The Game

[pteromys]

Wow, the aount of privacy the individual student has in college admissions is astounding. It gives the student the power to leave everybody else with no clue what is happening. For example, I had the application fee waived for RPI, so I theoretically could have had my family believing I'd never applied there. This power becomes really interesting

Comments

[ultrawaffle]

I lost.

That's interesting. I could see myself lying because I actually wanted to hide things, but I couldn't see myself lying just to see what comes of it.

[pteromys]

I have to admit it's driven by more than mere curiosity. This is something of a really mean response to the people who, among other things, told me a few too many times that I should have applied early somewhere.

Yeah, before the applications frenzy started, I don't think I could have imagined myself doing this either. Competition brings out the worst in me.

[fuurei]

I lost.
And yay! I guess I will be seeing you during that particular absence from school?
I've thought of the same thing - but since this was months ago, most people were asking whether I'd applied certain places, and I figured whatever I told them, there would never be a way for them to find out the truth, though I ended up not really lying about it.

[pteromys]

Yep, if everything works out (i.e. getting around the absence limit for 4th quarter), I'll be there.

I actually didn't consider deceiving people about where I'd applied until it was too late. Oh, well. This has the potential to amuse me much more than any mischief I could have spread in December.

[fclbrokle]

My sophomore year of MIT, there was someone from my high school who lied about having been admitted to MIT. Unfortunately for him, MIT makes its admissions public to students there, sorted by zip code. So the night after they became available, I IM'd someone still at my school with "Congratulations on being the only person in the area who got into MIT!"

That really came crashing down around the person in question, especially since he tried to further (verifiably) lie to cover it up afterwards. So watch out just how far you go with this. :)

How are college admissions going?

[pteromys]

Ow. That must have been spectacularly embarrassing.

Point taken. In case this prank hasn't completely destroyed people's trust in me by the time my next decision arrives, I'll keep your advice in mind.

MIT is the third school I've heard back from. The other two were the schools I could call my safeties, one of which (Purdue) remains a serious possibility. I await six others with varying degrees of interest.

[fclbrokle]

Yeah, it rather hurt, I think. Hopefully it worked out OK. And his motives were less... pure, than yours, I suppose.

Also, it is only now that I understand that the absence referred to MIT. Congratulations. :)

[pteromys]

Haha, thanks. I doubt I could call my motives "pure", but I do get what you mean.

[convexbaka]

I lost. This gossiping thing is starting to interest me too now. I told one person that I was upset because of something a teacher had done. The next day, less than 24 hours later, my band classmate asks me why I was upset with said teacher. And he didn't even hear it from the first person; he overheard it from a bunch of girls talking about it ...

[pteromys]

Yeah, news can spread really fast, but that's just surprising. It doesn't help that what you overhear and what people say to your face don't really tell you much about how many people know.

[convexbaka]

It's really freaky. I know that most things told to me kill any chains because nobody expects me to know anything so they don't ask and I just don't volunteer the information. On the other hand, I am discovering gossiping sides to some of my guy friends. Sanjeev was not telling me who parth asked to prom like he agreed to, but he tells me, "Keep guessing, because eventually I'm going to rule out everybody until there's only one person left."