The Golden Ticket

Last evening, the eight Ivy League schools sent out the emails confirming acceptances and rejections for undergraduate applicants. Columbia's admit rate fell again, now at a stunningly low 6.1% The chances of getting in to Columbia and most of its Ivy school peers are basically impossible, making an invitation to come to CU more coveted than ever before.

Twitter was filled with a few celebratory Tweets from happy admitted applicants, and a massive number of disappointed rejects.

At the same time, Twitter remains heavily populated by high school juniors celebrating their offers from Columbia football recruiters. I wonder how many of them know just how valuable those offers are at a school with a 6.0% admit rate. Do they know how tens of thousands of disappointed rejected applicants are probably wishing they were good football players right now?

And most importantly, how many of these students we're offering the virtual "golden ticket" have come to the wise realization that any non-Ivy offers they get from here on should be soundly ignored. If you spurn your Columbia offer to go to another Ivy or a school like Stanford, Michigan, Northwestern, or even UCLA... I get it. But when I see kids with Ivy offers choosing to go to places like UTEP, Central Arkansas, or the gosh darned Montana School of Mines, (yes, that did happen), I have to wonder, (trigger warning alert!!): are these kids and their parents tragically stupid? I mean, is someone who is either too stupid or too afraid to go to Columbia or any Ivy in favor of riding the bench at a mid-major school worth the risk of putting on the football field anyway?

I tend to be a lot more tender to recruits and their families, but after seeing what so many of my friends who are parents of college-applying kids are going through, I've lost my patience for people who don't know how to appreciate something of rare and ever-increasing value. And I say this as someone who doesn't think the Ivies are the be-all and end-all, but as someone who knows the value of an Ivy degree over the course of a lifetime.

So here are 5 things to remember if you or your kid has been offered a spot in an Ivy football program:


1) You just got handed a winning lotto ticket.

2) All non-Ivy, non-elite school offers from now on should be ignored. 

3) If you still think you can make the NFL, going to an Ivy school won't hurt your chances. It will help them.

4) If finances are really an issue, most Ivy schools will provide significant aid. 

5) If exploring career and internship opportunities while you're in college is a priority, then Columbia is your obvious best choice.