By Al Neuharth

May 2, 2008

The sweat-out finally ended this week. Thursday was the deadline for high school seniors to decide which college or university to attend.

For months, where to apply and where to go have been uppermost in their minds and those of their parents. Magnitude of the problem and opportunity from national figures compiled at UCLA:

— An estimated 1.4 million graduating high school seniors will enter college this fall.

— Most of them submitted multiple applications, some as many as a dozen.

— About 20 percent, or more than 270,000, did not get into their first choice.

The line between a "yes" and a "no" letter often is literally paper-thin. Sometimes it's based on a whim by an admissions officer or to fill a formula.

When I enrolled at the University of South Dakota in my native state under the G.I. Bill after World War II, all ex-servicemen and women were accepted there with open arms. Because some Harvard and other elite university officials opposed the G.I. Bill, fearing it would lower their students' standards, I've been critical of their snobbishness ever since.

But this year, my first grandchild to go to college will be an Ivy Leaguer. Dani Neuharth-Keusch, a senior at Loudoun County High School in Virginia, applied to 11 colleges and universities. She was accepted at seven. This week, she chose Ivy-League Cornell.

But in an editorial in her high school newspaper, The Loudoun Raider, of which she is co-editor, she wisely wrote:

"In reality, after college few people care if the diploma was from Harvard or Southwestern Oklahoma State. Personal initiative is what matters in the end."

Dani's right. So seniors, relax. No matter which college you picked, it's probably the right one for you. You'll likely learn more outside the classrooms than in them anyway.

Al Neuharth is founder of USA Today.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=807836&forum_id=1#9722807)

"But this year, my first grandchild to go to college will be an Ivy Leaguer. Dani Neuharth-Keusch, a senior at Loudoun County High School in Virginia, applied to 11 colleges and universities. She was accepted at seven. This week, she chose Ivy-League Cornell."

hyphen between Ivy and League = stupid as fuck. not to mention how obvious it is that she was rejected by every other Ivy and decided to go with cornell because it allowed her to tell people she's going to an "ivy league" college.

"In reality, after college few people care if the diploma was from Harvard or Southwestern Oklahoma State. Personal initiative is what matters in the end."

false. i'm trying to get a job right now from an ivy. if i had the same GPA at Southwest Oklahoma State ... I would be up shit creek in a very very bad way.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=807836&forum_id=1#9728977)