<p>" I frequently find queries from Indian teenagers who are aiming for the Ivies but who clearly have no clue about how high the bar is set. "</p>
<p>I agree - while a lot of international students are aware, I do find a perception that american education system is below average than what they have in their own countries and if we are at the top 10-20% in our school in our country (say India), we should be like HYPMS material.</p>
<p>Yes, while kids can graduate out of high school in America taking only algebra II, it doesnt represent the kids who ARE aiming for the top schools. Those kids have worked as hard as anybody taken the most challenging classes AND made a difference in the community AND/OR played sports, excelled in music/arts. So folks need to be aware that when you are in the big college contention, you are going to be competing with those kids. And like someone here said ‘the kids here who are good are really really good’</p>