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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Any college is what kids make of it. Some are there to learn. Others may be there to focus on what they want to do for careers. But most are there to be surrounded by people who think and view the world like they do. They only spend 12 hours a week in class! The rest is around people! These kids are self-motivated, highly intelligent, and capable of picking up new concepts quickly. That’s what separates them - not inflated grades or “easy” classes.

Every degree requires a certain number of credit hours, but does anyone really believe the level of classroom engagement  for a chemistry or mechanical engineering major should be the same as for an economics major? Different fields and classes have different structures and workloads. A lot of students at these top university are not learning "skills" for a job.

My daughter is now a sophomore at a top university. She actually does goes to class. Some are "worth it", some not so much. Some are mandatory; others are optional. That’s just reality.

- Intro to Computer Science: 300 students in a lecture. The professor runs through 100 slides in an hour She reviews them later and attends TA sessions to really grasp the material. She’s not a CS major and had never coded before, but she’s smart enough to learn it quickly. She will definitely get an A and could probably pass an entry-level internship interview now - though she knows she’d hate doing it as a career. For kids that are more interested or already exposed, they don’t always go come to class or TA sessions and can just submit the problem sets.
- Political Science: Class time is all discussion. Tests are open book. It’s more about engagement and critical thinking than memorization.
- Economics: Her favorite. They dive into real-world applications of concepts and formulas. She reads ahead, connects ideas on her own, and thrives - not because it’s easy, but because she’s curious and driven. And if she is quizzed on the top concepts covered over the past month or so, she can definitely ace it. 
- Math: It’s a flipped classroom model. She learns concepts independently before class, and in class, they review problems. If she understands those, she’ll ace the test. And she does - because she puts in the work.

The bottom line: top students succeed because they’re motivated and capable, not because the school hands out easy As.  [/quote]

Jared Kushner: so motivated, so capable.[/quote]

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