A tale of two worlds

[Anonymous]

You have a chip on your shoulder. Kid B isn't getting anything "effortlessly" just because he's going to a low rated school. An AP class is an AP class. The test is the test. The EC's are different, yes. But give the poor kid a break. From where you sit, it doesn't look like he's slaving for the grades but that may be because he has more natural talent than kid A. Someone may have spent more on kid A, but kid B sounds like he has just as much to offer. This is how it goes.

[Anonymous]

Kid B may have a better chance of getting into a high ranked college because they “stand out” at a mediocre school but will be less prepared to actually do well in college and may either flunk out or have to switch majors to an easier one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here are two parents.

Parent A sent their child to the most rigorous and best regarded private school.

Parent B sent their child to the local public with 5/10 rating.

Both kids take the most rigorous classes. Both get As. But Parent A’s kid has to work very hard, even has to get tutoring in some areas. Parent B’s kid gets As effortlessly, he spends very little time studying.

Parent A’s kid does math team and a varsity sport, competitions and tournaments. They volunteer on regular basis.

Parent B’s kid does school band and spends his free time on video games. In the summer they work a little at a fast food restaurant to make money for video games.

Both kids have the same amount of APs.

Both kids have the same ACT score of 34. But kid A had to slave to prep for it while the kid B just walked in and got it without any prep.

Kid A will doubtfully be on very top of his class because the peers are overachievers and the competition is tough.

Kid B will most likely be on top of his class because it’s a low performing school and his grades are exceptional.

The questions are:
1) Who will get admitted to a selective college, and
2) Why was parent A so stupid to invest so much money and time to get into the right school, find the right tutors, coaches, ACT prep, etc.

1) Likely kid A, not just because of the school (they both have As after all) but because of the varsity sport, competitions, math team, and tournaments.
2) If the tutoring and coaches were necessary for the 34, then it's not stupid - after all, not everyone is as smart as student A, being able to walk in and get a 34.

This is assuming both are in the same general region.

Regardless, this is kind of a weird question - folks on the math team/competitions often do not have to slave aware for a 34, and pretty much never need to slave for a score equal to that of the average "easy high school A student" (which is quite a bit less than 34.)

Also, UChicago will choose student A over B 100%, so there's that.

[Anonymous]

*sorry, I meant "not everyone is as smart as student *B*.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kid B may have a better chance of getting into a high ranked college because they “stand out” at a mediocre school but will be less prepared to actually do well in college and may either flunk out or have to switch majors to an easier one.

Too many critical unknowns to make such an assumption:

What is their mental health like?
Are they well liked by their peers?
How is their emotional IQ?
Will they reach out for help- academic, emotional, or personal- if they need it?

These are just a few things that will be major drivers of their success on campus and beyond.

[Anonymous]

Not enough info provided.

Which kid enters the rest of their life with a stronger sense of purpose, a deeper well of curiosity? Which one engages with complexity, drawing ideas from seemingly disparate disciplines? Which one has stood at the edge of a lake at night staring up at the stars and noticed his heart beating and felt at once very tiny and expansively large? Which one can find the poetry in a mathematical proof and the order of the universe in a snippet of poetry? Which one suspects that actually a whole lot might depend on the red wheelbarrow? Which one can hear the whispers of trees, or is most likely to befriend a stranger in the airport or to tame a crow? Which one’s laugh is most full-throated? Which one is so much sunshine to the square inch?

Really hard to answer without knowing these pretty basic facts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You have a chip on your shoulder. Kid B isn't getting anything "effortlessly" just because he's going to a low rated school. An AP class is an AP class. The test is the test. The EC's are different, yes. But give the poor kid a break. From where you sit, it doesn't look like he's slaving for the grades but that may be because he has more natural talent than kid A. Someone may have spent more on kid A, but kid B sounds like he has just as much to offer. This is how it goes.

“Effortlessly” because he’s talented. He doesn’t spend hours studying and passes APs with flying colors and gets 34 on ACT without any prep.

[Anonymous]

OP which one is your kid? I assume kid B?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wait. So one of the kids is working very hard, consistently challenging himself, bonding with athletic teammates while staying in shape, using his math skills to solve problems with friends, and doing good works in the community.

The other one is not working hard, is in band but it seems not especially passionate about music or anything else, plays video games and has a summer job whose sole purpose is to play more video games.

Do I have this right?

I don’t know which one will get into college, but I know which one Aristotle would say is living the good life.

Aristotle would say to recreate a society where all citizens can achieve their full potential. Rob (A)Peter to pay (B)Paul, if necessary, so B students can catch up with A students. When robbing B to pay A for a more equitable society that allows full capabilities for all, the combined A/B team is better off than the A team, B team, individually.

[Anonymous]

Both will end up working for a C student from a top tier fraternity who spent most of his time socializing and networking.

[Anonymous]

OP, is your kid A or B. Too much time on your hands to pose these supposedly random hypotheticals.

[Anonymous]

Wow, imagine you care this much. Sad. I hope both kids are happy and healthy in life. Unlike yours.

[Anonymous]

You need to state what video games Kid B plays before we can answer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here are two parents.

Parent A sent their child to the most rigorous and best regarded private school.

Parent B sent their child to the local public with 5/10 rating.

Both kids take the most rigorous classes. Both get As. But Parent A’s kid has to work very hard, even has to get tutoring in some areas. Parent B’s kid gets As effortlessly, he spends very little time studying.

Parent A’s kid does math team and a varsity sport, competitions and tournaments. They volunteer on regular basis.

Parent B’s kid does school band and spends his free time on video games. In the summer they work a little at a fast food restaurant to make money for video games.

Both kids have the same amount of APs.

Both kids have the same ACT score of 34. But kid A had to slave to prep for it while the kid B just walked in and got it without any prep.

Kid A will doubtfully be on very top of his class because the peers are overachievers and the competition is tough.

Kid B will most likely be on top of his class because it’s a low performing school and his grades are exceptional.

The questions are:
1) Who will get admitted to a selective college, and
2) Why was parent A so stupid to invest so much money and time to get into the right school, find the right tutors, coaches, ACT prep, etc.

So what you are saying is that Kid A has rich parents who can afford to put him in special sports programs (which is how he got good enough to make the varsity team) elite private school, and multiple expensive tutors, while kid B WORKS a job and does not have all the "best that money can buy!"
And people are critical of kid B?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kid B may have a better chance of getting into a high ranked college because they “stand out” at a mediocre school but will be less prepared to actually do well in college and may either flunk out or have to switch majors to an easier one.

How does he stand out? He does nothing….id agree with you if he was actually interested in something and had made a demonstrated impact.

Colleges want to see what you’ve done so they can imagine what you will do on campus.

If you’ve done nothing, they are t going to “hope” you get it together……

His best bet are large flagships that are pure #s games.