Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids in the 99.99% percentile have at least 40 iq points on the kids in the 90% percentile. That’s a really big difference in smartness and what they are capable of achieving in college and beyond.

HOLY SH*T!?!?!?!?!

The difference between a 100 IQ and 140 IQ is so, so, so much more evident than the difference between a 90th and 99th percentile score. This is one of the most misinformed and/or mean-spirited things I have even seen on DCUM.

It's ok. There are kids out there who are smarter, even substantially smarter, than your own smart kid. Smart kids need other smart kids. I am working on this with my oldest (who has never met anyone smarter - yet). It's a hard pill to swallow because, the smarter you are, the more it becomes your defining feature.

And what difference is evident depends on the context.

They do! This is why we strongly encouraged our 99.9th%ile but not 99.99Th to find top schools and select from those admissions: they needed the stimulation pf being around many other smart and also meeting smartER kids. They had never met anyone smarter, and only a couple were close /similar to them in the prep school.
There are a few in their major who seem to be 99.99 types, and many peers who are 99.9. That has been a great experience, finally!
Our 95-96%ile kid (testing since elementary confirms thats whwre they are and sure enough psat 9 was the same ) will not be encouraged to apply to ivies/T10 because they will not be a good fit! Almost everyone will be a little smarter and most will be a lot smarter. No way is that a good fit.

90th is even lower and would drown at these schools

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids in the 99.99% percentile have at least 40 iq points on the kids in the 90% percentile. That’s a really big difference in smartness and what they are capable of achieving in college and beyond.

There is no test that can reliably distinguish 99.99 and 99.9 percentile. Or even 99.9 and 99.0. 99 and 90 - yes, for sure.

Ask a 99%ile kid. They can tell. They sit next to the 99.9%ile kid and see the difference.

Yes, absolutely true. But the 90th%ile presents as a larger gap in the context of college because there are many schools with a college pace designed to be doably-hard for the average student there(99th %ile) yet are not really possible for a 90th. There are no colleges designed for the average kid to be a 99.9 %ile kid. These kids do go through the hardest rigor classes at the top schools and get mostly or all As, almost always barring oddball classes, finishing above the mean easily. They are the top 10-15% there. The 90th %ile kids, the few that get in, are the bottom 5% at these schools.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids in the 99.99% percentile have at least 40 iq points on the kids in the 90% percentile. That’s a really big difference in smartness and what they are capable of achieving in college and beyond.

HOLY SH*T!?!?!?!?!

The difference between a 100 IQ and 140 IQ is so, so, so much more evident than the difference between a 90th and 99th percentile score. This is one of the most misinformed and/or mean-spirited things I have even seen on DCUM.

It's ok. There are kids out there who are smarter, even substantially smarter, than your own smart kid. Smart kids need other smart kids. I am working on this with my oldest (who has never met anyone smarter - yet). It's a hard pill to swallow because, the smarter you are, the more it becomes your defining feature.

And what difference is evident depends on the context.

It’s far better in life to just be normal. They are usually happier than the exceptional kids who have a difficult time fitting in.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids in the 99.99% percentile have at least 40 iq points on the kids in the 90% percentile. That’s a really big difference in smartness and what they are capable of achieving in college and beyond.

I’d love to see your source for this.

It is called a normal curve.

Well, you say it’s a normal curve, but where do you get your data?

The data that IQ is normally distributed in a population?

I’m no trying to give you a hard time nor do I disagree that a kid with a 99 percentile score probably has a high IQ. What I’m asking is have you found a study that shows that 90the percentile SAT kids have X IQs and 99.99 percentile kids have Y IQs?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But how many kids who ultimately get in the 1500s start out around 1350 and then study and tutor up to the 1500s? I'll put my own kids in that bucket. And I know that's the way it is but man the rat race we've created that rewards the kids who can afford those privileges...

(shrug) life should reward people who work hard over a long period of time.

Ugh - what is the point of "working hard" to achieve a score though on this test? I'd so much rather kids spend time working hard at a job or in classes or on activities they enjoy. Or just relaxing and not working hard. And it is absolutely a privilege and a luxury to be able to get a kid tutors and classes to boost their scores. That's one of the reasons schools like Bowdoin went test optional in the first place, because these scores are falsely inflated.

It's quite the privilege to have an opinion like that. Many families need their kids to go to the best schools they can so that they can guarantee getting the best job they can so that they can lift their families out of poverty or even from a slowly dying middle class existence. Some people don't have the wealth of social welfare networks such as extended family or generational wealth to buttress them. Hopefully their next generation or the one after that can have your laissez-faire attitude.

Yet the top schools are filled with affluent, privileged, connected kids not those that really NEED to get into a top school to get a top job to lift their family out of poverty. So hopefully you can see how messed up the system is because it is rewarding the rich for their resources that can be spent on their children’s education.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, kids who score in the 90th percentile can get through the toughest schools. The universities know this. That is why athletes can get into the best schools and most do quite well.

Most athletes take "easy majors", get tons of tutoring/assistance, and take 5 years to graduate.

My kid attended a Jesuit university with a T20 BB team. Had 2 of the "stars athletes" in classes. They were definately Not smart

and neither are you!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm confused... you're asking why your kid didn't get an A on the SAT?

No--- I'm asking why 1350plus is not "smart enough" for most top schools

DP.

It IS smart enough for most top schools.

The problem is that other applicants are "smarter", if you believe that standardized test scores reflect "smartness".

Everything else being equal, colleges don't want "smart enough", they want "smartest available", right?

Why would you assume college want smartest available? They are schools, not employers.

A school should want smartest available even more than an employer.

Not the test prep schools! Kumon and Kaplan would cease to exist if the put all their time and effort and marketing budget into recruiting kids who didn't actually need their services!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm confused... you're asking why your kid didn't get an A on the SAT?

No--- I'm asking why 1350plus is not "smart enough" for most top schools

DP.

It IS smart enough for most top schools.

The problem is that other applicants are "smarter", if you believe that standardized test scores reflect "smartness".

Everything else being equal, colleges don't want "smart enough", they want "smartest available", right?

Why would you assume college want smartest available? They are schools, not employers.

A school should want smartest available even more than an employer.

At the highest levels EQ comes into play. I grew up with a fellow who has an exceptionally high IQ. Career wise he has done everything from coding trading systems on Wall Street to loading packages at UPS. Presently unemployed and barely surviving off of money he earning in the early 2000s. His problem is a completely inability to deal with people who aren't as smart as he is. Over and over and over again he ends up laid off or fired by people who have the common sense he just doesn't understand. And, to be clear, he is endlessly resentful of the people who keep getting ahead despite not being as clever as he is. Don't get too excited of IQ in and of itself. hic sunt dracones

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids in the 99.99% percentile have at least 40 iq points on the kids in the 90% percentile. That’s a really big difference in smartness and what they are capable of achieving in college and beyond.

I’d love to see your source for this.

It is called a normal curve.

Well, you say it’s a normal curve, but where do you get your data?

The data that IQ is normally distributed in a population?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids in the 99.99% percentile have at least 40 iq points on the kids in the 90% percentile. That’s a really big difference in smartness and what they are capable of achieving in college and beyond.

I’d love to see your source for this.

It is called a normal curve.

Well, you say it’s a normal curve, but where do you get your data?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids in the 99.99% percentile have at least 40 iq points on the kids in the 90% percentile. That’s a really big difference in smartness and what they are capable of achieving in college and beyond.

HOLY SH*T!?!?!?!?!

The difference between a 100 IQ and 140 IQ is so, so, so much more evident than the difference between a 90th and 99th percentile score. This is one of the most misinformed and/or mean-spirited things I have even seen on DCUM.

It's ok. There are kids out there who are smarter, even substantially smarter, than your own smart kid. Smart kids need other smart kids. I am working on this with my oldest (who has never met anyone smarter - yet). It's a hard pill to swallow because, the smarter you are, the more it becomes your defining feature.

And what difference is evident depends on the context.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids in the 99.99% percentile have at least 40 iq points on the kids in the 90% percentile. That’s a really big difference in smartness and what they are capable of achieving in college and beyond.

There is no test that can reliably distinguish 99.99 and 99.9 percentile. Or even 99.9 and 99.0. 99 and 90 - yes, for sure.

Ask a 99%ile kid. They can tell. They sit next to the 99.9%ile kid and see the difference.

Not saying the kids can't tell (possible) - but the tests can't tell.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids in the 99.99% percentile have at least 40 iq points on the kids in the 90% percentile. That’s a really big difference in smartness and what they are capable of achieving in college and beyond.

I’d love to see your source for this.

It is called a normal curve.

Anonymous wrote:Kids in the 99.99% percentile have at least 40 iq points on the kids in the 90% percentile. That’s a really big difference in smartness and what they are capable of achieving in college and beyond.

I’d love to see your source for this.