Aiming for a Rhodes Scholarship or Nobel Prize?

[Anonymous]

I’ve met some parents who are unabashedly pushing their kids in athletics to near Olympic-caliber levels. Some may have shots at a national team or being competitive for a medal, but the goal of being literally “the best in the world’ at a sport is something they are shooing for.

Are their people like that in the sciences? Families who are pushing for beyond HYPMS and steering kids toward hardcore academics with a goal of a high prestige academic future?

[Anonymous]

no, pushing has its limits. it's not something you can get to by pushing. different than high SAT scores, admission to MIT/Harvard, or whatever measures people use to show their kids are "better"

[Anonymous]

Yes of course. Robotics teams, coding classes, Math Counts and other competition math programs, AoPS, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve met some parents who are unabashedly pushing their kids in athletics to near Olympic-caliber levels. Some may have shots at a national team or being competitive for a medal, but the goal of being literally “the best in the world’ at a sport is something they are shooing for.

Are their people like that in the sciences? Families who are pushing for beyond HYPMS and steering kids toward hardcore academics with a goal of a high prestige academic future?

There's a lot fewer Nobel Prizes than Olympic Medals. Better to train my genius in Biathlon so they can get into HYPS with a hook. Or fall back on being a Bond villain.

[Anonymous]

Absolutely know someone who targeted a Rhodes for her child in selecting schools, projects etc and got it.

[Anonymous]

Yes, what do you think all the supplementing and academic camps and contest and prizes are all about? People need accolades for external affirmation of their specialness in all things, not just sports.

[Anonymous]

Rhodes is all about the 'scholar athlete' so assuming you were pushing someone in that direction, you'd need to be pushing them on both fronts. But the thing that always strikes me about the students written up at the Ivies who get the awards is how interesting they are -- fascinated by some obscure subject and then motivated to travel around and get jobs and internships, reading articles and writing articles about that subject. I'm not sure that anyone's parents can make them interesting like that, or interested like that. I believe that most of them are probably highly motivated of their own accord. My son had a friend who won a Rhodes and she had a very unique and compelling interest that seemed to have just emerged organically in her life, for what it's worth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rhodes is all about the 'scholar athlete' so assuming you were pushing someone in that direction, you'd need to be pushing them on both fronts. But the thing that always strikes me about the students written up at the Ivies who get the awards is how interesting they are -- fascinated by some obscure subject and then motivated to travel around and get jobs and internships, reading articles and writing articles about that subject. I'm not sure that anyone's parents can make them interesting like that, or interested like that. I believe that most of them are probably highly motivated of their own accord. My son had a friend who won a Rhodes and she had a very unique and compelling interest that seemed to have just emerged organically in her life, for what it's worth.

Interesting. None of the Rhodes scholars I know are (or were) athletes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rhodes is all about the 'scholar athlete' so assuming you were pushing someone in that direction, you'd need to be pushing them on both fronts. But the thing that always strikes me about the students written up at the Ivies who get the awards is how interesting they are -- fascinated by some obscure subject and then motivated to travel around and get jobs and internships, reading articles and writing articles about that subject. I'm not sure that anyone's parents can make them interesting like that, or interested like that. I believe that most of them are probably highly motivated of their own accord. My son had a friend who won a Rhodes and she had a very unique and compelling interest that seemed to have just emerged organically in her life, for what it's worth.

Interesting. None of the Rhodes scholars I know are (or were) athletes.

+1

[Anonymous]

When I was a kid I wanted to get a Nobel Prize. My parents encouraged it, and encouraged me but they weren’t pushy parents. I have a PhD in the sciences, and still work in research (not ever going to get a Nobel prize, though ).

I went to HYP, and everyone there was pretty driven. The people who really excelled (and were nominated for fellowships like Rhodes) were entirely self-driven - at that point, it’s not about your parents at all.

I don’t think there is anything wrong with giving your kids dreams that aim high. What “aim high” means is different for every family. As a parent, I read my kids books about people who changed the world - Rosa Parks, Marie Curie, Abraham Lincoln, etc, etc. And I will encourage them to find something they are passionate about and excel at it. But in the end, it’s up to them to make it happen, or not.

And I am happy where I ended up in life, so it’s not like dreaming big means that you will be disappointed if you don’t make it. I had some great experiences during my journey to where I am now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rhodes is all about the 'scholar athlete' so assuming you were pushing someone in that direction, you'd need to be pushing them on both fronts. But the thing that always strikes me about the students written up at the Ivies who get the awards is how interesting they are -- fascinated by some obscure subject and then motivated to travel around and get jobs and internships, reading articles and writing articles about that subject. I'm not sure that anyone's parents can make them interesting like that, or interested like that. I believe that most of them are probably highly motivated of their own accord. My son had a friend who won a Rhodes and she had a very unique and compelling interest that seemed to have just emerged organically in her life, for what it's worth.

Interesting. None of the Rhodes scholars I know are (or were) athletes.

+1

+2 The Rhodes has changed a lot

[Anonymous]

A Nobel is a WHOLE other level than a Rhodes because of scarcity and a bunch of other factors.

It includes an insane next-level combination of natural born gifts, the right schools/labs to be affiliated with, the right connections/politics, and a lot of luck.

[Anonymous]

Of course. Parents push their kids to be NMSF

[Anonymous]

I have known (in a very personal capacity, not in a "I was their student" or "I saw them give a talk and met them") one younger person who was talked about a potential future Nobel winner.

Yes, they went to the right schools and affiliated themselves with the right labs, but this person is also insanely self-motivated and always has been and has made tremendous sacrifices in the name of their research. They've also given up insane amounts of money to go to private institutions.

This person was also probably the one person I know who was born a true genius (not just super high IQ or gifted but freak level brilliance in an area).

[Anonymous]

I have a science PhD and have worked for two Nobel laureates, both before they won the Prize. I also applied for a Rhodes Scholarship and made it to the second round of interviews from a third tier school that had never had a student apply for a Rhodes before.

My parents did zero grooming. My mom was a SAHM and my father was an engineer. My dad refused to help pay for my college because he said I was just going to get married, have kids and be a housewife in the end. I applied for a Rhodes because it would have helped me get my PhD at Oxford. I ended up getting and NSF GRF and funding my PhD in a (later) Nobel Prize winning lab with that fellowship.