Jim: Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to National Deciding Day, the annual extravaganza to reveal where today’s hottest high school talent will be going to college. I’m your host, Jim Shorts, and I’m here with my colleague Buck Teets. We’ll be bringing you 11 hours of uninterrupted coverage of this year’s committapalooza!
Buck: That’s right, Jim. Boy, am I excited! The nation’s best and brightest announcing live where they’ll be spending the next not one, not two, but four years! I can hardly wait.
Jim: Well, let’s get right to it. Our first student is Chip Cash, who comes to us from Birdseed, Idaho. Chip attends an accelerated magnet school for gifted science and technology wonks. He’s graduating after only three years—how’s that for accelerated! Let’s watch a short video about Chip.
Buck: Wow, that was pretty awesome, Jim. I especially liked the raw footage of Chip kicking butt in the chess club, and that slo-mo of him acing the AP calc exam… Breath-taking! I hear he nailed the chemistry combine to boot.
Jim: Yep, Chip’s a real blue chipper, so to speak. A 5.3 GPA, 1590 on the SAT, a 35 on the ACT just for good measure, debate club, state champ in the triple jump, Model UN, and president of Young Americans for the Equality of Everything. A can’t-miss prospect!
Buck: This future computer science major has narrowed his choices to MIT and Cal Tech. Any thoughts on which he might pick?
Jim: No idea, Jim. I hear Cal Tech is a bit light this year on circuit design recruits, so they could have promised him the moon. It’s a nervous time for everyone as we await his decision. Here he comes to the podium with his parents, John and May.
Chip: I, um, after a lot of thought and, you know, talking it over with my parents and friends and stuff, I, uh, am choosing to continue my education at… wait… wrong hat… MIT!
Jim: Whoa, a real surprise there! Listen to that crowd reaction! Giving up fun in the sun for good ol’ MIT.
Buck: Hey, now, let’s put “fun” in quotes! And how about that swerve donning the Cal Tech hat by accident! Pretty slick! Looks like MIT has a real advantage in next year’s Robotics Bowl.
Jim: No doubt. Moving on, let’s meet our next recruit, Jerry Elbridge. Jerry’s from Scrodborough, Massachusetts. A history buff, Jerry plans to major in political science and economics, attend law school, make partner, run for Congress and change the world. He’s got gaudy stats: a 4.8 GPA, perfect SATs, three-time epee champ, you-name-it-he’s-in-it-clubs, class president and treasurer, and prom king just for good measure. Talk about your Renaissance man!
Buck: From what I hear, Jerry got into six Ivies. He skipped two because he didn’t want to make a spectacle of himself. Talk about humility! He’s narrowed his choices to Harvard, Stanford, and Chicago.
Jim: This guy’s got the whole country covered! My money’s on Harvard, the hometown favorite. He’d miss the Sawx, for Pete’s sake! But let’s go to the announcement.
Jerry: I want to thank my teachers at Scrodborough High for providing me such an outstanding education. Go Whitefish! I want to thank my parents for being there for me and helping me make this important decision. It is with great excitement that I announce I have decided to attend… Stanford!
Jim: Yowza! I did NOT see that coming! Most experts would consider this quite the upset, don’t you think, Buck?
Buck: I’d say. Did you see the look on his mom’s face? She turned three shades of cardinal! That’s going to be one long ride back to Scrodborough. Harvard’s gotta be smarting over this turn of events.
Jim: The one that got away. Anyhoo, we now turn our attention to one of this year’s very top recruits, Phil Estine. Phil’s a senior at Mudpuddle High in Boondock, Mississippi. He wants to major in chemistry and become a cardiologist. But he’s also said he wants to be an architect. Or a hedge fund manager. Buck, Phil is the total package, don’t you think?
Buck: For sure. I think this guy had AP circle time in kindergarten! He’s sporting a 4.99 GPA and scored a whopping 1540 on the SATs, including an 800 verbal. It’s easier to name the clubs he’s not president of. Plus he runs his own homeless shelter, The Philage, has climbed Mount Fuji twice and has made numerous pilgrimages to Borneo, where he’s taught orangutans to play squash.
Jim: And that’s just for starters! He’s also one of only three ambidextrous French horn players in the entire state and has a world Scrabble rating of 2085. The man knows his qi from his xu!
Buck: Gesundheit! Rumor has it Phil has trimmed his college choices to Michigan, Texas, and UVA. Evidently he’s going public.
Jim: Texas? Does he play football?
Buck: Ha! Good one, Jim. But he is from SEC country.
Jim: What’s SEC?
Buck: Not important. I understand Phil has prepared his own video. Let’s take a look.
Jim: Quite impressive, Buck. I could have sworn I saw that Uggs guy in one of those shots.
Buck: Yep, sure looked a lot like Tom Brady. Could he be leaning toward Michigan?
Jim: These fans have waited long enough. It’s time to find out. Let’s hear from Phil.
Phil: After a lot of soul-searching and meditation, much of it atop Mount Fuji, I have chosen to take my considerable talents to… McGill!
Jim: Mon Dieu! I didn’t even know McGill had hats! Our loss is Canada’s gain.
Buck: Woot woot! Climb aboard the brain drain train!
Jim: And that puts a wrap on this year’s National Deciding Day spectacular. We’ll return after these few words from our sponsors to tally up the winners and losers. Rough year for the Ivies, Buck.
Buck: They’ll be back. Recruiting the best and brightest is a tough business, Jim. I’m just glad we’ve had the chance to share it all with the American public. They sure appreciate true talent when they see it.