Bruni’s Satirization of High-Profile Institutions in “College Admissions Shocker” by Saketh Tangirala

 Bruni’s Satirization of High-Profile Institutions in “College Admissions Shocker”

In "College Admissions Shocker," Frank Bruni exaggerates and satirizes the

college admissions process, underscoring its unrealistically high standards. This is

represented first in the administrator testimony which stated that Stanford rejected the

"17-year-old who'd done surgery" because the procedure "was not open heart or a

transplant" (Bruni). This criticism echoes across every facet of college admissions;

grades and extracurriculars classified stunning in the past are now deemed mediocre,

implying that today's applicants will be held to stricter standards in the near future.

Surgery is an impressive resume component for future doctors who are in high school,

but perhaps a day in the real world where it is condemned may arrive. Another example

is the case of a student, Taylor, whose parents enlisted lawyer David Boies to convince

Horace Mann to allow him to start kindergarten earlier (Bruni). Today, students and

families do everything to get a step ahead of others, even for a great cost (portrayed by

the overkill nature of Horace Mann and David Boies). This involves students who

prepare for the standardized tests like the SAT during their underclassman years and

long prior to taking it or applying for college. There is emphasis on applicants' actions,

but moreso a focus on the educational institutions’ stringent standards due to Taylor’s

rejection. Referencing David Boies and Horace Mann certainly place this reference in a

category of exaggeration, yet in the future, as colleges' standards are raised higher and

higher by their very pool of applicants, this may well become fact.

Source:

Opinion | College Admissions Shocker! - The New York Times