A letter from a reader: A legacy parent's sadness

March 19, 2008:

Ross A. Weber '56 is, as he emphasizes, not the only alumni parent whose child was rejected by Princeton (Letterbox posting). My response was, however, not bitter, but sad. As I said in a PAW Online letter back in early 2004 regarding the rejection of my son by Princeton: "What saddens me most is that he may never experience the same rigor and depth of learning that I had at Princeton. That, looking back some 25-plus years, is what I value most about my Princeton experience and something I dearly wish I could have shared with my son."

It is truly something that only a legacy parent could really appreciate and has nothing to do with ethnic, regional, gender, political, or religious diversity. To this day, I continue to reflect back on what he and I might have done differently. It has not, however, soured me on Princeton and, indeed, late last year I chose to make a contribution to Alumni Giving, knowing full well that it is most unlikely to affect my own daughter's chances of admission seven years from now if she chooses to apply to Princeton.

At least I still have the hope my son will consider Woody Woo as an option for graduate work after his stints in Paris (Sciences Po), Ottawa (U.S. Embassy), and Senegal (Rotary Foundation International Ambassadorial Fellowship in Dakar Senegal).

STEWART A. LEVIN '75
Centennial, Colo.

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