<p>You probably have met someone in high school or college who you instinctively assumed was academically unexceptional and certainly below you, possibly because of his looks, social class, socially unrefined behavior, etc. Then one day the guy received an academic recognition and you realized that this guy was also an honor roll student and that his GPA must have been higher or at least as high as yours. You couldn't believe it.</p>
<p>If that's you, how did you feel and behave towards that guy after you learned that despite what you took for granted and seemed so obvious to you, he wasn't your academic "inferior" and that in fact, according to your twisted logic :), might have even been your academic and perhaps even intellectual "superior"? Did you befriend him? hate him? envy him? ridicule him? ignore him?</p>
<p>After your surreal realization, was your perception of people who perform well academically modified in any way? Did you become less inclined to think that there is a meaningful correlation between intelligence/social class/physical appearance/social skills and academic performance?</p>
No. Most “good students” don’t walk around in bow ties with pocket protectors and harry potter style glasses with tape holding them together. “Bad students” don’t look like thugs or something.
No, because there was no “surreal” realization that in real life “good students” don’t look like the nerds in cartoons. Also, no one really seems to care about each others grades or designate other people as their “inferior” or “superior” based on something like gpa. </p>
<p>The only time i assume someone is an idiot is if they say something idiotic. Like last week in class some girl didn’t know Iceland was a country and thought it was the same as Greenland (“like, isn’t it frozen? don’t people not like live there?”)</p>
<p>I’m curious to know what people think of me, actually. Sometimes I act like a real dumbass…no lie. Yet I’m one of about fourty students in my school’s honors program…sometimes I wonder if they slipped up letting me in, haha.</p>
<p>same here, I never really had to try in high school and people would mistake my natural intelligence for laziness. So while everyone would study for weeks ahed of a test I would just be finding out about the test on the same day, cram and still do better than them.
But now its biting me in the butt because I don’t have the study skills necessary for college >.< oh well</p>
<p>Eh, I’m kinda that kid. I think it’s the hoodie and how little I care about politics and prefer to tell sex jokes but I am smart and I hear a lot of “wow, you’re actually going there” and this year people are actually realizing I’m good at math but while I like math I’ve never really made a big deal of bragging. So I don’t really judge people’s intelligence based off of first impression and I hope others won’t either.</p>
<p>But I don’t think anyone hates people like that. Everyone is kinda like that at some point, no one just walks around looking like Bill Gates. If someone were like that then they’d just need to get over themselves.</p>
<p>I think I’ve always been one of these people, too. I had a friend who honestly thought I was a raging moron for years, would go out of his way to explain political/historical/literary jokes to me because he assumed I didn’t understand them, and was just totally flabbergasted when he found out I had aced the English/writing/science portions of the ACT and written a novel all within the same month. I feel like a lot of people have actually underestimated me in that sense throughout my life. I don’t really understand it - I don’t act ditzy or skanky, I’m more snarky, if anything. So no. I don’t dislike other people who are smarter than they seem. If anything, I admire them.</p>
<p>It’s funny, in high school everyone just assumed I was a good student because I was quiet-- and I really wasn’t. Now people assume I am a bad student, I couldn’t say why but I’d assume it’s because of my dress, and I’m actually not at all. Oh well, their loss.</p>
<p>Probably about half my grade is like that. I didn’t base my opinion off of looks though. A couple of the most ADD people in my classes (who would literally act like 3 year olds) actually turned out to be some of the smartest in the grade once they finally got on medication for it. Others drink, party, and do drugs many weekends and then get a 33 on the ACT without studying, As in their AP classes, and 4s and 5s on the AP exams. </p>
<p>On the other hand, I’m often automatically assumed, even by friends, to be the perfect student because I’m quiet and “studious looking”, but I’m really not. I don’t take the hardest course loads and have 2 Cs on my transcript.</p>
<p>I learned a while ago not to do that. Because my high school was such a competitive and intelligent one, even the “bad” kids (smoking, drinking, etc.) were really smart. Some were lazy and disorganized but they still got the grades.</p>
<p>I’ve had both kinds of experiences. At my high school, if you looked like a druggie and dressed sloppily all the time, you probably were a druggie and didn’t care at all about school. So if you saw someone who looked like they fit into that category, it was a safe bet that they weren’t going to surprise you with previously unknown intelligence.</p>
<p>On the other hand, I think I was someone who surprised people because I was quiet and hung around people who didn’t get good grades. So it works both ways, I suppose.</p>
<p>People definitely judge, but much more in HS. I know what kinda student the OP means, and it seems like some other posters have caught on (quiet, yet doesn’t hang around the nerds or kids that get good grades, so you just assume social misfit). I would say in general people in high school are often surprised by this (“omg, you got into WHAT?! you got a full tuition scholarship WHERE?!”), but college is the great leveler. A lot of times the smarty pants does badly, or the “moron” is getting straight As. The kid involved in a million activities may have a 4.0 or he may have a 2.0. The kid with the best job may not have the best grades. The kid with the worst may not have the worst. In college people care MUCH less about tangible reflections of achievements (admissions to elite schools, etc.) and they also often aren’t surprised by a disconnect in grades and tangible achievements (i.e. jobs) anyway.</p>
<p>I know what the OP means. I had a friend who did copious amounts of drugs and drinking throughout high school, yet he was by far the smartest person I knew. He pulled off a really good gpa without studying or focusing and was really involved in research. Every time my parents compared me to him and found that I fell short of his achievements, I wanted to out him, but of course that would’ve done nothing because he was still successful. </p>
<p>Also, I feel like you’re just jealous that you see all these equally smart people and youre still a dork.</p>
<p>I am one of these students as well. People see me and have oppinions instantly. I work on cars most of the day, I’m the class clown sometimes, and fit into the jock group I guess. The thing that really makes people think I’m a burnout is that I am open about drug use. </p>
<p>When people discover that not only did I do exceptionally well on the SAT, but also got into good schools, it blows them away. </p>
<p>Just because some people know how to have a good time, and don’t study all day every day, doesen’t mean they’re dumb.</p>
<p>I am definitely one of those people (in high school, at least). Sometimes I even feel ashamed to associate myself that way and not reflect the typical “academic” image, but then again, I have a feeling that I’ll be able to function better socially than most other people that don’t act the part.</p>
<p>The thing is I act very different at school than I do at home. At school, I am always attentive in class and ask questions. The people that know me from my classes all know I am intelligent and the like. At home I tend to relax A LOT–I try to party whenever I can and I smoke (not tobacco) nearly every weekend and a few times throughout the week. When people find out that I am in the highest math and physics class at the school, they are always legitimately surprised. I guess what makes me different is that I go with the flow and don’t try to plan out a future. I like to have fun and have always been able to balance that with school.</p>
<p>^Exactly. I honestly believe that the kids who have to look and act the part of being the super smart geek kids in high school may not be as smart as some of the more laid back kids who have a good time, but also do extremely well academically. I give 1/2 of the effort in school that I could, and still get A’s and B’s in honor classes</p>