To (All) the Colleges that Rejected Me
In her Op-Ed, “To (All) the Colleges That Rejected Me”, Suzy Lee Weiss argues that colleges lie to applicants with the line: “Just be yourself,” when in reality, they only accept a specific kind of student. Weiss’s argument is weak however, as Weiss fails to use any logos to back up her claim and instead comes off as a close-minded, slightly racist and homophobic privileged teenager simply ranting about not getting in, whom is not the type of student elite colleges seek to accept.
Though her argument is weak, Weiss starts off her Op-Ed well, stating in the first sentence: “Like me, millions of high-schoolers… are asking themselves this week how they failed to get into the colleges of their dreams.” This helps Weiss establish ethos by building rapport with all other readers, as everyone has been rejected at some point in their life.
Weiss’s argument quickly weakens in paragraph two. First, she fails to use logos to support her main claim: “It’s simple: For years, they – we were lied to” referring to when colleges allegedly say, “Just be yourself.” Instead, she goes on to state what she believes colleges really want, again without supporting evidence. …show more content…
This reaffirms that Weiss is too close-minded to acknowledge that being a minority comes with disadvantages occurring before the application process, leading to overall weaker stats. She cannot simply add a minority label to herself after she has had the privileges of being an affluent white person. Weiss’s point is also weakened by the fact that she does not take into account, like she did not take into account that one does not choose one’s parents, that one does not choose one’s sexuality or ethnicity. Add to this Weiss’s flippant tone regarding diversity, and her ethos both as an open minded and as a likeable person is
In her Op-Ed, “To (All) the Colleges That Rejected Me”, Suzy Lee Weiss argues that colleges lie to applicants with the line: “Just be yourself,” when in reality, they only accept a specific kind of student. Weiss’s argument is weak however, as Weiss fails to use any logos to back up her claim and instead comes off as a close-minded, slightly racist and homophobic privileged teenager simply ranting about not getting in, whom is not the type of student elite colleges seek to accept.
Though her argument is weak, Weiss starts off her Op-Ed well, stating in the first sentence: “Like me, millions of high-schoolers… are asking themselves this week how they failed to get into the colleges of their dreams.” This helps Weiss establish ethos by building rapport with all other readers, as everyone has been rejected at some point in their life.
Weiss’s argument quickly weakens in paragraph two. First, she fails to use logos to support her main claim: “It’s simple: For years, they – we were lied to” referring to when colleges allegedly say, “Just be yourself.” Instead, she goes on to state what she believes colleges really want, again without supporting evidence. …show more content…
This reaffirms that Weiss is too close-minded to acknowledge that being a minority comes with disadvantages occurring before the application process, leading to overall weaker stats. She cannot simply add a minority label to herself after she has had the privileges of being an affluent white person. Weiss’s point is also weakened by the fact that she does not take into account, like she did not take into account that one does not choose one’s parents, that one does not choose one’s sexuality or ethnicity. Add to this Weiss’s flippant tone regarding diversity, and her ethos both as an open minded and as a likeable person is