<p>Congrats to anyone who got into their choices, but can you guys survive and handle the rigors of an elite university? Think about it, you guys must improve or you will be a face among the crowd. The smart kid you thought no one was smarter than? There are many of these type guys at elite schools. </p>
<pre><code> Can you survive and get good grades or will you drop out/get sucky grades?
</code></pre>
<p>If you're good enough to gain admission to Harvard, you're probably good enough to at least graduate with a bachelors. However, like all universities, there will be exceptions- but such exceptions do not undermine the overall success of the student body(Harvard has a 97& graduation rate). There's much, much more to just standing out numerically in an elite university. One can be making life-long friends, networking, and maybe even bonding with a potential next president of the united states. Don't get me wrong, there will definitely be competition, but "survival" really isn't something uber-awesome students worry about on a daily basis- if anything, it would be self discovery and perseverance that will be the ultimate deciding factors of success not only in the university, but in life.</p>
<p>Strangely I've found it to be the complete opposite. I not that great of a student (15/190 rank)and never have been super great at science. Yet as a hs senior who takes a science class at an elite lac I have been well above average in the class each semester. I was one of only 10 out of 80 who received an A in the class first semester.</p>
<p>Awhile ago while I was at the driving range, a random guy came up to me and challenged me to a friendly putting game. He was Canadian and wasn't very good at putting (like me); overall, a very ordinary guy.</p>
<p>It turned out he went to Harvard for graduate school a couple years ago. I was pretty surprised, to be honest. For the duration of our little game, we talked about colleges and careers. Basically, he told me that the hardest part of these elite schools (well, Harvard at least) is actually getting in. I explicitly remember him telling me: "it is just about impossible to fail", and I believe him. After all, George W. Bush maintained a C average IIRC. It seems that as long as you're a pretty bright kid, actually doing the work should not be too difficult. Now you may not be at the top of yuor class like you once were, but it seems that the overall experience is not as rigorous or stressful as high school is. </p>
<p>He also stressed the importance of networking, and he seemed very sincere about it. </p>
<p>Almost no one ever flunks out of an elite college. Take a look at 4 year graduation rates, almost without fail, the harder the school is to get into the better their 4 year grad rate.</p>
<p>Also, your grades are in comparison to the student population at your respective college, so your grades would still be lower if you aren't ready for the work.</p>
<p>I don't think the correlation between acceptance to an elite college and their graduation rates is because "it's easier" after you get in. Yes, we have heard from many of our high school's alumni that college was actually easier than their jr year (when most students overload themselves with AP and Honors) and when other students are complaining they have 3 hours of homework, our students are saying they ONLY have three hours of homework. Preparation seems to be key and elite schools seem to get the most prepared out there.</p>
<p>Still.. the reason the grad rates are higher is because you typically have a higher achieving and motivated group of students over all (vs the state school or equiv). If you get into Amherst, let's say, you are the kind of kid who does his work and likes to learn and do well -- otherwise you wouldn't have been accepted. As for the grades you earn, I too have heard that Harvard does give it's fair share of great grades. And a friend of mine who went to Harvard Law school said that beyond getting in and the first year, the last two years were more about scaring the 1st years!</p>
<p>It all depends on the student, their motivation and their qualities.</p>
<p>I have an exaple, one of my friends, GPA 3.9, SAT I of 2200.... he's super smart, all APs, lots of ECs, but NO MOTIVATION. right now he's in Community college and eventually wants to transfer to engineering.</p>
<p>Another friend went to UCI, 3.9 GPA, 1490 SAT, She's doing well but constanly complaining of the "level" of the classes</p>
<p>and other friends with 3.4 GPAs and high SATs (1900) are in state colleges doing very well, straight As.</p>
<p>I say it's all about motivation and the person's interest in actually doing well and get their most of out their education.
Cause being smart, having high SATs but if u don't have the desire to get an education then you won't succeed.</p>
<p>And not having high GPAs and SATs doesn't mean u won't survive, I've seen many classmates doing better then the "elite" people from high school, in college.</p>
<p>This is a good topic, even if I have issues with the phrasing ("you guys must improve"? Really?) in that it's something people don't think much about when they are applying (for reference, I'm a young MIT alum, so that's the perspective I'm looking at this with).</p>
<p>People do need to realize that for some of them, it will be very difficult. By definition, half the people in your entering class at your elite school will be in the bottom half of the class. Most people who go to elite colleges aren't used to that, and even if they think they're prepared, they usually aren't emotionally.</p>
<p>That said, the majority of people, even at elite schools that are known to be tough, do make it through, even if some have a rockier road along the way than they expected. I made it through (and I did, in fact, have a rockier road than I expected). And I got into grad school and I have a good job that I like, so I clearly didn't ruin my life. :)</p>
<p>I think it's two things. Yes, the already high achievers are motivated. But most of these schools also have rampant grade inflation and at most a gentleman's C is about as low as it goes.</p>
<p>
[quote]
okay, is passing the only thing you want?
[/quote]
I would hope that by the time you're in college you won't be as obsessed about grades as you are in high school--there's more to measuring the 'fullness' of a life than just your grades and most will be happy as long as they get satisfactory grades. You're supposed to be making new friends, exploring new things, and participating in extracurriculars.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Also, your grades are in comparison to the student population at your respective college, so your grades would still be lower if you aren't ready for the work.
[/quote]
Some classes curve, some don't curve; either way they usually compensate for the fact that you're being compared to other overachievers when they curve. For example, the curve for a higher level class will have more As than the curve for a lower level class because those kids would've taken the lower level class if they weren't qualified for the harder one.
And like others have pointed out, the point of the rigorous admissions standards is to weed out the kids that 'aren't ready for the work,' so almost all the kids at these colleges will be able to pull off decent grades if they put in a moderate amount of effort.</p>