<p>For all the people who have ever had a Harvard experience...</p>
<p>a) are the people there "crazily" smart? Are they drastically different from people in an "average" high school in the sense that you shouldn't expect to do well unless you're really, really good? Or is it more like high school, but with more people who are working hard?</p>
<p>b) how's the competition? Is it really bad, or kind of like high school (and I know everyone had different high school experiences, but just in general)? </p>
<p>and finally c) is it difficult to get As in Harvard? (I know it was known for grade inflation, but is it still true?)</p>
<p>Haha, I could answer this question with respect to Princeton (as I'm currently a freshman). My answer to A and B would probably be similar to the one a Harvard student would give. However, our answers for C would be radically different. If you're interested in what the experience is like at the #1 undergraduate university in America, PM me.</p>
<p>a) are the people there "crazily" smart? Are they drastically different from people in an "average" high school in the sense that you shouldn't expect to do well unless you're really, really good? Or is it more like high school, but with more people who are working hard?</p>
<p>People work hard here. You have geniuses, that's for sure, but the vast majority of students work hard to get the grades that they want to achieve.</p>
<p>b) how's the competition? Is it really bad, or kind of like high school (and I know everyone had different high school experiences, but just in general)?</p>
<p>The competition is not cutthroat. As a pre-med, I can testify to this. Everyone works together on the HW and studying for the examinations. </p>
<p>c) is it difficult to get As in Harvard? (I know it was known for grade inflation, but is it still true?)</p>
<p>Yes. It is difficult to get an A. If you work hard, you are basically guaranteed around a B/B+, but in order to get an A, especially in the sciences, requires a lot more work. In the humanities, some classes are known to be 'easy' whereas others are known to be harsher in grading. I don't see any "grade inflation" in my grades; I definitely worked hard for every single one of them.</p>
<p>For those of you who are interested, here are my answers as they relate to my experience at Princeton University:</p>
<p>For all the people who have ever had a <em>Princeton</em> experience...</p>
<p>a) are the people there "crazily" smart? Are they drastically different from people in an "average" high school in the sense that you shouldn't expect to do well unless you're really, really good? Or is it more like high school, but with more people who are working hard?
- People here are incredibly talented (intellectually of course, but also in many other important ways). There will be people in every class (especially in small precepts) whose perspicacity and insight will blow you away. Its not like high school at all (although that depends on which high school one is from). I can attest that students here are nothing like average high school kids. The conversations people have at lunch and dinner are much more interesting and still just as fun (maybe more). As far as academics, Princeton is very rigorous, but Ill discuss that in a bit more depth in my answer to C.</p>
<p>b) how's the competition? Is it really bad, or kind of like high school (and I know everyone had different high school experiences, but just in general)?
- Your uses of general and average are important b/c everyone comes here with different backgrounds. Some people come from schools that are similar to Princeton. I came from a public school. From my perspective, I dont find a cutthroat atmosphere at all. In fact, people are always helping each other (i.e. forming small study groups to better understand a topic; working on homework together; reviewing for exams together, etc.). Id say the competition is higher than the average high school (since many of the brightest students in the world attend here) yet not as crazy as youd think (because people arent selfish or insane). :D</p>
<p>and finally c) is it difficult to get As in <em>Princeton</em>? (I know it was known for grade <em>deflation</em>, but is it still true?)
- As youll notice from my corrections, Princeton is known for grade DEFLATION. The cut-off for getting As is 35%. This means that 35% of students in classes (and ultimately, in a department) will be earning grades ranging from A- to A+. The rest get B+ and less. There are professors who dont enforce this policy as stringently as others. Some professors refuse to abide by it at all. Grade deflation is a source of pretty big controversy on campus because students feel that no matter how hard they work, that As are often unattainable. Unfortunately, some of our sister institutions (e.g. Harvard, Yale) give out As to more people than actually deserve them. When it comes to applying to grad schools, a B+ Princeton student looks inferior to a Harvard or Yale A- student, when in reality; all three students are about equally qualified. Id say grade deflation is the one aspect about Princeton that I dislike. Though it does keep us working hard; and for those of us who do get As: its very rewarding to know that we truly do deserve them, and that they arent mere gifts.</p>
<p>Thanks a bunch!</p>
<p>-Your welcome a bunch. I hope my advice helps. If anyone has further questions, please feel free to PM me.</p>
<p>a)I wouldn't say that- there's a wide range of people here. Some are very smart, some are very talented in other areas, but there is no easy way to generalize. In general, when students participate in class they usually give intelligent and infomed opinions, far more so than I found in high school, but it's not like there's a palpable aura of high standards. On the other hand, I've found that I can get into an intelligent conversation with almost anyone at the school- something that I find a great benefit of the school.</p>
<p>b)I find that competition is far LESS severe than it was in high school. This might be true at college in general- people just don't feel the need to be "at the top." This is partly because there isn't the college admissions craze that there is at high school.</p>
<p>c)It isn't that hard to get As for me in a few classes, though getting straight As is a nearly impossible achievement. (Look it up, something like four people have done it in history, though the accounts vary). It VERY much depends on the classes and the person taking them.</p>
<p>I hope those answers helped. All in all, I find it a wonderful environment. However, it is by no means for everyone. If you want to hear about negative experiences, there are plenty of stories out there.</p>