August 28, 2012

Fall Traditions: A Little Break from the Thick of Things

Aug. 28, 2012 at 10:50 AM | By Erin Garland | Comment Count

“People choose colleges for all kinds of idiotic reasons like fraternities and Slavic language departments.” -Marlon Browne, How I Got Into College

The film How I Got Into College is one of my favorite fall traditions. In fact, I like to buy candy corn, get out a cozy blanket and watch this movie each year as the fall semester opens for a new population of high school seniors. And, what better way to add some humor to this stressful season than by giving my top five reasons why high school seniors, parents, counselors, and college recruiters should watch this movie to celebrate fall semester.

Marlon Browne. Marlon is not an overachiever. He’s not really even an achiever, but he’s a unique and interesting guy. Basically, Marlon represents the typical high school senior making their way through the college admissions process.
The college fair. Marlon and his friend Oliver attend the greatest college fair I’ve ever witnessed. There’s a robot, cowboys, a marching band and Curtis Armstrong (Yes, Booger from Revenge of the Nerds) as an admissions representative.
Marlon’s college consultants, Bauer and Bennedict. First of all, Nora Dunn and Phil Hartman play the consultants. This fabulous duo gives Marlon such great advice as taking professional wrestling lessons and guessing on the SAT.
Anthony Edwards as the admissions counselor who wants “to look beyond the numbers.” Before he was on ER, Anthony Edwards was Kip Hammett, admissions counselor extraordinaire. He meets Marlon at the college fair and becomes his guide to Ramsey College. Kip wants to look at the other parts of an application and what makes a student unique when considering applicants.
A and B. Remember word problems? These two guys are put in ridiculous situations (bailing out a boat in shark infested waters, skydiving) and Marlon’s climatic answer is their only means of salvation. Talk about test pressure!

What fall traditions do you have to celebrate the new school year?