Reply to “I’d rather have a happy kid at UMD than a miserable one at Harvard”

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I went to HYP in the 90s. Half the kids were super smart - got there purely on academic merit - half the kids were not. I don’t know how much has changed. I suspect not that much. Given that in half the cases the kids were not quite dumb but actually in some cases were kinda dumb (I am thinking of an athlete who lived across from me who could barely write a sentence), it’s hard for me to believe any bright kid would be unable to cope at these schools (obviously they shouldn’t pursue a STEM major). With the emphasis on URM and FGLI, I am skeptical the academic caliber of students overall has improved that much. Everyone basically managed, even the kids who I felt didn’t deserve to be there academically, many of whom were my friends![/quote]

This…the academic merit kids tended to load up on double majors and research with professors and the other kids did the easiest majors with the least requirements [/quote]

Brother got in HYP as the #1 high school track athlete in his event in the country, with 1500 SAT's to boot.  He wanted a big time athletic experience along with a coach that didn't demand high mileage (needless to say, he was very talented).  So he went to UNC - back when it was not as competitive as it is now.  Found the academic terrain to his liking, and while diligent, did not do that much work in his math major.  Phi Beta Kappa - 4.0 GPA.  Ironically the prof who encouraged him in math was a visiting professor from Dartmouth.  All American in his sport, he knew he had to move on from sports pretty quickly. His teammate a world class athlete went on to get a Phd and became a university chancellor at one of the largest universities in the nation (and then later a college president).  It was easy for him to find the right group to hang with.   Received fellowships for econ Phd - from a poor single mother home - never paid a dime of tuition in his life.  Very well known investment manager today and economist.  Freely admits that he would not have done as well academically at an Ivy League school or even at the school I attended (his wife went there).   I went to one of the high ranking so-called prestige schools (one of two ranked in the top 10 that gives scholarships) on athletic scholarship, and while I did well, regretted not going to one of the Big 10 schools to which I was offered.I did well, but would have found a better fit socially and academically at one of those schools.  The focus on prestige really is harmful.  I was too immature to know better. Value and affordability matter above all else today, so perhaps things have changed. [/quote]

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