<p>I just wish I had more “innate” intelligence. Why can’t I be one of those who can study the first time around and get it? Why am I not able to do that? I’ve always had to work harder for good grades.</p>
<p>And in the end, the fact that you’re working hard will serve you better than the students here at Brown that breeze through for their A’s. Believe me, I know it’s hard to go somewhere where you’re no longer the top student - so many of us had an easy time in high school and have struggled after arriving at Brown. Even as a PLME, who’s supposedly the “top of the top,” Orgo kicked my butt and I really didn’t do that well, even when spending 5 nights a week at problem sessions and working with friends who were all doing better than me. It’s hard. I know.</p>
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<p>Stonesn, be careful what you wish for! Exceptionally smart children don’t grow up without problems, they just have a different set of problems to deal with. I say that as a parent to two statistical outliers (both with tested IQs well over 150). My older son graduated high school at age 14 and was learning algebra at age 6. My younger son was a late bloomer due to his shyness, but finished high school in 3 years and effortlessly aced every standardized test he ever took, including two ACT 36.0s, a PSAT 240, dual SAT II 800s and six 5s out of seven on his AP math and science tests.</p>
<p>Guess what? It’s not all that hard to compete with such kids, if you only find your niche.</p>
<p>The older son will often start a complex and time-coming task and quit 90% of the way through it, either due to boredom or because he is unwilling to rise to the challenge: He never truly learned diligence because everything came easy to him. Unfortunately for him, everyone eventually reaches a point where he or she hits a wall that’s not easy to overcome; in such situations, those with superior study skills will almost always win the day.</p>
<p>The younger one is both smart and hard-working, and he’s an excellent teacher. Yet he thinks differently from the mass of humanity: He doesn’t grasp the concept of small-talk. He can readily find connections between the most unlikely combination of subjects, yet has serious trouble answering a generic open-ended question, chiefly because his mind gets bogged down by infinite branching possibilities. He will respond “I don’t know” when he only understands 80% of something because, in his mind, he doesn’t yet fully understand that system. He’s a great listener, but has no desire to promote himself, even when it’s in his best interest. When asked what most would consider an open-ended question, he will tend to answer it narrowly as opposed to using it as a jumping-off point.</p>
<p>As you might imagine, these characteristics will likely leave him at a severe disadvantage when applying for a job or an internship. Once he does land a job, he will likely be well respected, but may not get promoted to management due to his lack of advanced “people skills.”</p>
<p>You can flourish by showing yourself to be something these kids cannot be: a communicator, a facilitator between the tech-heads and management, a person who understands the technical stuff well enough to ask the right questions and relay those answers succinctly to the general decision-makers.</p>
<p>You might find a way to not try to directly compete with such minds, but rather to use them as a resource to improve your own opportunities. Come up with an idea for a campus organization, a non-profit or a new business; engage such individuals to focus on the technical stuff and show your ability to organize, promote and manage their talents. Prove yourself in this way and no employer will care if you got straight A’s or straight B’s in your classes.</p>
<p>^ Very well put. If I may ask, where did your kids go to college?</p>
<p>Sanguinee, my younger son is currently attending Brown. The older one attended the state college near our home – at age 14, sending him away to school did not seem appropriate.</p>
<p>Brown is also known to be an ‘easy’ Ivy, when it’s not… I don’t even know how they got their reputation of inflating grades! So the B you worked incredibly hard for will become discredited by peers and employers.</p>
<p>“I am sure employers also know the value of your B at Brown. Keep up the good work!”</p>
<p>Do they though?</p>