<p>Do you guys think it is still worth for someone to shoot for the top schools (ivies, etc.) if they are not a naturally intelligent person, nor with a hook?</p>
<p>What I mean is...
If there is a student that:
Works tirelessly to maintain 4.0 gpa
Studies day and night to get that SAT to a 2200+
Many extra-curriculars for college purposes...etc.</p>
<p>Basically, someone that works their BUTT off to compete with the top dogs who have it more naturally... is it worth it for them?</p>
<p>Will not this cycle then continue once they get into their accepted institution? Working day and night, competing with high-calibur students constantly?</p>
<p>This may be a dumb question, but it is something that I ponder about sometimes... .is it worth for someone to get into a top college purely by working hard?</p>
<p>Yes. I ahve never considered myself naturally smart, putting me at a dissadvantage. However, I would be darned if I did not work harder than almost anyone I know. I think that being accepted into the Ivy League is a treat for those who work hard, “naturally smart” or those who work to be smart. They will not let you in if they don’t think you can take it…</p>
<p>definetly. becuz one day those ppl
who had things come naturally are gunna
be faced with a problem they have to work for but dont
know how. then those ppl who have been working there butts off
will do it with ease.
(hope it makes sense! ;)</p>
<p>If you are admitted to a good college, take advantage of the opportunity. Your offer of admission is a judgment by the admission committee that you can keep up if you enroll.</p>
<p>What I mean is, someone that sacrifices sleep itself just for school. Never hangs out with friends, school is practically the life. Wouldn’t this person face even more hardships in college?
Wouldn’t that mean one would have to go through 12 years of no sleep at all?</p>
<p>If someone has to do all of that to achieve what you’ve described, they aren’t likely to get into one of the top colleges in the country, which are looking for students who can have high grades, strong ECs and have friends.</p>
<p>It’s also extremely hard to do the kind of ECs that impress top colleges without having close relationships with people. </p>
<p>There are, however, plenty of other colleges that would be happy to have such a serious student.</p>
<p>"If someone has to do all of that to achieve what you’ve described, they aren’t likely to get into one of the top colleges in the country, which are looking for students who can have high grades, strong ECs and have friends.</p>
<p>It’s also extremely hard to do the kind of ECs that impress top colleges without having close relationships with people. </p>
<p>There are, however, plenty of other colleges that would be happy to have such a serious student."</p>
<p>Exactly what kind of ECs require these “close relationships.” If you try hard you will get into a good college. If you think otherwise it’s just saying that trying just isn’t worth it for those not “naturally” skilled which in itself could be debatable.</p>
<p>Normally the very top colleges – places like HPYS – are looking for evidence of strong leadership ability and experience, and it’s hard to be a leader without having close relationships with people. </p>
<p>Certainly someone with strong grades and scores can get into a good college, that’s not disputed. In fact, most of the colleges in the country happily would admit a student with strong stats even if such a student lacked ECs.</p>
<p>Also, the OP seems to be operating under the fallacy that smart people never have to academically work hard. That’s true only when the smart people aren’t being intellectually challenged, which even could occur in AP courses in schools in which the teachers teach the material very slowly or have very easy grading standards.</p>
<p>If the person’s only objective is to be successful, which their work ethic probably shows, then yes, they should try to shoot for the best schools in the country. They’ve earned it, so why not. That’s not to say they wouldn’t be much happier and at their level if they went to a less competitive school.</p>
<p>NWdivisionCHAMPS- You certainly aren’t alone in that most people notice the fact that some individuals are just more innately brilliant than them. Inevitablely, we all have to confront this harsh reality and try to get over it. For example, one of my friends just keeps scoring higher than me on the ACT despite the fact that I studied excessively for it while he just showed up. However, we both got excellant scores, 34 and 35. So, I just have to thank God for the mind he graced me with and accept the fact that you can’t be the best at everything. Regardless, work hard and you will be noticed by top tier schools.</p>
<p>The thing is, it’s not cut and black like “naturally smart” and “completely ■■■■■■■■”. Most people fall somewhere in between.</p>
<p>Yes it’s possible, even without doing all that crazy stuff like sacrificing sleep. I’m sure there are some strengths you have, such as pwning at math but sucking in English or something.</p>
<p>If you absolutely think you have no talent at all in any academic area, perhaps it’s not right for you.</p>
<p>I’d just like to chime in to point out the obvious faulty reasoning in top college=someone earned it. This is not at all true. Plenty of people who deserve to be at a top college get rejected in favor of those not as well qualified as them. Why? Because going to a top college doesn’t mean you’re the best person around, it means you happened to have something in your resume that appealed to that particular college. Never start to equate a top college with validation of your success, or else you might feel utterly defeated when admissions comes around, which would be a shame, because working hard has it’s own merits, and you’ll do well no matter where you end up just because of that quality.</p>
<p>That’s definitely true that they haven’t earned a spot at an ivy league school, but i do think that if they’ve worked hard, they shouldn’t avoid applying to a top school because of their lack of innate brilliance, if that made any sense.</p>