Reply to College Admissions Doesn't Need to Be So Competitive: Super High Stat Kids are not "a dime a dozen."

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]He is wrong. the SAT and GPA are totally inflated from a couple of decades ago so just on the numbers, there are roughly 40,000 test takers scoring 34+/1500+ on the ACT/SAT.

Add to it that schools need enough students for the different majors and departments, so they aren't all going to just take top STEM kids or something. They need/want to round out clubs, theater, sports, etc and their admissions are geared accordingly to ensure their campuses are filled with enriching students of varying backgrounds and contributions to their communities.[/quote]

But the numbers ARE the numbers. The kids who score a 1550+ are the top .05%. The point he is making is that these top schools are not taking the BRIGHTEST students. They are taking interesting/compelling/cool/connected students with much lower stats. So the question is: What defines a top school? It's not because your peers will intellectually challenge you. It's something else, but these should no longer be considered the only top "intellectual" institutions. It's just different.

The UK and other countries still find value in assembling classes with the smartest, brightest kids with high IQs so they can handle the work and challenge each other intellectually. Sure the colleges need dancers, trumpet players, etc., but we have to be honest about what these Ivy League institutions have become. [/quote]

High test score does not equal “intellectual.” Holistic admissions is designed to create an interesting intellectual community. That’s why backgrounds and experiences matter—they are what develop your intellect and your perspectives. And I say this as the parent of one kid with a perfect ACT score and another who struggled on standardized tests; this factor has NO correlation with who they are intellectually and what they bring to a university community.[/quote]

The very brightest/highest IQ kids often struggle in the real world.  I believe on balance it's better to be on the high side of average.  Otherwise you get stuck in the role of Cassandra...nobody else can see what you see. Unless you're also blessed with high EQ and IQ.  The SATs do not measure EQ.

UMC families often tend to have high EQ as well as privilege.  But lots of smart people are not so smart.  I have lots of political issues at work dealing with people who are slow to catch on.  But I got a free ride to grad school, in part based on 98%ile GMATs.

The reason why cookie-cutter high stats kids have trouble competing is precisely because they are on a planned track for their whole lives.

A lot of high SAT math is really just traceable to prepping and early focus on skills.  US public K-12 does that poorly. Yet, for most professions, none of that type of math is used on a daily basis.  It's just part of the weed out track for STEM professions.[/quote]

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