In the Duke student paper, The Chronicle, students are warned against using their Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) powers uncritically:
First, accessing one’s admissions file can affect student confidence. Discovering that one was very close to rejection can be discouraging and students who discover such may feel isolated among peers who were “sure” admits. Although it is easy to shrug off the shadow of other merit-based numbers such as SAT results, admissions scores may be perceived as a more holistic evaluation of the student as a person. Such evaluations are therefore more prone to being used as tools of ostracism and stratification. We know that these feelings may already be common among students admitted off the waitlist, but their ability to move beyond this perception is a valuable example to be followed.
This sob-story trying to sound scientific is laden with "may" and "prone" and all sorts of lose jargon to present the scenario as if it were inevitable. Me? I was never at the top of the class and I often felt intimidated by other students who were obviously better than I was. But I had friends, which the poor schnook catered to above apparently does not.
I do not doubt that "We know that these feelings may already be common...." Surely someone did a survey.
Is this the therapeutic state? If so, is there any cure? Or am I just a crotchety grouch?