Reply to Service Academies should not be ranked with LACs

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP here. This is my final post. Some of you are caught up in some weird defense of the academies while no defense is needed. THEY ARE FINE SCHOOLS! But, while there may be the odd case of a kid turning down Harvard to attend the Naval Academy, that is atypical. While the academy students are smart, the numbers objectively indicate that they are - on average - less well-qualified than their peers ranked next to them.

Another data point: the academies explicitly state that an applicant must be in the top 40% of their class. While I understand that not every applicant is accepted, a student of that achievement level stands no chance of admission to WASP.

DCUM, prattle on![/quote]

I agree that it's odd to include the academies with the other liberal arts colleges on a ranking list. There probably aren't a lot of students trying to decide between Oberlin and West Point or Vassar and Annapolis. But nothing is perfect. On another posting, some are perplexed that tiny CalTech with its 1000 students is on the same university list as its neighbor UCLA with its 45,000 students. But I think we can all deduce that lists, rankings, and classifications are always going to be a trifle imperfect.

But to insinuate that West Point, Annapolis and Air Force Academy students are somehow lesser than your precious liberal arts students - as you clearly do - displays a remarkable amount of pure ignorance. The academies, of course, are selecting individuals for their aptitude as officers in the U.S. military. Whether someone scores a 1400 or a 1500 on the SAT is one factor among many. In addition to grades and the rigor of their classes, what matters is leadership, fitness, a sense of community, discipline, and a willingness to serve. Your average Colby or Swarthmore applicant isn't passing the Candidate Fitness Assessment or has the presence and grit to receive a Congressional Nomination from their state's U.S. Senators. Do you really think, in the absence of all other considerations, that someone with a tutor that eventually superscores to a 1540 is somehow better and more impressive that an individual that has all the additional qualities and skills necessary for an appointment to one of the academies?

That's a very narrow way of judging the value of someone.

Obviously, the military academies and liberal arts colleges are different educational experiences. And they attract different kinds of applicants. But anyone that has become familiar with the graduates of the U.S. military academies certainly do not regard them as lesser or dumber than those that went to more traditional liberal arts schools. You ought to try to meet some. And you'll meet quite a few in the graduate programs at Harvard. [/quote]

Well said![/quote]

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