads around the shelf to get the gossip.

Michael hadn’t noticed. “You look different.”

“Do I?” Oliver sounded bored and you wanted to smack him. What was it with the boys at Oxford? He turned away from you all, but Michael wasn’t done with him.

“He’ll get bored of you.” A pang of pity twisted your stomach. Esme had been right. Oliver’s abandonment at the pub had hurt Michael more than he let on.

Oliver stopped and turned around. “Excuse me?”

You glanced at Michael, waiting for his retaliation with bated breath. He said nothing.

“G’wan, Mikey,” Esme whispered.

Oliver walked away, but not before Michael could twist the dagger. “Bootlicker.” He enunciated every delicious, vicious syllable.

Oliver looked back again, only to cast an uncomfortable look at Michael and see Esme swearing at him behind Michael’s back. “For that Michael,” she clapped her hands. “You can be guest of honour!”

Notes: Short one this time but I’m getting back into writing by doing shorter chapters. SO excited to write the party.

Tags: @lexwolfhale* @theoneeyedprince @lovebittenbyevans @fan-goddess @ellrond @very-straight-blog @arcielee @tsujifreya @liv-cole @myfandomprompts @annoyingkittydetective* @elizarbell @solisarium @thekinslayersswordhand @nightdiamond8663* @slowlysparklyninja* @kate-to-the-ki @bellaisasleep @xxxkat3xxx @lacebvnny @moonriseoverkyoto @ewanmitchellcrumbs @moonlightfoxx @pendragora @aemonds-holy-milk @st-eve-barnes @sapphire-writes @babyblue711 @targaryenrealnessdarling @slytherincursebreaker @bottlesandbarricades @valeskafics @anjelicawrites @exitpursuedbyavulcan @barbieaemond @chattylurker @itbmojojoejo @humanpurposes @cyeco13 @heimtathurs @in-a-mountain-pool @aemondsfavouritebastard @marysucks-blog @rheaxes @xivilivix

*could not tag

[robertreich]

Why We Need to Ban College Legacy Admissions

Children of the super rich are more than twice as likely to get into America’s most elite universities as middle-class students with the exact same test scores. This fast-tracks them to become the next generation of CEOs and lawmakers, and helps keep wealth and power in the hands of people who started out wealthy and powerful.

A big reason rich kids have such an advantage is so-called “legacy admissions” — the preference elite schools give to family members of alumni.

The vast majority of Americans, across the political spectrum, think this is unfair. An astounding 68% of all voters support banning legacy admissions outright. This is the strongest bipartisan agreement I think I’ve ever seen on an issue that boils down to who gets special privileges in America.

Now I went  to an Ivy League school (Dartmouth), followed by Oxford, and Yale Law. I wasn’t rich. My father ran a clothing store.

That was a half-century ago — before inequalities of income and wealth exploded in America, before the middle class began shrinking, before the American oligarchy began corrupting American politics with a flood of big money donations. Today, it’s much harder for a middle-class kid to get the same opportunities that I had.

New research conducted at Harvard (ironically) looked at 16 years of admissions data from the Ivy League schools, plus Stanford, Duke, MIT, and the University of Chicago.

The research reveals that one in six students at these prestigious schools comes from the richest 1% of American families.  

Why are so many rich kids getting in? It’s not because they’re better students.

Children from the top 1% were 34% more likely to be admitted than middle-class students with the same SAT or ACT scores.

Those from the top ONE TENTH OF ONE PERCENT were more than twice as likely to get in.

Legacy admissions are one of the biggest reasons. Nearly 30% of Harvard’s Class of 2023 were legacies.

It's a vicious cycle that consolidates wealth and power in the hands of a few.

Less than 1% of Americans get into one of these top schools, but their graduates account for 12% of the Fortune 500 CEOs,  a quarter of all U.S. senators, and more than a third of all Americans with a net worth over $100 million.

And because these graduates are in the winner's circle, their children have every advantage in the world — even before they get legacy preferences into the same prestigious universities, which in turn hand them even more advantages.

You see how this entrenches an American aristocracy? Concentrated wealth at the top leads to even more and more wealth concentration with each new generation.

It also perpetuates racial discrimination. Since non-white students were barred from most colleges for much of America’s history, legacy students are by definition more likely to be white.

The Ivy League’s legacy policies were introduced during the Jim Crow era, with the specific intent of limiting the number of students of color and Jewish students who could be admitted.

To this day, about 70% of Harvard’s legacy admissions are white, which is why the U.S. Department of Education is now investigating Harvard for potential violation of civil rights.

And with the Supreme Court's ruling against affirmative action, this systemic racism is likely to get worse. The Court is pretending to make college admissions "race-blind," while preserving systems that advance wealthy white students over all others.

It’s time for the government to ban legacy admissions.

[catboybiologist]

Unprompted fucking rant time!

I'm getting my PhD after getting my BS and my Master's. I've gone through three separate rounds of university applications. And while I'm openly a bisexual trasfemme now, I've done every round of those applications as a cishet white boy. I've been rejected by a shitton of universities, and accepted by a fraction of that. My current institution is an R1 for my field- basically meaning it's in the highest tier of research funding and therefore research prestige/output- but it's very far from a household name the way Harvard or Stanford is. My undergrad institution was the cheapest local four year college that I was guaranteed admission to because my high school grades were piss poor due to an array of mental health problems.

So from that perspective.... Race and ethnicity demographics should 100% be used as a factor in determining admissions to help increase diversity. There's many reasons to think this, but there's two that underline a lot of my thinking on the matter.

Number one is kind of obvious, but what isn't obvious is how blatant it is. The top tier of universities has blatantly favored white people for generations, oftentimes explicitly. And oftentimes, they still do! Having relatives working at a particular university, or being alumni from a university, is literally part of the application materials for many of these universities. During my Harvard grad school apps, they literally had a pop-up window that asked me to check off any wealthy families I was a part of from a list of donor and alumni last names. It was so fucking blatant that I bust out laughing. Spoiler alert, I didn't get in. You cannot look at me with a straight face and tell me that these universities should be allowed to openly and blatantly give admission priority to rich, white, dynastic American families, while not affording any concession for overcoming the shittiness of being born into a persecuted group.

Number two is the thing that most people realize, but I don't think has really sunk in on a societal level. A massive factor in admissions is blind, dumb luck, and I'm not joking. When admissions tells you they received more qualified applicants than they could admit, it's 100% true. Many applications end up in a stage where they just have to randomly reject people to keep numbers down- or even if it's not completely random, they have to grasp for straws into an enormous amount of intangible factors that have nothing to do with someone's actual qualifications. So if you're down to that level of grasping at straws.... Why not use it as an opportunity to increase diversity? Because as it stands, you're not getting rejected because you're white- you're getting rejected because your high school didn't have a fucking sailing team. Remember that Stanford admissions scandal a while back?

There's a number two and a half that is an observation I've had about life in general here: one of my deepest held beliefs after going through a good portion of my early career is that everyone is overqualified for the opportunities they've been given. If your education system is genuinely functional, you'll be able to take people from an amazing diversity of backgrounds, and y'know... Educate them. If these universities lowered their admissions standards a shitton, and randomly pulled from the new pool of "less qualified" people, and they put them in an environment with access to the same resources as before... They would succeed.

There's a whole other rant embedded here about how elite-tier university education actually sucks, and all they do is filter for people who already have massive educational resources of their own. University prestige is mostly a lie, except in terms of how much grant funding you can get. But if you gave that level of funding to a state college tomorrow? They'd still do great things with it. But that's a side thought.

There's ALSO the side rant about why marginalized groups are important in science overall for perspectives on how science interacts with society, but that's also a whole other rant.

There's one thing I will say against this: sometimes, it's too late. For grad school and a little bit for undergrad admissions, an enormous amount of unpaid labor and study is required to even be eligible for the application itself. Required undergrad research hours are often unpaid. My undergrad research advisor paid her student labor when she wasn't required to, and surprise surprise, she has one if the most diverse and successful labs on that campus. Beyond just undergrad research, this goes waaayyyy back to the schooling and tutoring opportunities that people from higher socioeconomic backgrounds have access to from day one... But that's also a larger side rant. Point is, race based admissions are valid and necessary now, but they're a temporary bandage on the bleeding wound that is education discrepancy.

This was kinda random, but this got kick-started by an IRL discussion with a couple of friends and I just needed to vent my whole perspective here. Idk if the community of voyeuristic transfemmes I've mostly accumulated here will care, but it's nice to just type these things sometimes lol

[gogreenordie]

This Started Out About College Applications but Turned Into A Rant About Top 20 Universities like the Ivies and Classism; I'm Sorry

I have beef with the way college applications are done right now. You're telling me that I have to send you my standardized test scores (for a test that was taken during a global pandemic), PAY for those to be sent to you (even though this is being done online and could be done through email for free), write multiple essays, pay YOU [the university] to send you my application, all for me to either:

a) be rejected and waste money from application/score send fees and time I spent writing essays for you

or

b) be accepted and pay you another 100 grand, which I cannot afford, and which you will not help me with, all for an education that I could get online for free, but which would be useless without a degree since our society puts more merit into the actual paper* and proof of "good education" than the actual education??

*AND THIS INCLUDES HOW PISSED I AM THAT IVY LEAGUE DEGREES OR DEGREES FROM A TOP 10 SCHOOL HELP YOU GET A JOB MORE THAN NON-IVIES. For the record, the whole "omfg an ivy is the best" is rooted in classism. Just because a person went to an ivy league school doesn't mean they are smarter!! Just because a person could afford to pay for that sort of education does not mean they are superior to someone who could not afford it and therefore did not go to that sort of college.

And just so I am not misconstrued on here bc Ik y'all LOVEEEE to do that: I am not saying that Ivy League schools are bad schools. They have incredible programs and leading experts/world-class professors teaching, along with a plethora of resources that other schools do not, which does give an Ivy League student an "edge" in their education that other college students may not have.

BUT I would like to point out how SHITTY IT IS that legacy-students or people who can afford 80, 000 a year tuition are given that edge through an Ivy League education. An education that other students (namely those of a lower socioeconomic class) cannot access because of their class status which just perpetuates poverty cycles. So, yes, Ivy League students may have an "edge," but this is only because they had the family (legacy status) or the money that they can access those resources. An Ivy League education does not mean that one is "smarter" than those who do not have it. They are most likely just richer.

And before you all say "what about financial aid?? what about need-blind admission policies?? people of lower socioeconomic status should access education through that!!"

First of all, did you know that you are LESS LIKELY to be accepted to a university (this includes all the T20 schools, UChicago, NYU, the Ivies, all those) if you indicate that your family requires financial assistance? Need-blind is a joke.

According to a study done by Opportunity Insights, a group of economists at Harvard (yes, they can recognize their place in a system and still perpetuate it), Ivy-Leagues "favor the children of the ultra-wealthy," AND "the study also shows that academically high-performing students from middle-income families are among the least likely to gain admission to one these elite colleges."

About 40% of students from the wealthiest families who scored at the 99th percentile on the SAT or ACT class attend an Ivy-plus college, according to that study. If you score 99th percentile as a student from the poorest families in the United States, that number is cut in HALF at 20%.

"So are you saying that the wealthy student shouldn't be given admission?? Their scores are in the 99th percentile???" Not what I am saying. I'm pointing out that students from the poorest families are less likely to gain admission simply because they are poor. You want to know what I'm saying?? Colleges should also be admitting those students who scored high who are from the working class. I'm saying colleges should not let wealth dictate admission.

Combine that with the recent court-case where top 20 colleges ADMITTED that they were trying to pay the least bit possible for students of lower socioeconomic class?? The court-case where colleges settled, bc it was revealed that top 20s are less likely to admit students who required financial aid?? Where at least 17 UNIVERSITIES used a shared methodology to find financial need in a way that "reduces institutional dollars to students from working- and middle-class families." (my emphasis). Where at least 17 universities "consider students’ ability to pay and favor the wealthy."

No wonder these schools are chock full of classism. These schools are more concerned with making a profit then the worldview of their students, and the kids they are admitting are in a rich kid bubble. You want to talk about why the United States--whose government are mostly made out of people who went to Top 20 schools-- is so awful to its lower classes and homeless population? This is why. The people who are eventually going to be leaders in government and business have NO IDEA what it is like to be a person in that situation, and they have never interacted with a person in that situation.

We have to change the system. Let me repeat this for you guys: WE HAVE TO CHANGE THE SYSTEM.

And one final thing: This is not attacking anyone who went to an Ivy League!! You went to Yale, congratulations. I am simply pointing out stuff, ok? nobody is blaming you for a broken institution.

You guys can disagree w/ me, and you can even put it in comments here, I welcome discussion, and I actually WANT this post to start discussion, but pls don't call me like a dumb bitch or wtv in the comments.

I cannot reiterate this enough, pls do not doxx me or bully me or wtv. I am literally just a girl. With college admission season and everything, I will have a breakdown if somebody even calls me a mean name.

Citations for quotes:

University of Chicago agrees to $13.5M settlement in financial aid case - The Washington Post

Ivy colleges favor rich kids for admission, while middle-class students face obstacles, study finds - CBS News

[trashcanwithsprinkles]

Oop I seem to have started Conversations- xD

I wanted to add on a comment on declaring BitA my favourite, and it's the admission that I don't read Apocalypse AUs?

Like. Ever?

Or, well, I do *now*, since it does count, but I picked up BitA because of the lil bit that the Apocalypse was just the setting, it's a found fam speed run, and I have no regrets ^w^

(It also has probably my favorite Childe but that's because I'm a chili kinda guy and also very weak for 100% human non-powered competence Childe in AUs and BitA is just. Perfection on that front. Its a close call though- you generally write really good Childe)

actually you are so valid for that, for as much as i love apocalypse stories sometimes i'm like "how gritty / dark / edgy is the author going to make it...?" and simply turn away if it's too much. i feel like i do kinda prefer apocalypse as a setting and not the whole plot, hence babysitting being a found family speedrun instead hahaha

on the chili/zhongchi note, you reminded me of like- something very interesting i've noticed as i continue to stack up wips for those two,, i did mention earlier that sometimes in aus you have to choose whether to completely adhere to canon characterization and somehow find a way to explain it / integrate that within the au (which is sometimes easy), or choose to go for circumstancial character fidelity and stray slightly into ooc territory so the au makes sense (in cases where aus are far removed from canonverse and so, logically, if the characters didn't live through the exact same circumstances, then they wouldn't behave exactly the same).

so while writing those idiots i've come to notice that, in more canonverse-aligned stories or straight up just canonverse, i lean more towards zhongchi; whereas in non-canonverse aligned stories or, in this case, only babysitting since it's essentially a modern universe au (fully, since both are from the same time period, cyanide doesn't count on that front) i tend to lean more towards tartali/chili. even then i generally consider that like- the differences are subtle enough? where you could read it as both? that might just be me, it might just be the fact that i'd argue there's no actual top/bottom dynamic going on since there's no sexy times in any of my fics. but the point is- i think the one who changes the most is zhongli, because if you take off 6000+ years of experience and a whole ass war from his shoulders, no matter how inventive you make his backstory in a fantasyless modern au, you'll struggle to reach the necesary baggage in order to justify making him behave exactly like canonverse zhongli. and when you get a more humnan-like zhongli, and childe can stay mostly the same (he's so much easier to adapt to modern aus), and you keep them at a relatively similar age (you can kinda justify making zhongli more canon aligned if you give him several years over childe, but i'm not that much of a fan of writing the kind of age gap i feel you'd need for that? still, always an option), then you somehow end up tipping the dynamic out of zhongchi terrritory and into tartali/chili, which i find very funny and kinda interesting to think about. like if you put them on a relatively even playing field of life experience, childe definitely ends up being the more forward one of the two, hence it reads more like chili than zhongchi. of course this all mostly has to do with the way i personally write them, but still. afraid you'll only get more noticeably chili-aligned stories from me again if i end up writing another story with a fully human zhongli hahah

[oswinsdolma]

i've been reading a bunch of modern aus lately, and i've noticed that quite a lot are a bit uncertain about how the british education system works. it's not a problem by any means, but for anyone who wants it, here is a brief explanation:

we don't say "grades", we say "years", e.g. 7th grade would be year 7. we also don't say things like freshman/sophomore/senior etc. it's just the numbers.

however, some primary schools split into infants and juniors, infants being from yR-2 and juniors being y3-6

we also have a national curriculum all throughout compulsory education, which means everyone studies the same thing, more or less. there are discrepancies at GCSE/A-level with different exam boards, but in general, most people take either the same, or very similar exams, and are taught the same skills.

you start primary school when you are four or five in year R, and continue through primary school from years 1-6.

at the end of year six, you take the SATS, which are a really insubstantial national standardised test for english, maths and spag

it is also optional to take an exam called the 11+ at the end of y6. if you pass, you can go to grammar school. these can be state or private, and are basically redundant nowadays, and just used so parents can say that their child passed the 11+ and got into the Smart School. These are usually single gender and low-key cult like, but otherwise, are exactly the same as normal state "comprehensive" schools.

secondary school is from y7-11. at the end of y11, everyone takes the GCSEs (General Certificate of Secondary Education). you have to do english, maths and sciences, plus several other subjects. most people have between 7-13 GCSEs, and if you fail english language or maths, you have to retake until you pass, even into college.

GCSEs are graded on a scale of 9-1, 9 being an equivalent to A** and is the top 1% of the students who got 7+, and 1 being an F/U. the pass mark is a 4.

the grades you get in your GCSEs are kind of irrelevant, except they determine which subjects you can take for A-level.

After secondary school, you have to stay in full time education for another two years (allegedly, though ik a few people who dropped out), and most people do A-levels (Advanced Level Exams). Instead of doing loads of subjects like at GCSE, you pick 3-4 and study them for two years. these are a LOT HARDER than GCSEs.

if you do four a levels, you're kind of a try hard. honestly, if you do it, good for you, but as a cultural thing, so many people who did four a levels were the most insufferable people who only did it to gloat, and then couldn't handle the workload.

oh, also this entire system is pretty much 100% exam based. for 2/3 of my a levels, i had a coursework essay that was pre graded, but it was only worth 20% of my final grade, and those were rare occurrences. at GCSE, unless you do art or something like that, everything is exam based.

A-levels are graded on a scale of A*-E, and then a U if you literally get nothing. which happens more often than you might think.

this is the bit that i see a lot of people get confused about. in the UK, we don't call university "college". college, to us, is where you take your a levels. if it's an independent institution, it's a "college/further education centre". if it's attached to a secondary school, it's called a "sixth form" (because y12 was year six of senior school in the old system).

i'm sorry i'm trying to be as clear as i can but our education system is complex af

your A-level grades determine where you can apply to uni, which you HAVE to do through a system called UCAS.

UCAS (the university and colleges admissions service) is a national system where you put in all your details required to apply for uni. you start it in the june of y12 and send it in by January** IN MOST CASES

to apply for uni, you need to list all your qualifications/details, predicted grades, personal statement essay and teacher references. this all gets submitted by your school.

HOWEVER. if you are applying to medicine, vet, dentistry, oxford or cambridge, the deadline is in october, and you have to submit written work, do multiple assessments and do rounds of interviews in addition to everything else (would not recommend).

you can also apply to conservatoire for music/drama schools, which tend to have their own deadlines and systems because they're not technically universities

okay nearly at the end

the closest thing we have to an Ivy League is the Russell Group, but it's not as prestigious. Russell Group unis tend to be higher ranked, offer niche courses and demand high grade requirements.

Oxford and Cambridge are not normal universities. i CANNOT stress this enough. you apply through ucas, but the courses themselves are unique and highly competitive (the one i applied for had like 10 spaces)(i got rejected lmao). also they are arranged in colleges within the uni, so it's like a collection of tiny unis linked by a larger institution. colleges are not subject specific and most of them have weird cults. if you're writing oxbridge students, google it, not just for accuracy, but because it's absolutely hilarious.

interviews are also more like interrogations. i was reduced to tears on several occasions, and you also have to swear not to reveal the questions you were asked (everyone does it anyway but STILL IT'S WEIRD). for example, one of my interviews, i was given a poem about feet and asked to analyse it on the spot over a blurry zoom screen. they don't ask you about yourself. they don't ask you about school. they just quickfire questions at you for forty minutes and roll their eyes when you take more than a few seconds to answer.

we also don't have majors/minors. you choose one subject that you apply for specifically, and spend 3-7 years studying that subject pretty much exclusively. the only deviations from this might be if you were taking archaeology and took an art history class or something — everything is really closely related.

we can also drink at 18. not that an age limit has ever stopped anyone in the uk from getting drunk. getting pissed in a field is a major pastime for anyone from the ages of 12-28. it's a problem.

instead of having dorms at uni, most people live in flats. there will be like ten people on a corridor with a shared kitchen. you only live in university housing for your first year, unless you are at oxbridge, in which case i think it's mandatory to live in your college for your whole course.

community college and private universities aren't a thing either. when you apply to uni, you apply to student finance (unless your parents are absolutely LOADED and pay for you) and get a loan for your tuition, and also a maintenance loan based on your household income, which is used to pay for rent, food, etc. you cannot be exempt from financial aid but a lot of people do not receive enough, particularly in recent years when the cost of living in the uk has gone up so much.

university is roughly £9-10k per year (depending on where you study) which is a Lot. but why are people in the US paying hundreds of thousands of dollars, are you guys okay???

also, if you're scottish, university in scotland is free. they also have a standard four year systm rather than the three year system in england and wales (idk about ni i didn't apply there). why?? because the english government is absolute shite and they got rid of the state university programme for england (blame the tories)

don't do your research on the student room. just don't. for your own sake.

and a couple more cultural things before we leave off

we all wear uniform until we get to year twelve. everyone. even the four year olds.

Nottingham Trent university is just the butt of so many jokes and I really don't understand why (they're not even the lowest in the league table 😭😭)

Durham is full of Oxbridge rejects who are in denial about it, and is also the butt of a lot of jokes

everything i have mentioned so far is about STATE education. private education runs on different tracks: you have prep schools, which run from yR-8, and senior schools that run from y9-11, and most of them have attached sixth forms. there is a massive cultural and economic divide between state and private school kids, because they get so much more help applying for uni, and also there is so much nepotism in our government. like. politicians wear their old school ties in parliament so they know who to give favours to. it's AWFUL.

some private schools are so fancy they loop back around and are known as "public schools". they're schools like Eton, Harrow, Winchester, Marlborough, etc. really old institutions that basically guarantee you a place at oxbridge because of family legacy (though this has got a lot better over the last decade or so)(but they still have an unfair advantage).

a lot of compulsory education schools are really religious because education in the uk used to be run basically by the church, and the church still own a lot of schools. universities though, even the ones with roots in the church, are atheistic, their religious links symbolic or supplementary to their main purpose.

okay that ended up being way longer than i thought, but i hope someone finds this useful when writing, or at least interesting.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

June 29, 2023

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

JUN 30, 2023

Today the Supreme Court handed down a decision in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc., v. President and Fellows of Harvard College. Students for Fair Admissions is an organization designed to fight against affirmative action in college admissions, and today it achieved its goal: the Supreme Court decided that policies at Harvard and the University of North Carolina that consider race as a factor in admissions are unconstitutional because they violate the guarantee of equal protection before the law, established by the Fourteenth Amendment. 

The deciding votes were 6 to 2 in the case of Harvard—Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson recused herself because she had been a member of Harvard’s board of overseers—and 6 to 3 in the case of the University of North Carolina. 

In the case of the two schools at the center of this Supreme Court decision, admissions officers initially evaluated students on a number of categories. Harvard used six: academic, extracurricular, athletic, school support, personal, and overall. Then, after the officers identified an initial pool of applicants who were all qualified for admission, they cut down the list to a final class. At Harvard, those on the list to be cut were evaluated on four criteria: legacy status, recruited athlete status, financial aid eligibility, and race. Today, the Supreme Court ruled that considering race as a factor in that categorical fashion is unconstitutional. 

The court did not rule that race could not be considered at all. In the majority decision, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that “nothing in this opinion should be construed as prohibiting universities from considering an applicant’s discussion of how race affected his or her life, be it through discrimination, inspiration, or otherwise.”

How much this will matter for colleges and universities is unclear. Journalist James Fallows pointed out that there are between 3,500 and 5,500 colleges in the U.S. and all but 100 of them admit more than 50% of the students who apply. Only about 70 admit fewer than a third of all applicants. That is, according to a study by the Pew Research Center, “the great majority of schools, where most Americans get their postsecondary education, admit most of the people who apply to them.” 

The changing demographics of the country are also changing student populations. As an example, in 2022, more than 33% of the students at the University of Texas at Austin, which automatically admits any Texas high school student in the top 6% of their class, were from historically underrepresented populations. And universities that value diversity may continue to try to create a diverse student body.

But in the past, when schools have eliminated affirmative action, Black student numbers have dropped off, both because of changes in admission policies and because Black students have felt unwelcome in those schools. This matters to the larger pattern of American society. As Black and Brown students are cut off from elite universities, they are also cut off from the pipeline to elite graduate schools and jobs. 

More is at stake in this case than affirmative action in university admissions. The decision involves the central question of whether the law is colorblind or whether it can be used to fix long-standing racial inequality. Does the Fourteenth Amendment, ratified in 1868 to enable the federal government to overrule state laws that discriminated against Black Americans, allow the courts to enforce measures to address historic discrimination? 

Those joining the majority in the decision say no. They insist that the framers of the Fourteenth Amendment after the Civil War intended only that it would make men of all races equal before the law, and that considering race in college admissions undermines that principle by using race in a negative manner, involving racial stereotyping (by considering race by category), and lacking an endpoint. “Many universities have for too long wrongly concluded that the touchstone of an individual’s identity is not challenges bested, skills built, or lessons learned, but the color of their skin. This Nation’s constitutional history does not tolerate that choice,” the majority opinion reads. 

In a concurring opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that affirmative action actually made racial tensions worse because it “highlights our racial differences with pernicious effect,” prolonging “the asserted need for racial discrimination.” He wrote: “under our Constitution, race is irrelevant.” “The great failure of this country was slavery and its progeny,” Thomas wrote. “And, the tragic failure of this Court was its misinterpretation of the Reconstruction Amendments.” 

Those justices who dissented—Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson—pointed to the profound racial discrimination that continued after the Civil War and insist that the law has the power to address that discrimination in order to achieve the equality promised by the Fourteenth Amendment. “The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment enshrines a guarantee of racial equality,” Sotomayor’s opinion begins. “The Court long ago concluded that this guarantee can be enforced through race-conscious means in a society that is not, and has never been, colorblind.” 

In her concurring opinion concerning the UNC case, Jackson noted that “[g]ulf-sized race-based gaps exist with respect to the health, wealth, and well-being of American citizens. They were created in the distant past, but have indisputably been passed down to the present day through the generations. Every moment these gaps persist is a moment in which this great country falls short of actualizing one of its foundational principles—the ‘self-evident’ truth that all of us are created equal.” 

If this fight sounds political, it should. It mirrors the current political climate in which right-wing activists reject the idea of systemic racism that the U.S. has acknowledged and addressed in the law since the 1950s. They do not believe that the Fourteenth Amendment supports the civil rights legislation that tries to guarantee equality for historically marginalized populations, and in today’s decision the current right-wing majority on the court demonstrated that it is willing to push that political agenda at the expense of settled law. As recently as 2016, the court reaffirmed that affirmative action, used since the 1960s, is constitutional. Today’s court just threw that out.  

The split in the court focused on history, and the participants’ anger was palpable and personal. Thomas claimed that “[a]s [Jackson] sees things, we are all inexorably trapped in a fundamentally racist society, with the original sin of slavery and the historical subjugation of black Americans still determining our lives today.” Her solution, he writes, “is to unquestioningly accede to the view of elite experts and reallocate society’s riches by racial means as necessary to ‘level the playing field,’ all as judged by racial metrics…. I strongly disagree.” 

Jackson responded that “Justice Thomas’s prolonged attack…responds to a dissent I did not write in order to assail an admissions program that is not the one UNC has crafted.” 

She noted that Black Americans had always simply wanted the same right to take care of themselves that white Americans had enjoyed, but it had been denied them. She recounted the nation’s long history of racial discrimination and excoriated the majority for pretending it didn’t exist. “With let-them-eat-cake obliviousness, today, the majority pulls the ripcord and announces ‘colorblindness for all’ by legal fiat. But deeming race irrelevant in law does not make it so in life. And having so detached itself from this country’s actual past and present experiences, the Court has now been lured into interfering with the crucial work that UNC and other institutions of higher learning are doing to solve America’s real-world problems.”

“Today, the Supreme Court upended decades of precedent that enabled America’s colleges and universities to build vibrant diverse environments where students are prepared to lead and learn from one another,” the Biden administration said in a statement, warning that “the Court’s decision threatens to move the country backwards.” In a speech to reporters, Biden called for new standards that take into consideration the adversity—including poverty—a student has overcome when selecting among qualified candidates, a system that would work “for everyone… from Appalachia to Atlanta and far beyond.”

“While the Court can render a decision, it cannot change what America stands for.”

—

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[fazalkhan2914]

Crafting Careers: Expert Career Counseling for 2024 from Dr. Anil Khare in UAE Benefit from expert advice and proven strategies designed to enhance your career prospects and maximize your potential for success. From resume writing tips to interview preparation techniques and networking strategies, I’ll share actionable insights to empower you at every stage of your career journey. https://www.anilkhare.com/blog/crafting-careers-expert-career-counseling-for-2024-from-dr-anil-khare-in-uae/

[1016anon]

Title: Four Tulips Author: 1016anon Fandom: Bridgerton Pairings: Anthony Bridgerton/Kate Sharma, Thomas Dorset/Kate Sharma Summary: Anthony is a strategic mastermind.

A/N - Not proofread. Yes, this will have a Home Evacuation Alert, don't worry. It's fluffy. Anthony's just being an idiot, as usual.

-2-

It was the plan to end all plans.

Anthony congratulated himself on his tactical genius. He even devised a clever name: Operation Doorstop.

Let the record show that Anthony had, over the years, made a sincere effort to befriend Kate. It was not his fault that she had rejected each and every olive branch.

He had realized sophomore year of high school that it was juvenile for him and Kate to be sworn rivals. They were no longer freshmen, wide-eyed and innocent of the ways of the larger world. They were sophisticated, jaded citizens in possession of driver's permits which allowed them to operate two ton machinery capable of going 120 miles per hour carrying four to seven life forms. Surely they were mature enough to let bygones be bygones and agree that Anthony was the better debater.

Alas, it was not to be. For whatever reason, Kate took exception to this and a rivalry which had been confined to debate team (and any class they shared where debate was possible) soon spread like mushroom spores to every part of their lives. And unlike a ring of toadstools, it was not a magical experience.

Now nearing the end of his junior year, it was imperative (for reasons of university applications, but mostly pride) that he become captain of the debate team. Why they could not be co-captains was obvious: in any contest between Kate and Anthony, there had to be a winner. There was none of the wishy-washy "everyone is a winner" bullshit. Besides, high school was preparing them to be Adults In The Real World, where one did not become co-president, or share gold medals at the podium.

Someone always had to be at the top.

In other words, Anthony had to beat Kate.  But they were deadlocked in an arms race, too evenly matched.  Anthony somehow had to gain an edge; and what better way to gain such an edge by using psychological warfare and spy games to divert Kate's attention?

This was the lesson Anthony took away from the Cold War. (Proving he had missed the entire point of that particular history lesson, but moving on.)

Anthony had no choice. He had to use the nuclear option. The circumstances were dire enough to justify the decision.

Adults knew that teenagers were soggy croutons in the French onion soup of gonads and prefrontal cortex development.

But teenagers--

Teenagers thought they were noodles in the broth of love.

Anthony, as a wise, worldly junior in high school who used aftershave and owned more than two suits, understood the finer points of teenage psychology.  The best distraction-- the way to victory and becoming captain of the debate team and putting it officially on his college applications-- was to get Kate a boyfriend.

She wasn't going to suddenly change extracurricular activities.  They had practically all the same classes; she wouldn't have a sudden influx of homework.  No-- the way to reduce the amount of time Kate had to prepare for the debate which would determine the course of Anthony's future by demonstrating to college admissions officers that he was a well rounded student with proven leadership skills (and hopefully led their team to victory next year) was to distract her with a boyfriend.

And as it happened, Anthony had, over the profound eternity of five teenage years, gathered all kinds of useless trivia about Kate that could only be gotten between sworn rivals.

Did anyone else care about which three questions Kate got wrong on the biology final their freshman year? No. But Anthony cared knew and remembered.

Did anyone else know by how many seconds Kate beat the school record at 100 meter hurdles? Yes, and his name was Simon, but he didn't count.

Did anyone else understand why Kate had a My Little Pony keychain? Fine, a few people, but did they know why it was Fluttershy? (It was an inside joke with her stepmom, Mary.)

All of this useless trivia, however, turned out to have a very good use. It was all valuable intelligence; these key details allowed Anthony to create an astoundingly good profile of the unsub named Kate Sharma. (No, he did not consider himself to be Hotch-- just because they had dark hair and Anthony had delusions of being in charge of everything didn't mean they were similar, Ben. Anthony fancied himself more of a Reid, i.e. a genius.)

Over the years, the unsub had demonstrated a preference for dark haired individuals-- male, female, trans, and non-binary-- who had a "sense of humor." (Anthony scoffed; everyone thought they had a "sense of humor," and everyone thought they wanted to date a person with a "sense of humor." Colin had an excellent sense of humor. Colin also had less sense than natural selection gave to a guppy.)

Back to the matter at hand, the unsub Kate Sharma's relationships did not last for more than a month, fizzling out for reasons unknown. (Siena refrained from pointing out to Kate that it was because she spent every single day after school with Anthony. At debate club.) She remained on friendly terms with all her exes and did not like getting coffee for a first date.

How did Anthony know this? Because they'd been working late and needed coffee. They went to the local coffee shop full of chintzy fat sofas and plaid wingback chairs (what garage sale from hell they came from, Anthony did not want to know); Kate complained that her dates always brought her here. She grumbled that the shop served mediocre masala chai and was covered in grad school students wearing noise cancelling headphones working studiously on their laptops watching Maru stuffing his adorable head into yet another box.

Anthony took exception to this. There was nothing wrong with watching Maru stuff his head into yet another box. Kate conceded that cats in boxes were cute, but there was nothing better than watching a row of guinea pigs waiting patiently in line for dinner and bouncing off with a carrot three times the size of their body.

The unsub Kate did not like to watch videos of corgis, despite having a corgi named Newton at home. So named because an apple had fallen on his head as a puppy; that day, Newton took a solemn vow to destroy all apples and its derivatives. He'd gone crazy when Edwina brought home apple blossom lotion, barking at Edwina with a look of determination on his face, as though was going to rescue her from the body-snatching apples.

Consequently, the unsub Kate loved apple pie a la mode simply because she could not have it at home. She admitted that she probably wouldn't care much for it otherwise, but if she ordered apple pie for dessert, Appa had to also let her drink a whole cup of coffee to cover the smell. Given that the first time she had apple pie was when she was eight, Anthony felt this explained a lot about her.

No, she did not drink coffee at eight years of age. At eight years of age, she got a second dessert if she ordered apple pie.

"So what you're saying is that you don't actually like apple pie, you like all the benefits that come with it."

"Mm hmm," she agreed, crumbs of pie crust on her lips. "So, what are you going to buy me?"

"What? Nothing! Get something for yourself!"

"You were the one who offered by buy dessert. Now you have to face the consequences."

"Newton can herd sheep for all I care, I'm not getting you anything else."

"Worth a try," she shrugged. "Are you going to have the rest of that?"

"Stay away from my cheesecake, Sharma. I'm warning you."

Right, so the point was that Anthony weaponized all this knowledge for Operation Doorstop.

First, he chose a suitable target.

Siena: "You want me to date my best friend. So that you can be captain of the debate team."

"No," (yes), "I just think you'd be good together."

Anthony made the mistake of opening his spiral bound three-subject notebook.

"Let me see that--"

"Wait, Siena, don't--"

"Oh my god-- is this a list?"

"It's not what it looks like--"

"Candidates must be: tolerable, dutiful, suitable enough lips for French kissing, and at least half a brain, preferably with a sense of humor. You have a suggested list of first dates?!"

"Give that back to me," he snatched it out of her hands.

"Ant, what the hell?"

"She has a type," he grumbled.

"You are insane. Why can't you be co-captains?"

"Because!"

"Oh my god, that's exactly what Kate said too."

"Wait, you've talked about debate team with Kate?"

"Nope, no, I'm not getting in the middle of this. This is between the two of you."

"So... is that a no?"

Siena just stared at him like he was an imbecile and walked away.

"Right," Anthony crossed her name off the list.

--

Operation Doorstop had come to something of a standstill.

He arranged interview with all the potential candidates and they fell short.

One didn't know about the Peloponnesian War; another didn't understand the sociological and economic importance of shifting fiscal responsibility of the household to women. Another couldn't name the composer of a classical harp piece; still another didn't know that the Rite of Spring was a dance, not the soundtrack to the animated dinosaur battle in Disney's Fantasia.

Anthony almost considered giving up on Operation Doorstop-- he was devoting too much time and energy to it and not enough time to arguing with Kate.

Then: a miracle.

Thomas Dorset.

Dorset was the answer to all of Anthony's problems. Once Kate and Dorset started dating, she wouldn't have time to prepare for the all important debate which would determine who became team captain. Anthony's plan wasn't malicious-- she would have a consolation prize, after all. Dorset was a good guy. He checked all the boxes. Anthony wondered why he hadn't thought of Dorset in the first place.

Now all he had to do was set them up on a date and he'd be captain of the debate team.

Win, win, win, for all parties involved.

--

"What do you think of Tom?"

"Tom?" she frowned. "Tom who?"

"Dorset."

"We're friends. I had world history with him last year, why?"

"Nothing, no reason."

Kate narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing him.

"Did he say something?"

"Who?" Anthony asked.

"Tom."

"No. I just wondered if you knew him."

"You asked me what I think of him, not whether I knew him," she replied. "I don't think he'll do well on the debate team."

"Why do you say that?"

"I mean, he's smart and knows what he's talking about, but he doesn't really enjoy confrontation. He rarely participated in debates last year in history."

"But you think he's smart."

"Yes? What is this really about, Anthony."

"Nothing. I just wondered," he paused. "Would you date him?"

Kate looked like she had no idea how to answer that question.

Anthony shrugged.

"You think he's smart, I mean. He sounds like your type."

"Why are we talking about my dating life? Wait-- do you keep track of my dating life?"

"Of course I don't. It's just been a while since you told me about one of your conquests--"

"They're not conquests, I've told you a million times--"

"And the dance is coming up--"

"That's in two months."

"Hazards of growing up with Daph."

"Oh, I meant to ask," Kate grinned sweetly, never a good sign. "Has Simon asked her out yet?"

"WHAT?!"

"Daphne and Simon. It's obvious to everyone they like each other."

"She's a freshman! He's a junior!"

"He's a good guy."

"She's my little sister!"

"So? He's your best friend."

"Exactly!"

"I can't believe you," Kate rolled her eyes. "You'd better not warn him off her."

"He's known her since she was nine!"

"They're sweet. Anthony, there's no harm in it--"

"Oh, and I suppose you'd be fine with Eddie dating me."

Kate made a face.

"That's different-- you and I aren't friends."

Something in Anthony's heart fell when she said that. It must have shown on his face because she hurriedly said,

"I meant-- we're rivals. Frenemies."

Anthony smiled wryly.

"And frenemies don't let younger siblings date frenemies."

"Yes," she nodded emphatically. "See? You get me."

"I don't think I do."

Then, Anthony had a brilliant idea.

"I won't say a word about Simon and Daph--"

"Good"

"If you go on a date with Tom."

"What? Why would I-- I don't even like him like that!"

"You're asking me to do something uncomfortable, I only think it's fair I ask the same."

"Did he put you up to this?"

"No."

"Are you and Ben betting on me again?"

"I have never bet on you in anything. It's your friends-- Siena, Gen, and Marina."

"As though George and Desmond aren't the same. And your brothers."

"This is not a bet. I promise you."

"Then what is, Anthony?"

"I don't know," he shrugged. "He's looks at you sometimes."

"You look at me. You stare at me."

"Frenemies," he smiled.

"Ugh. So if I say yes, you promise you won't make a big deal about Simon and Daph."

"I give you my word."

"Ugh."

"And you won't have to listen to Eddie complain about Daph interrupting her time with El."

"Don't remind me," Kate shuddered. "I'm scarred for life."

"You're scarred? How do you think I feel?"

"I'm fairly certain El didn't subject you to a play by play description of--"

"I can't hear you," Anthony said, covering his ears.

She flipped him off.

"So?" he asked.

"So what?"

"You know."

"Fine. One date. But he's never going to ask me."

--

"Whatever you do, don't take her to the corner coffee shop, she hates it there."

"Okay," Dorset looked at him, amused.

"And if she asks for a second dessert after apple pie, always get it for her. And she will order apple pie, I guarantee you."

"Ant, are you sure you don't want to date her?"

"What? Me? Of course not," Anthony said, as though the very notion was ridiculous. "She hates me. We're rivals. Frenemies."

"I don't think spending every afternoon in each other's company is considered hatred."

"It's because we're arguing," he said, dismissive. "She like tulips, but I guess they're out of season."

"Look, Ant, Kate and I are good friends and I like her, but I don't think she returns the feeling."

"She hasn't had a chance to get to you know you."

"Because... she spends all her time with you."

"Look, just ask her. She might say yes."

"I'd rather not have my ego crushed."

"Jack was stupid. And he's not her type."

Dorset's eyebrows, which were already quite high, seemed to be making a bid for an Olympic record.

"You and Kate have a lot in common, I promise you. She goes to India very other summer to visit her family."

"What do you get out of all this?"

"Pardon?"

"You're trying to set me up with your frenemy, Ant, so I wondered what you get out of all this."

"Oh. Well, I can't be nice once in a while?"

Tom laughed.

"Does it matter what I get out of it? You'll be happy, she'll be happy, I'll be happy. We'll all be happy, the reason doesn't really matter."

"I think the reason you'll be happy will matter a lot," Tom shook his head, smiling. "But this is clearly about Kate and she's more than capable of handling you."

"Your vote of confidence is much appreciated."

"If things go wrong, I'm placing the blame firmly on you."

"Absolutely."

"And you're certain you don't want to date her?"

"One hundred percent."

"All right. What have I got to lose?"

"See? You get me."

--

"So."

"So what?"

"You're smiling. I see my plan is working."

"He told me you coached him on everything."

"I wanted to give him a fighting chance. So? It went well?"

Kate blushed.

"He's very sweet."

"I don't want to know details."

"I was going to give you any," she rolled her eyes. "We're going on a second date next weekend."

"I told you, he's your type."

"You're going to hold this over my head for the rest of time, aren't you."

"When I'm right, I'm right."

"Yes, and when you're wrong, you're so terribly wrong."

"See, Kate, I know you."

She looked at him a little strangely.

"I suppose you do."

"And, I know I'm going to crush your arguments at practice tomorrow."

"You wish."

"Then what're waiting for? Give me your best shot."

--

"Hey, Kate."

"Oh--" Kate turned to see Anthony leaning against the locker. "Hi, Anthony."

"You're the only person who says my full name."

"Am I?"

"You've never called me Ant."

"I never noticed," she shrugged, putting her books in her bag.

"Practice?"

"Not today. Tom and I are, um, going to see a movie."

Anthony didn't understand why his heart felt like it was slowly, slowly rolling down a hill.

"Told you I was right."

Kate made a face.

"You were, so go away and bug someone else."

"Kate," Tom came up to them. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah. I was just telling this one to stop being so smug."

Tom laughed.

"I don't think that's possible. It's part of his charm."

"I'm standing right here, thanks."

"Oh, is that you, Ant? Didn't see you there," Tom joked.

"Ant!" Simon called.

"Looks like I've gotta run. Have fun on your date!"

Tom opted for the genial, "Thanks, we will," while Kate just told him, "Have fun at practice."

Anthony saluted and walked to Simon.

"They look surprisingly good together," Simon remarked.

Kate chose that moment to give Tom a peck on the cheek, which made the other boy turn red. Anthony watched her tease him, her smile wide and clear.

"Yeah," Anthony replied. "Yeah they do."

--

Operation Doorstop: Successful.

Anthony: Strategic Mastermind.

Onward to victory.

[mewaruniversity]

FACULTY OF HEALTH SCIENCE

ADMISSIONS ARE OPEN 2023-24! Welcome to Mewar University, Chittorgarh, (Rajasthan).

Enrollment is ongoing, Join India’s best University with Scholarship. 🎓

👉 Programs Offered ↪️ BPT (Bachelor in Physiotherapy) ↪️ MPT (Masters Of Physiotherapy)

👉 Key Features ✅ Basics and Advanced ✅ Experienced Professional Faculties ✅ Practical Learning Experiences ✅ World Class Infrastructure & Top faculties ✅ 100% Internship and 100% Placement opportunities.

Stay Tuned for more updates!

🌐 Website: www.mewaruniversity.org 📩 admission@mewaruniversity.org, 📩 directoradmission@mewaruniversity.co.in

☎️ Toll Free:180030737373

#AdmissionsOpen #Scholarship #MastersInPhysiotherapy #MPT #BPT #KnowledgeToWisdom #MewarUniversity #TopUniversityInRajasthan #EducationForSuccess #Cuet #BachelorInPhysiotherapy #BestUniversityInRajasthan #AdmissionsOpen2024

[qqueenofhades]

my undergrad gpa was really bad, but then my masters gpa was really high, so i hope my undergrad gpa won't affect my phd program admission 😂

the thing is, everyone knew i was smart during my undergrad. like, professors were always vocally impressed with my projects and presentations, students said that i explained stuff better than the professors did, my thesis was said to be one of the best thesis works that year BUT my mental health state was really really really bad and in the end of the day, it affected my gpa since i had a lot of absences.

i'm a lot better now, handle things a lot better and got my masters, my country isn't strict about gpa, so i hope my bachelors cgpa won't mean much.

ok i'm telling u all this bc i'm curious how are things in your uni/state, is undergrad gpa important for phd even if you have masters? 😂

Well obviously, things vary everywhere and it depends on where you're applying and for what program and so forth, but as a rule, graduate applications receive more attention than undergrads and they read them more holistically -- i.e. they take everything into account, rather than just the GPA-and-test-scores which can be the primary basis for admission at places that get a lot of applications. So while a middling-to-bad bachelor's GPA might make them look more carefully at other parts of your application, they do usually look at the whole picture. If you then had a very good master's program, they would in all probability weight that more highly than the undergrad.

As I mentioned in an earlier ask, I work at (for context) an American private university that is pretty good; not Ivy League, but we're generally ranked in the top 100 schools in the country and some of our graduate programs are top 20 in the world. Nonetheless, the minimum undergrad GPA we require for a graduate application is 2.5, so you don't NEED to have graduated cum laude from undergrad to get admitted to grad school, even a good school. Besides, admissions counselors in any school are generally aware that people can struggle in undergrad or have other issues that affect their overall GPA, and they would be more likely to lean toward your most recent experience, i.e. the master's degree.

As ever, however, this is just hypothetical, and will vary depending on your field, your intended degree, the school you want to go to (and in which country). If you get in contact with program admins/faculty beforehand and seek their help in putting together an application, which is generally the case with most PhD programs, you're also more likely to be successful and have a chance to explain your undergrad circumstances in more detail. If any of your undergrad professors write letters of recommendation for you, they can also address the situation specifically, so the admissions office knows that it's not just you saying that. But yeah, it it's definitely not a dealbreaker, especially if you're upfront about it and have a good master's degree to boot.

[studyinitalymeridean]

A Complete Guide to Study MBBS in Italy 2023

Overview

Do you wish to study in Italy? Italy is one of the strongest contenders in studying MBBS abroad. It has some of the oldest established universities, especially medical ones. Many students opt for MBBS in Italy due to the world-class education and the picturesque backdrop of the country. MBBS in Italy takes up to 6 years to complete. The nation is famous for providing higher medical education with cutting-edge, refined strategies and logical methodologies. Italian universities are perceived as outstanding institutions by significant associations like WHO, NMC and UNESCO. Let us look at all the details related to MBBS abroad.

Why Study MBBS in Italy?

Italy is relatively less expensive to pursue MBBS compared to other European countries. You can avail of scholarships for living and living expenses by scoring well on the entrance test to study MBBS abroad. Although private colleges are somewhat costly, the quality of education makes it worth the cost. Each course is instructed with an alternate methodology, and a great deal of care is taken to keep up with the high training requirements in Italy.

Here are some key features to look at before studying in Italy.

Universities have experienced faculties.

Italian Universities are globally recognised.

The medium of teaching is English.

MCI and WHO approve Italian universities.

Public universities have low tuition fees.

Excellent quality of education.

The prices for normal necessities for students are low.

The amenities at the hostels are nice and adequate for students.

Provides increased global exposure and career chances.

The MD degree from Italian universities equals MBBS degrees in India.

MBBS Abroad for Indian Students

There are different options for MBBS abroad for Indian Students. Italy is fast becoming a top choice for students to fulfil their study abroad dreams. Italian institutes provide world-class educational degrees with intense research facilities.

There is massive competition to get a seat in any MBBS college in India. This is due to the huge number of Indian MBBS competitors, due to which many applicants don’t get a seat. The MBBS degrees from private Italian institutions are expensive, so Indian students still wish to try and study for the degree in the country only. The cutting-edge a-list-staff and infrastructure are ideal for Indian MBBS applicants. There are no donations needed to study in Italy. Also, no admission test like IELTS or TOEFL is required for confirmation. The study environment of Italian universities is very appropriate for Indians.

Advantages of Studying MBBS Abroad in Italy

Italy has many top medical colleges and universities recognised by globally accredited associations across the European Union; the country is a great choice to pursue an MBBS. Universities have lower educational expenses when compared to USA and UK. 100% scholarships are also awarded to students at various study levels. Below are some major points mentioned as the advantages of studying MBBS abroad in Italy for Indian students.

Inexpensive education

Widely acclaimed universities

Scholarship opportunities

Simple admission processes

Simple transportation

Courses are taught in English

Degrees are globally recognised

Provides students with good equipment and top-level facilities.

Read More-: A Complete Guide to Study MBBS in Italy 2023

[a2zdoctors]

MBBS Admission in Abroad

Since NOV 2010, we have been providing professional study abroad consulting services with the primary goal of giving the best services and quality guidance to Indian students who wish to fulfil their ambitions of “studying MBBS at ABROAD.” We are the one-stop, most reputable “MBBS study ABROAD Consultant,” providing end-to-end admission support services. We have extensive experience in professional counsellors and completely qualified professionals who can aid and direct Indian students in choosing the appropriate course abroad. As a student, you can always rely on us for incredibly good, professional service. Donation and capitation fees. In India, every student is required to make a gift, with the exception of those who meet the government’s quota. Based on the policies and guidelines of the Medical University.

No entrance test: For Indian students, there is no need to take the entrance exam in order to enroll in the MBBS programed abroad; instead, they must meet the eligibility requirements in order to do so.

The Medium of teaching is English: Despite speaking their own official language, the whole MBBS programmed is taught in English. Learning the regional tongue for practice and academic purposes is not required of Indian students.

HOW CAN WE ASSIST YOU

Counselling: We have a committed, full-time team of professionals working as counsellors. Who offer students& who desire to pursue their ambition of becoming medical professionals in another country quality guidance? Using our helpline numbers, chat assistance, or email, students can schedule appointments for the counselling process at any time.

Choice of course and nation : We have a highly skilled and knowledgeable team that helps you choose the ideal course at the top university in the most reputable nation offering the best MBBS programed.

Admission guidance and process: Indian students may find the admissions process challenging because they are unfamiliar with it. By helping you to prepare the necessary applications and paperwork, we make the application process for MBBS abroad hassle-free.

Visa Assistance: The student when applying for admission to an MBBS programed abroad, a visa is a requirement. We work with students to help them prepare the necessary documentation for their visa applications and ensure that they meet all requirements for 100% approvals.

Travel and Forex assistance: Each student who travels abroad for the MBBS programed wishes from the bottom of their hearts for safe and secure journey. We assist in reserving airline tickets for the desired location and enable students to “stay & travel” with ease all over the world. Without charging more, we also provide free assistance with the travel and forex discussions.

Pre-Departure guidance : Specific rules and requirements, such as the amount of luggage allowed on flights, check-in, boarding, terminal, and safe and secure travel, applied to students travelling abroad to pursue their MBBS degrees. Our professionals guide you through the pre-departure processes and provide you with all the information you need to travel happily and safely.

Apply today for Counselling & start your journey with us!! 👉Call us: 99160-13929

👉 Visit - https://www.a2zdoctorz.com/mbbs-admission-abroad/

📧 info@a2zdoctorz.com