The Quest for High School Mathletic Glory

Chapter 28: To EGMO or not to EGMO

For better or for worse, the three girls look forward to the results that are released at 6PM local time. When this time comes, all three will go check what decisions are remaining. Especially for Marcia and Krista, who wonder whether their recent successes in the extracurricular arena will suffice, to attend the university of their choice. All three of them thought they were Ivy League material, especially with the dream mathletic season they had. But they know since November there is no guarantee at that level.

That said, Gen is the least stressed of the three since there is always Chicago for her should things go wrong for her at Harvard or at Brown. The parents of the three watch closely the college decisions of their children, especially since they must wait for the financial aid award should they be admitted.

"No Yale, no Tulane, no Rice, Emory, I have Duke, UPenn and Vanderbilt left... And... yes! I'm in at UPenn!" Marcia runs down her results.

"Now, we must talk about financial aid. But... no Tulane? It surprises me a little bit on their part; Tulane never had much favor from mathletes and getting one of the best female mathletes of the state would have been fantastic to the extent they wanted their slice of the pie among the best and brightest of Louisiana!" Marcia's father exclaims, while Duke waitlisted her daughter and Vanderbilt admitted her, too.

"UPenn and Vanderbilt is already very good. Now, we just need to wait for financial aid at these two universities"

Krista, however, counts a lot on her mathletic record, more than even Marcia, for it to make a difference at Stanford, Cornell, Notre Dame or Carnegie Mellon. She is also surprised to see Tulane waitlist her. Caltech or Stanford I would understand, but Tulane? Am I victim of Tufts Syndrome? Krista thought while she imagined that qualifying for the USAMO would have given her a boost big enough to change the deal. Between Cornell and Carnegie Mellon I must pick because Notre Dame doesn't make me feel confident about mathematics!

"The... what?" Krista's father asks, surprised to hear her daughter talk about Tufts Syndrome.

"Tufts Syndrome is really specific to a tier of colleges not far from Ivies but just a little below. What must have happened is that I'm perceived as not being very likely to attend. But, for Caltech or Stanford, I'm waiting on the USAMO result to send my LOCI. But between Cornell and Carnegie Mellon? I am not sure. We will need to wait for financial aid" Krista exlains to her father.

Geneviève is not immune to these hard choices, nor to Tufts Syndrome; no Carnegie Mellon for her for this reason. And no Brown either. Nevertheless, Harvard admitted her, which forces her hand. As much as she can feel joy, it's not going to be easy. And she already submitted the FAFSA before her acceptance to Chicago was in hand.

The next day, the morning announcement includes all the decisions, with Bo going first:

"Bo proved it was not necessary to perform at a high extracurricular level to attend a good college" He will attend Florida, while the principal continues to list the manifest of « prestige » acceptances accumulated by the student body on this Tuesday.

Like the senior whose door slam from quiz bowl led to the inclusion of Imélie and Florence; he ended up attending Wake Forest. But there were only five students on this manifest. During the break...

"The coach received a notification from MAA! Surely our results at this God-forsaken competition that you tell us all the time to wait for any waitlist!" Krista announces to Gen.

"Very well, Krista..." we'll go see the coach.

When both girls find themselves in the mathematics department's office, they are clearly very nervous. After all, this participation at the USAMO represents months of continuous effort, and Krista is the first to see her result.