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Musings for Friday - This UNC Alum Isn't Happy [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2023-06-30  

I’m not even going to pull up the numbers. It’s not just about your HS grades. Your class rank etc. All the normal academic qualifications. But it’s also about being, a well rounded individual.

I’m not sure I could have gotten accepted today. Even though when I was accepted it wasn’t as an 18 YO incoming freshman. I was 24 when I applied. I had coached Pop Warner Football for five years. Worked for six years post HS. Attended a community college to get acclimated to the classroom again.

If I had applied while in HS, I’m not sure I would have been accepted. Granted I was a 3 sport HS athlete, participated in a HS social club(KeyClub), chorus, HS musical (I played Li’l Abner), but I was only in the top 20% of my HS class (something like 120 something out of 620). So I wouldn’t have made the cut. Six years later I did. Why? Diversification.

In the early 80 they didn’t have a name for us, now older students are called non-traditional. We see news pieces on non-traditional students all the time. Mostly they’re in their 70s or 80s. Sometimes it might be a parent attending at the same time as their traditional aged child, matriculating together. But even as there are more examples I’m not sure I would have made the cut on my previous merits alone. However, there is something today that might make that difference, I’m ADHD. In the early 80s it was barely a thing. But it’s that thing that might get me in the door when everything else might fall a bit short. Why? Diversification.

Post publication additions

My point here isn’t that it’s just about race. Race is, and should be a factor. Just like age, disabilities both physical and learning. You can’t learn new life experiences from people who are just like you. College, among the many things it’s supposed to do is expose students to new experiences. Not just academic challenges. An 18, 19 or 20 YO talking with a classmate who’s 10, 15 or 20 years their senior is different than talking with their parents or grandparents. Talking with a classmate from a different race or country is going to broaden a students view of the world. Taking those opportunities away isn’t helping your average white student, it may be stunting them. Locking them into an already protected paradigm.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/6/30/2178538/-Musings-for-Friday-This-UNC-Alum-Isn-t-Happy

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