Anonymous wrote:It's the education system in the country being messed up. High schools supposed to get kids college ready, but they are not doing their job. They give out easy grades, the College board gives out high sat scores and high AP scores. Every one has high stats, and everyone seems happy.

When they are in college (any college, state uni or T25), they suddenly found out that they were under prepared. The valedictorian in high school suddenly found out they are getting their first C or D in life. Mental stress, depression follows.

Ivy leagues make it super easy for the students by inflating GPA to the moon. Everyone gets at least a B+. So they are fine.

But state univ are unforgiving with touch curves. Many kids at state univ suffer compared to ivy leagues.

Anonymous wrote:The difference between a high 1300s and 1500s SAT likely shows up in sophistication of writing and speed of absorbing quantitative concepts. That would put one at a disadvantage for taking tests and writing papers in many types of classes.

I've also noticed that people at the 700+ SAT level don't understand why it's hard for people to to score that high. They don't really get how people didn't internalize algebra, etc. So there's not always sympathy to be found among peers.

Anonymous wrote:my DC just finished up frosh year at one of these schools - worried about academic intensity going in since was admitted TO and had a 1320 SAT. Said the biggest issue was impostor syndrome, or as she said “feeling like you don’t belong”. Kids need to push past that as the school saw a reason to admit, and as she said “most of the Sidwell kids I know paid for their scores - or at least the last 200 points”. Pretty funny comment but that’s what these kids think - that SAT scores can be rigged with extensive - and i do mean extensive - paid prep. Oh and she wound up with a 4.0 second semester, after a somewhat shaky start. Kamala will never let tests come back in California, and she may abolish testing nationwide. She is one smart and savvy cookie!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's the education system in the country being messed up. High schools supposed to get kids college ready, but they are not doing their job. They give out easy grades, the College board gives out high sat scores and high AP scores. Every one has high stats, and everyone seems happy.

When they are in college (any college, state uni or T25), they suddenly found out that they were under prepared. The valedictorian in high school suddenly found out they are getting their first C or D in life. Mental stress, depression follows.

Ivy leagues make it super easy for the students by inflating GPA to the moon. Everyone gets at least a B+. So they are fine.

But state univ are unforgiving with touch curves. Many kids at state univ suffer compared to ivy leagues.

This is true.

Ivy leagues have a "too big to fail" type mentality and don't want to have a high drop out rate or low GPA average for the student body. They will do whatever it takes to keep you in there and pass the class, including letting you drop a class right before final and retake the class over and over.

You can't do that in big state u. It's a sink or swim.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I say it’s a few things. She says that her high school was harder than Yale, which does check out with where she went.

From how she’s talked to me about the situation, I think the academic intensity did take her by storm—as in the way students are laser focused on college compared to maybe other choices and how competitive it is to produce “good work.” She also had a pretty terrible housing situation and doesn’t really like the social scene for her reasons.

I try not to pry too much, unless she asks for guidance, but I do think it’s an academic culture mismatch

+1

My DD dropped out of CMU after her freshman year. She scored 1590 on the SAT, 36 on the ACT, and had 12 AP classes in HS. Her problem was that once she got to CMU, it was a very competitive/cut throat environment, and she could not handle just being average. My employer's CEO who graduated from Virginia Tech, had a talk with her and told her that there is no shame in transferring out of CMU. DD took a gap year, and she is now at VCU majoring in biomedical engineering, and she is very happy there. She has other things in her life, such as having a bf, time to practice her violin and piano. I am very happy for her.

hmm - a tiger mom perchance?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I see OP (as well as another Yalie in this thread) hasn't answered what MBB is. I am going to guess that it's molecular biology and biochemistry. Maybe?

Op here: I was the first one asking the Yale poster about MBB. From my googling, it seems that it is shorthand for McKinsey, Bain, and Boston Consulting Group so her daughter is gunning to go into consulting at a prestigious firm.

Anonymous wrote:It's the education system in the country being messed up. High schools supposed to get kids college ready, but they are not doing their job. They give out easy grades, the College board gives out high sat scores and high AP scores. Every one has high stats, and everyone seems happy.

When they are in college (any college, state uni or T25), they suddenly found out that they were under prepared. The valedictorian in high school suddenly found out they are getting their first C or D in life. Mental stress, depression follows.

Ivy leagues make it super easy for the students by inflating GPA to the moon. Everyone gets at least a B+. So they are fine.

But state univ are unforgiving with touch curves. Many kids at state univ suffer compared to ivy leagues.

When they are in college (any college, state uni or T25), they suddenly found out that they were under prepared. The valedictorian in high school suddenly found out they are getting their first C or D in life. Mental stress, depression follows.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I never pushed DC to do anything, but she had a real passion for getting into an Ivy. She's always chased "prestige," and lord I wish I know where she got it from. She's now at Yale and well...very very unhappy. Test optional 1380 SAT and 31 ACT. She's very creative, and I honestly see a future where she's in advertising, but she's too stuck in the MBB cycle to actually take up a passion. She hated her first semester academically and clawed to transfer. She stuck it out, but if I could go back, I really would've encouraged her to submit test scores and be at an appropriate fit.

OP here. Thanks for sharing about her experience. My DD is planning on applying test optional, too. She is not aiming as high though potentially test score mismatched as well.

As if that is an intelligence test that proves all. Come on. If a student can achieve at a rigorous high school, they can achieve at college. Is the high school not difficult and an easy A?
What is MBB?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I say it’s a few things. She says that her high school was harder than Yale, which does check out with where she went.

From how she’s talked to me about the situation, I think the academic intensity did take her by storm—as in the way students are laser focused on college compared to maybe other choices and how competitive it is to produce “good work.” She also had a pretty terrible housing situation and doesn’t really like the social scene for her reasons.

I try not to pry too much, unless she asks for guidance, but I do think it’s an academic culture mismatch

+1

My DD dropped out of CMU after her freshman year. She scored 1590 on the SAT, 36 on the ACT, and had 12 AP classes in HS. Her problem was that once she got to CMU, it was a very competitive/cut throat environment, and she could not handle just being average. My employer's CEO who graduated from Virginia Tech, had a talk with her and told her that there is no shame in transferring out of CMU. DD took a gap year, and she is now at VCU majoring in biomedical engineering, and she is very happy there. She has other things in her life, such as having a bf, time to practice her violin and piano. I am very happy for her.