What Universities do to Stay "Beautiful"

6.3%...7.2%....9.7%....it's acceptance rates like these that, perhaps embarrassingly, make prospective students and interested researchers alike gasp and blush. Universities know that these prestigious, exclusive numbers are marveled over time and time again, making the necessity to uphold them quite strong. Reading these microscopic values previously led me to the conclusion "Well, schools like Harvard and Stanford...they're just selective. They know who they want and they pick wisely!" A couple students cherry-picked to attend and a herd of hopeful students denied. 

However, as I got my first college decision, I opened it to read what essentially led to "wait-listed". I had heard about some of my other friends receiving the same sort of decision and feeling happy about it, as in, they were happy it wasn't a rejection and maybe there was hope. I, on the other hand, wasn't as thrilled. I couldn't feel happy nor could I feel sad. It was a massive question mark. Upon hearing more about students getting "wait-listed" than rejected or accepted, I decided it was time to find out why the wait-list has become so attractive. Is it a real sign of hope or something else?

Well, as I had expected, the infamous wait list isn't as hopeful as it seems. An article from the Wall Street Journal described it as schools wanting to "pad their wait list". Sure, a prospective student may be put on there because they definitely piqued an admissions officer's interest in some way or because they were truly very close to getting a spot, however when a school is wait-listing hundreds, even thousands of applicants, you start to wonder what their intentions are. For example, one can look at Johns Hopkins waiting list of approximately 2700 kids and true freshman class size of about 1200 kids question if they're really that indecisive or if they are just trying to stay beautiful. And for them, beautiful means exclusive.

Personally, I would rather receive a definite yes or a no from colleges. However, I understand that sometimes space clears up and a wait list is helpful to have. That being said though, it's frustrating to think that a handful of the most prestigious universities are simply trying to "beat the system" in order to keep their acceptance rates low. Would colleges lose their prestige if their acceptance rates began to creep up? As much as I want to think they wouldn't, I honestly would probably assert that our system does value the rates....perhaps a bit too much. 

Life Illustrated

Art is one of the most popular ways to express the appearance of and feelings associated with a certain idea, setting or object. However, art's appearance throughout time also indicates aspects of the culture surrounding it. The intricacy, the strokes, the themes seen in art offer viewers an understanding of what individuals during certain time periods valued.

Compare Renaissance Art, which was very detailed, scenic, and intricate, with the more recent Modern Art, which is more thought-provoking, raw and risky. While these characteristics are seen in the actual painting itself, this appearance also reveals something about what society was life during the Renaissance Era or during the early 20th century. For example, the shift to more thought-provoking and risky art during the early 20th century expresses the struggle of artists during this time to revive the popularity of art. By inserting more subliminal messages and controversial ideas, artists were clearly trying to have viewers foster more of a connection with art and gain more meaning from the paintings.

With the "look" of art always shifting alongside societal changes, I decided to explore an art trend that has become a huge trend in our modern culture - pop art. Though it isn't a particularly new concept, pop art has been showing up more and more in exhibits and as inspiration for prominent design companies, such as Vogue. When comparing classic pop art to a painting like "School of Athens" by Raphael Sanzio, it's pretty obvious that there has been a shift in what artists are looking to convey.

While analyzing these examples of modern pop art on the left, some conclusions can be drawn. Pop art is often colorful, loud and formatted like a mirage of many prints, patterns and textures. Many examples of pop art, like the example on the top left, also include references to the media or pop culture. Popular lingo, well-known brands, celebrities... more than any other type of art, pop art truly plays with pop culture and societal norms.

So what does the popularization of pop art illustrate about our culture? Personally, I would say that it shows our interest and inextricable connection to current pop culture. Not only is that seen in how artists are inspired to create pop art but also the amount of interest in viewing this type of art and recreating it. Our culture is so influenced by the media that is reflecting in our artists' illustration of our life and interests. Though pop art is certainly unique compared to many of the other artistic trends that have developed throughout time, however it shows an interesting sense of change. It shows our ousting of the old and interest in starting with something fresh...something new. Even more than that, it shows that we are conscious of the influence of media and pop culture, and that we can use art to express and critique it.