Anonymous
05/22/2026 10:41
Subject: What did the top 10% of students do differently?
Hard work over time. Studying every day. This assumes a kid doesn’t have other responsibilities that overwhelm them or take too much time (that can be family responsibilities or even ECs, like sports).
Anonymous
05/22/2026 10:22
Subject: What did the top 10% of students do differently?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:An aversion to bringing dishonor on the family.
It's mostly this, especially with first or second generations.
White people could do with a dose of shame.
Anonymous
05/22/2026 06:16
Subject: What did the top 10% of students do differently?
Anonymous wrote:An aversion to bringing dishonor on the family.
It's mostly this, especially with first or second generations.
Anonymous
05/21/2026 08:52
Subject: What did the top 10% of students do differently?
Anonymous wrote:Why does everything revert back to racist ideologies?
The orange dotard has emboldened the racists.
Anonymous
05/21/2026 08:19
Subject: What did the top 10% of students do differently?
Why does everything revert back to racist ideologies?
Anonymous
05/21/2026 04:56
Subject: What did the top 10% of students do differently?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Hard work. Based on Asian over representation at top schools they’re obviously doing well in other fields too.
Their parents take it seriously. And don’t expect the school to do the only teaching.
My kid is a top 5% kid. But if she had Asian parents I think she’d be valedictorian. Doesn’t mean she’d be happy or she wouldn’t burn out, but we did not drive her as hard as we could have it. We discussed it a lot. Should we push more, less? How to know?
I’m Asian, and I got bullied as being stupid in school
Anonymous
05/20/2026 13:36
Subject: What did the top 10% of students do differently?
An aversion to bringing dishonor on the family.
Anonymous
05/19/2026 21:43
Subject: What did the top 10% of students do differently?
Anonymous wrote:I guess I’m from the school of Hard Knocks. There’s a reason that Jews and Asians punch way above their weight academically. They’re not smarter. They work harder and are more disciplined (I’m Jewish). I’m reading way too many excuses and rationalizations in the comments above. I don’t doubt that some kids face real challenges and I don’t mean to demean them. However, I hold multiple Ivy degrees. I met a few really smart people in school. But, by and large, my classmates were like everyone else but put in more effort to achieve. I’ve found the same thing in my career.
Did your parents emphasize education, push you to work hard, and provide support that enabled you to do so (prioritizing homework and academic achievement even when it was burdensome for the family)? If so, that's your leg up. It's also not limited to Asian and Jewish kids, though culturally those communities have strong traditions of supporting academics. But you can find families of every race and religion who do this and, lo and behold, their kids tend to do well academically and professionally.
It's frustrating because you think "well why don't all parents do this?" The answer is generational -- if your parents didn't do this, then you won't know how to do it for your kids. It's also hard to do this, and requires some degree of selflessness and sacrifice. People generally learn how to do that from their own parents. Breaking that pattern is incredibly hard.
If you had a family that prioritized your education and made sure you learned how to excel in academic and professional environments, be grateful and try to understand how incredibly hard it would be for someone to achieve your success without any of that support.
Anonymous
05/19/2026 21:19
Subject: What did the top 10% of students do differently?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Of course some people are just smarter than others. How is that not obvious?
I don’t think we’re allowed to say that.
That’s because it’s outdated thinking. What exactly makes a person smarter than another. In school it’s probably a little easier to detect. Academically smarter is someone who has an easier time memorizing a lot of new information. If you have a logical mind you’ll be able to relate to the information easily. If you have a mathematical mind then math will come easier to you.
But scientists have broken down the various forms of intellect that have nothing to do with IQ which will be more important after school is completed.
Most people don’t know their IQ or need to know unless there is a problem.
Actually, I don't think you are citing accepted research on intelligence. Being successful in school is more than memorization. Multiple intelligences (if that is what you are trying to discuss) is not scientifically accepted.
Anonymous
05/19/2026 20:13
Subject: What did the top 10% of students do differently?
Anonymous wrote:Hard work. Based on Asian over representation at top schools they’re obviously doing well in other fields too.
Their parents take it seriously. And don’t expect the school to do the only teaching.
My kid is a top 5% kid. But if she had Asian parents I think she’d be valedictorian. Doesn’t mean she’d be happy or she wouldn’t burn out, but we did not drive her as hard as we could have it. We discussed it a lot. Should we push more, less? How to know?
Anonymous
05/19/2026 17:16
Subject: Re:What did the top 10% of students do differently?
Apart from being born in functional, intact, educated, informed, not-poor families and winning the genetic lottery?
- Involved parents who prioritized education.
- Involved parents who strategized, enriched, used textbooks, kept an eye on what the school was delivering or not delivering, and made up the gap in knowledge
- A team backing the student which consisted of - parents, community that showed them the pathways to success, similar cohort and their parents, perhaps teachers/tutors/coaches.
- Parents who educated themselves on the blueprint of success, researched what to do, and had a map and guideline for what their student needed to do, from what age.
- Involved parents who prioritized education.
- Involved parents who strategized, enriched, used textbooks, kept an eye on what the school was delivering or not delivering, and made up the gap in knowledge
- A team backing the student which consisted of - parents, community that showed them the pathways to success, similar cohort and their parents, perhaps teachers/tutors/coaches.
- Parents who educated themselves on the blueprint of success, researched what to do, and had a map and guideline for what their student needed to do, from what age.
Anonymous
05/19/2026 16:47
Subject: What did the top 10% of students do differently?
Hard work. Based on Asian over representation at top schools they’re obviously doing well in other fields too.
Anonymous
05/19/2026 16:42
Subject: What did the top 10% of students do differently?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I guess I’m from the school of Hard Knocks. There’s a reason that Jews and Asians punch way above their weight academically. They’re not smarter. They work harder and are more disciplined (I’m Jewish). I’m reading way too many excuses and rationalizations in the comments above. I don’t doubt that some kids face real challenges and I don’t mean to demean them. However, I hold multiple Ivy degrees. I met a few really smart people in school. But, by and large, my classmates were like everyone else but put in more effort to achieve. I’ve found the same thing in my career.
What is your opinion on why Asian students are disproportionately excelling in math and science?hard work. They may not be quite as dominant in some other fields because some may be from households where English isn’t the first language. That said, many are doing well across the board based on their over representation at top schools.
Anonymous
05/19/2026 14:55
Subject: What did the top 10% of students do differently?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Of course some people are just smarter than others. How is that not obvious?
I don’t think we’re allowed to say that.
That’s because it’s outdated thinking. What exactly makes a person smarter than another. In school it’s probably a little easier to detect. Academically smarter is someone who has an easier time memorizing a lot of new information. If you have a logical mind you’ll be able to relate to the information easily. If you have a mathematical mind then math will come easier to you.
But scientists have broken down the various forms of intellect that have nothing to do with IQ which will be more important after school is completed.
Most people don’t know their IQ or need to know unless there is a problem.
No it's not. I'm 40 in a workplace and people still get categorized into the smarties and the dummies.
Anonymous
05/19/2026 14:46
Subject: What did the top 10% of students do differently?
Anonymous wrote:I guess I’m from the school of Hard Knocks. There’s a reason that Jews and Asians punch way above their weight academically. They’re not smarter. They work harder and are more disciplined (I’m Jewish). I’m reading way too many excuses and rationalizations in the comments above. I don’t doubt that some kids face real challenges and I don’t mean to demean them. However, I hold multiple Ivy degrees. I met a few really smart people in school. But, by and large, my classmates were like everyone else but put in more effort to achieve. I’ve found the same thing in my career.
What is your opinion on why Asian students are disproportionately excelling in math and science?