Things Fall Apart- Blog #1

In his interview with The Atlantic, Chinua Achebe states that one reason he believes his novel Things Fall Apart has become so widely renowned is that people from countries with a history of being colonized can relate to the story of the Ibo. He then remarks that even people who live in a country without such a history can relate to the book because many people have experienced dispossession or victimization in some form or another. While I have yet to experience any form of dispossession drastic enough to warrant a link between my experience and that of the Ibo, I can relate to Okonkwo in another way: the feeling of being unfairly judged for something you cannot control. The scenario that has made me feel this way is the college application process.

I am a white male, non-catholic male, who lives in a wealthy family. Prior to the application process, I had not ever felt prejudiced, or at a disadvantage, which is amplified the feeling of hopelessness that overcame me throughout the admissions process. How is it that I felt at a disadvantage in the college application process? It has to do with the complexity of college admissions.

I worked hard through high school. I took the hardest classes available to me and always tried to get the best grade I was capable of getting. I did very well academically. Although I am not incredibly athletic, I participated in a sport all three seasons. By my senior year I was on the varsity team in three different sports. Lastly, I had also discovered a passion of mine in studying Spanish. My hard work seemed to pay off, as I had the grades to apply to most of the schools that caught my eye during the college hunting process. When it came time to compose an application to these schools, I felt confident that I would get into most of them with relative ease. Unfortunately, this would not be the case.

By mid-December, the early admission decisions began to roll in and with them came shock and confusion. While some of the decisions didn't really surprise me, there were some that made no sense to me. I had nearly killed myself with stress in order to make myself a prime applicant for these schools. According to the graphs, I should have gotten in with ease. I was towards the top of the academic spectrum at the schools and I certainly wasn't lacking in extracurriculars. So why was it that I wasn't getting into these schools?

The short answer is that college admissions are not fair–at least not in the way many consider fair. The reason they aren't fair is because colleges except a certain number of people depending on their race. This makes it harder for Asians to make it into colleges. This is because Asian, on average, have higher grades than other races. Since colleges only accept a certain number of Asians, people who identify as Asian have to have higher grades than their white, black, and other counterparts. Since colleges have to fill these quotas, it makes it harder for whites to get into colleges. If a two students, with similar applications in everything but race (one student is white, one is black), the school is more likely to choose the black student. Race does not have a huge impact on the admission decision application, however it is frustrating that something I have no control over can be used against me when deciding my future. The process is unfair because no matter what you do, you may not be what the college is "looking for". This is the most frustrating part of all. I have done everything I can to make sure I can go to the college I want to, but because I don't have a special talent because I was too busy with sports and school, I am at a disadvantage when it comes to one of the most important decisions of my life, a decision that seems to be hopelessly out of my control. I can relate to Okonkwo in that we both know the feeling of despair