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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Raygun was “good enough” to qualify for the Olympics… but I’m still not sure that was a good idea. Just saying.[/quote]

I would say, for her, it probably was a good idea, overall.

So, yeah, if Harvard calls your 90th percentile kid, let them go there. "Doing well" is very subjective anyways. Many supersmart kids get crushed when they are #2. Meanwhile someone less brilliant could be happy with their lower GPA and better in using connections provided by the brand name school.[/quote]

Well it provided a lot of humor for the world, I suppose.

There was a study showing that the lowest scoring stem majors at elite schools often abandoned their fields in college, even if they were more capable than the average stem major at a lower tier school. Such kids also get more positive attention and support from professors at lower tier schools than they would at elite schools, where the superstars get all the attention. So I don’t necessarily think it’s wise to just aim for the highest ranked school.[/quote]

those kids needed to switch major.[/quote]

Well they often do switch majors, but my point was that this is a shame, because they could still have excelled and ended up with a good stem career if they gone to school in a less competitive environment.[/quote]

Perhaps, but wouldn't they come across those geniuses from other schools eventually? Or that suddenly doesn't matter?[/quote]

I’m sure they must now and then. But still, the career outcomes (in STEM) are better for you if you’re a bigger fish in a small pond vs. a smaller fish in a big pond. Better mentorship and better opportunities at the outset, more appropriate class pace, etc. all help.[/quote]

STEM is not for everyone. It's hard, and necessarily well paid. A lot of kids don't understand what science is until they get to college. There the learn that they don't actually like it, and are not particularly good at it.[/quote]

I agree with you, and I wasn't trying to say that everyone can and should go into STEM careers. Just saying that the kids who would be bottom of their class at an elite STEM program don't fare as well as similar stats kids who are near the top of their programs at a less selective college. Bottom line: just because you could squeeze through the door of an elite institution doesn't mean that it's the best move. [/quote]

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