<p>Not that I was involved in this Chinese vs. the World battle, nor have I yet formed an opinion on “having an advantage to get an A”, but in regards to a couple of your examples, I wouldn’t classify those as receiving an advantage.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Typically, somebody who is taking time out of their day to be tutored is struggling in a class and needs outside help in order to be, at minimum, on par with the class.</p></li>
<li><p>There are multiple reasons why someone may take less credits, ranging from having a demanding major, having a filled schedule-not related to school, or they’re already struggling with the credits they have.
Taking 12 credits instead of 21 doesn’t mean the student is trying to gain an advantage on everyone. If anything, they’re probably disadvantaged compared to those students.</p></li>
<li><p>Taking an introductory course after doing well on the AP could simply mean that student didn’t feel secure enough in the subject to advance to the next level, or may require brushing up on the material.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>These are all relative based on the person and their situations.</p>
<p>Sometimes people take “easy” classes because they’re intimidated by the subject or may just have a genuine interest in taking Underwater Basket Weaving 101.</p>
<p>That said, if I’m paying for my classes, I’ll take whatever class I want despite what anyone thinks of my doing so–at least until they start footing the bill.</p>