Congratulations, We Regret to Inform You: the college admissions secret

[systemisdisturbed]

Ha I had like a 2.3 gpa in high school, fell asleep during the sat, but realized I knew I could do better. I'm proud to say after hard work in community college for 2 years I got accepted into the only university I applied too :D yeah buddy, rollin like a bobcat! Texas state university fall 2012 transfer! Idgaf about all the big shot schools, Texas state is where I need to be, I have so many friends there already and I'm there every other weekend.

[wht1t3cr4y0n]

horrible video, pretentious etc.

[LushBubble21]

I LOVED this so very much.

I thank you. Xx

[MrVarchie]

getting into upenn killed me. I never enjoyed high school. but in the end, it feels like it was worth it.

[skycaptain141]

Just wonderful

[MsPinkaholic0405]

this is stupid because you only interview from the top schools, go interview your community college and see if those students are as happy

[Greencloud8]

why do you have so many different people talking. this is irritating next channel.

[carpustin]

@Greencloud8 Patience is a virtue, my friend. The intro was under 2 minutes.

[JacobShulman]

This is very good...

[Ukitake0Jushiro]

O-o good chinese

[xsweetnsourpowerx]

Thank you.

[melonxd1234]

you should interview san marino staff and princeton staff in another video :o

[LOVExDINOxRAWR]

Mr. Cheung is so cool.

[yianimal]

i'm in an extremely competitive area in the bay area...thank you so much for making this. it doesn't mean i'm going to work less hard, but i'm going to stress less.

[garciaspitz]

I loved this video. As a high school senior teacher, I would like to personally thank you for calming frayed nerves and inspiring a group of 50 students to live life and enjoy the ride.

Thanks!

[choimaru08]

im really emotional after watching this now.

[awaldoster]

how about senioritis?

i heard it's dangerous..

[moonfarious]

wow that was really good, the end gave me goosebumps

[merissala]

Very nice. I'll be sharing this with my brother.

[preload82]

I really want to thank you. The producers of this video, and everyone that was included in the video. It made me feel a lot better. I'll keep this in mind.

[junxchen]

watching this temporarily relieved me from the college process that is about to enter combat mode thanks !

[RoyalJackofSpades]

the asian girl is pretty. Onanother note, so true.

[nelmsters]

damn, this shit made me cry.

[ayodeah]

God bless this video. This was so informative, especially as a senior in high school watching this. I feel less stressed out about it now. Thank you

[dinosaursarerawraful]

i love this so much. cordero showed us this video today in class and i made me realize how much time im wasting trying to be another cookie cutter asian child.

[carpustin]

@dinosaursarerawraful Yay, go Cordero!

[darkpyroX]

Very Great Work, Loved it!

[ltlwatcher]

Huge range of SAT scores? Like from 2280 to 2400?

[dorkod]

"Have fun, have fun, have fun, have fun, STUDY HARD."

[davidthefat]

Arcadia sucks. Just saying.

[hahamattchua]

@davidthefat I feel so sorry for you :/

[davidthefat]

@hahamattchua Psh, why would you feel sorry? The Apaches can SMD.

[bunniansprouse]

Wonderful!

[dblazer321]

Being an Asian student in Southern California is probably the worst demographic for college admissions.

[azn171]

:3

[HuSkOgS]

@rchao You're right, no one knows the exact formula for the college admission process, and it is different for every school. But the general fact that universities are increasingly looking beyond just the grades and test scores of applicants, and giving more weight to what the students can bring to the school is no big secret. Of course they won't disclose anything. How would students feel if they say the diversity quota their school has to met regardless of how qualified the applicants are.

[QFBFilms29]

Awesome video, glad I could be a part of it, at least in a small way.

[siwelchungster]

As a former Arcadia High School student, this hit home, great work. Some advice though, it would have helped if you guys interviewed some students from non-top universities who are doing well, have had great achievements, and are happy with how far they've come since getting rejected from these 'top universities'. Sharing these stories would be of much more help to the many students who will be/are enduring rejection from their 'dream schools'.

[jelly100]

I see Oscar Wang, extemp champ! LOL the forensics world just doesn't leave you after you graduate.

[danielcliem5]

Briliant! - so proud of you ray bay bay and carpus tin man! All of the time you've invested on this project sure does have long lasting rewards! Give yourself a pat on the back :)

[eecoal]

GREAT video! I was surprised to see that this was my old high school (Arcadia). Back in the day college admission wasn't nearly as stressful. I now live out of state and have a son who is a senior. We can relate to everything in this film.

While others may disagree, I like the focus on the stress of admission to elite universities. It takes a special student and an incredible amount of dedication during high school to reach this level. Thanks for showing what's involved.

[HuSkOgS]

I apologize for seeming to have started a trend of dissenting view and dislikes for this video. But upon reflecting on the contents of this video, I found it borderline despicable that the makers attempted to show "diversity" with the whole webcam bit, when in reality the majority of the interviewees are from the universities the co-directors currently attend. Diversity is not just about race, especially with the point this video is trying to make. Try to find diversity in the universities.

[JohnnyAstroo]

HuSkOgS makes an important point, but awesome video nonetheless. 

[cegorr]

Good stuff.

[soojihoo]

this is awesome <3

[derekouyang]

Well done guys. Nice to hear that this was done entirely of your own motivation. Intro and ending were well directed, and all the college speakers made very good points. This kind of initiative and community is what makes me proud of Arcadia, and I'm looking forward to seeing more of it.

[saxmarimba]

Who's the ass who gave this a dislike?

[jguo175149]

@saxmarimba Probably HuSkOgS.

[GtarWanaB]

On the one hand commend you guys for making this mini doc about a very relevant topic for high school age kids, especially those in "asian" families. The views presented in this video are flawed however. Giving solely the viewpoints of extremely highly achieving students makes it hard for the "regular" student to relate. Because of this, a doc that could have been inspirational comes across as pretentious and almost encourages "superstudent" behavior, for that i cannot support your viewpoint.

[rchao]

@GtarWanaB Coming off as pretentious was definitely not our intention, and I am sorry if you got that impression. I know almost all of the interviewees personally, and chose them because I believe they have a valuable story to tell, not just because they go to a top university. I don't know exactly what you mean by "superstudent" behavior, but what we do encourage in this film is for students to pursue their passions, find intellectual curiosity, and have the courage to stay true to themselves.

[GtarWanaB]

@rchao I understand your situation in making this video and just thought i should clarify my point. My biggest problem with this video is lack of a strong message supported by evidence.While the title suggests that it provides insight on how colleges admit students, it really only comes to a sort of happy success story which lacks depth. I understand its not fun to pour all your free time into study, and colleges look further than that. But this 30 minute video failed in its title purpose.

[jguo175149]

@GtarWanaB I'm assuming that the "title purpose" would be giving the "secret" to college admissions. The way I see it, the co-directors wanted to convey the point that there simply isn't a secret. IMO, the feel-good stories in this documentary just show that there's no secret--and that there's no need to search for one.

[big0eyeball]

@GtarWanaB This man speaks the truth.

[carpustin]

@GtarWanaB I don't believe that encouraging students to pursue their passions and to try their best with all their endeavors equates to encouraging this so called "superstudent" behavior behavior, whatever that may be. However, I do understand that everyone has different viewpoints, and we tried our best with the resources that we had to gather the most relavent voices as possible.

[carpustin]

@GtarWanaB Furthermore, you have to take into account that there isn't a single highly achieving student that starts off as that. They were all once just a "regular" student too, and because they have become so highly achieving over the years, we chose to have them share their experience. We try our best to not tell the story, but to show it through the achievements of these once "regular" high school students. I hope this helps clarify our message. (Please remember that we're only amateurs...)

[TheDobbyDies]

@GtarWanaB Opinions are an amazing thing, aren't they? You are calling their video flawed, with a flawed opinion. Someone recommended this video because I'm in the 12th grade and will be graduating in June, and I've been rejected by four colleges this year even though I hold a B through A average and a job. This film is actually very useful for those of us who have no idea why we're getting rejected, and I have no idea where "superstudent" behaviour came from. They all look like normal students.

[i0nPuNk182]

@TheDobbyDies well said... its crazy how students who get rejected are heavily impacted, and not many people see it. in my opinion, it shouldn't always be about "who works harder" it's about character and life motives. I see students who work their butts off taking all AP courses and students who do B minus to A average in regular core classes. But ive met smarter kids who take regular classes. If colleges believe rigorous education is how to succeed in life well they are wrong imo

[Choiboy525]

I concur with Huskog - I don't agree with the choice of labeling by school... regardless, great video!

[HuSkOgS]

Part 5 - If i was someone worried about not getting into the college I want, I don't need nor want to watch a video where all the interviewees are "awesome" people. I especially frowned at the fact that you labelled the parents as MIT alums before their role as parents. I didn't understand what you were trying to get at. Was it that people who are attending or attended top universities are somehow more knowledgeable and credible than those who do not? Where are the voices of those people?

[HuSkOgS]

Part 4 - You're not telling people they can find happiness and personal fulfillment in the universities that best fit them and their pursuits. You're saying people can still get into top universities without having the highest gpa/test scores. The end goal you're portraying is still to get into a top university, and that has nothing to do with personal happiness - maybe happiness in one's Asian parents. Labeling your interviewees by the school they attend/attended was a horrible choice.

[luciferxma]

@HuSkOgS It seems that in all your comments you focus too intently on 'labels' in general, and believe that the 'school labels' portray the pretentiousness of the documentary and its founders. However, instead of perpetuating the negative precocious implication of 'big school labels', the video in reality reveals that students whom these prestigious Universities accept are human beings too, genuinely trying to help and inspire future applicants to do their best. That's their simple, honest goal.

[HuSkOgS]

@luciferxma you're combining my comments with others, but sure, I'll accept their views as my own. I don't question the interviewees' intentions, as they were just asked to describe their experiences as eager high school students applying to the universities of their dreams. I simply question how this video was structured to supposedly encourage regular students to go beyond just freaking out about grades and test scores. The interviewees solely consisted of those accepted by top schools.

[HuSkOgS]

Part 3 - knowing that undermines the message this video is trying to get across, which is that even individuals who might not have received the highest marks have the chance to get into the universities they want. I question the motive behind the making of this video and whether this is just another gold star on the maker's resume. Lastly, only interviewing individuals from "top" universities alienates your viewers and renders your thesis moot. You're implying happiness only exists there.

[rchao]

@HuSkOgS Honestly, Carpus and I made this video because lots of underclassmen ask us for advice, and we always say the same things. So instead of repeating ourselves, we had the idea of getting dozens of people, capture the best advice they can give, and then package it in a neat video to help younger students. Since there would be input from so many people, not only would it be better advice, but it'd be more efficient... and we love filming! And we don't have much to do this summer :P

[carpustin]

@HuSkOgS We aren't implying that happiness exists only at "top" universities. Happiness lies in what you choose to do throughout high school, and beyond. Most of our interviewees aren't discussing how much happiness they are finding at these "top" colleges, but rather they are talking about the happiness they found in their high school experience aside from applying for college.

[HuSkOgS]

Part 2 - the fact that universities prefer well-rounded students to students who only focus on grades and test scores is no secret. I also find this video extremely ironic considering the person(s) who made this video is one of "those" people. The high gpa/sat, lots of AP, lots of extracurricular activity, lots of leadership skills, lots of networking opportunities via school teams/functions, etc . . kind of people. The overachiever in high school that no one can match.

[INeedAGirlLikeYou]

@HuSkOgS Schools arent actually looking for well-rounded students per say; they look for students who have passion in areas such as science, arts, humanities and they pick-and-choose to build a well-rounded class. Btw, where is the Northwestern love?

[HuSkOgS]

Part 1 -Great video with some great advice, but I want to caution about downplaying the importance of grades and test scores. I question the claim behind the making of this video with regards to how university admission standards are somewhat confusing and unknown to people. The reality is if the student takes just 10-15 minutes out of their day to step into the counselors' office at their high school, the counselors will tell you college admissions are more than just grades and test scores.

[ProdigyProduction17]

awesome

[PuppyPaw427]

wonderful.

[bnmhj520]

Excellent.

[solvingtime]

a beautiful exposition :D

[CelticDragon026]

Well done, I must say! This is great