'Entitled' high school senior sparks a firestorm of anger after she writes a scathing open letter to the Ivy League schools that rejected her



A high school senior who wrote an open letter to the Ivy League universities that rejected her has sparked a firestorm of anger, with readers accusing her of being 'entitled', 'whiny' and even racist.



But others have praised Suzy Lee Weiss, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for the honesty and 'accuracy' of her article, which appeared in the Wall Street Journal on Friday.



She said she wrote the piece after she was rejected from a string of schools in one day.

Despite the teenager's 4.5 GPA, an SAT score of 2120 and work experience as a U.S. Senate page, she was shunned by Princeton, Yale, Vanderbilt and the University of Pennsylvania.

Scroll down for video

Cause: Her article appeared on the Wall Street Journal and has sparked mixed reactions Of her parents she added: 'As the youngest of four daughters, I noticed long ago that my parents gave up on parenting me. 'My parents also left me with a dearth of hobbies that make admissions committees salivate. I've never sat down at a piano, never plucked a violin.'

The article outraged many, who accused her of being entitled, self-indulgent and even racist. 'Entitled little brat,' one Twitter user said, as another said: 'Choking on the petulant privilege of Suzy Lee Weiss & hoping she matures out of her ignorance rather than being bolstered by a book deal.' Another directed a message to Weiss, saying: 'Your letter reveals your republican homophobic leanings and hatred of others not exactly like you. Grow up.'

Shock: Readers accused her of being entitled, whiny and racist after she said she was not diverse enough

Fans: But others said that the article was 'brutally accurate' and praised Weiss for her courage

'WE WERE LIED TO': SNIPPETS OF SUZY'S SARCASTIC LETTER

'For starters, had I known two years ago what I know now, I would have gladly worn a headdress to school. Show me to any closet, and I would've happily come out of it. I offer about as much diversity as a saltine cracker.

'I also probably should have started a fake charity... Raising awareness for Chapped-Lips-in-the-Winter Syndrome. As long as you're using someone else's misfortunes to try to propel yourself into the Ivy League, you're golden.

'As the youngest of four daughters, I noticed long ago that my parents gave up on parenting me. My parents also left me with a dearth of hobbies that make admissions committees salivate.

'I should've done what I knew was best - go to Africa, scoop up some suffering child, take a few pictures, and write my essays about how spending that afternoon with Kinto changed my life.'

Source: Wall Street Journal

But others applauded her outspoken rant, saying she was simply telling the truth about tough application processes, while some noted that the piece was simply sarcastic and fun.

On Twitter, one reader noted she 'makes brutally accurate assessments of college admissions,' while another added: 'Saying what you feel is not always easy or popular! She is going places!'

'It was a joke,' Weiss insisted on Today on Thursday. 'It's a satire. That's the point. Just like '30 Rock' is a satire, which pokes fun at things that are politically correct. That's what I was trying to do.'

She said that before writing the letter she had been crying to her mother, who complained she had heard too much moaning and told her to speak to someone else.

She called her sister, a former assistant editor of the Op-Ed section at the Wall Street Journal, who said she should write about her feelings, leading to the article.

In turn, the article has led to offers of jobs and internship, Weiss said.

She added that while diversity is 'wonderful', universities do need to change their attitudes.

'In this day and age, we’re being judged on things that we cannot control as opposed to things that we can,' she told Today.com.

Good student: Weiss, left with a relative and right, has top grades and has worked as a U.S. Senate page

Successful: Lou, who describes himself as a 'bleeding heart conservative, and his wife Amy, are successful and do charity work themselves

Where next? She attends Taylor Allderdice High School in Pittsburgh, pictured, and has been rejected from Princeton, Yale, Vanderbilt and the University of Pennsylvania

After being so critical of people who carried out volunteer work and accusing them of being insincere, she said that she knows not everyone does it for their resume.



'I've done a ton of volunteer work, and let me tell you, it wasn't just to get into college,' she said. 'But I do think there's a lot of resume padding going on right now, just to get into these amazing schools.'

She said that, for the most part, people had been really positive to her about the article.

'Everyone my age, whether they wanted to get into Penn state their whole lives or Harvard is agreeing with me that it's just a rat race nowadays and it’s such a business model as opposed to who's most qualified should get in,' she said. 'It's a crapshoot and I understand that.'

