<p>Are they highly intelligent or just extremely motivated to achieve great things?</p>
<p>I say this because I noticed that many of the people who get accepted to top universities are not super geniuses but often do a lot of stuff outside the classroom. All of these people have a strong desire to achieve but are not necessarily the smartest people in the United States.</p>
<p>I say this because I have many friends who attend elite universities and have visited a few myself and the social scene seems to be disgustingly superficial at a lot of them. I may be slightly biased because the only ones I stayed overnight at are Duke, Michigan- big sports schools, and Columbia (one that didn't disappoint me). </p>
<p>At Duke, it seemed that everyone was the same, I never heard the word "brah" so many times in one night. It seemed that NOT only that people were interested in getting drunk, they were only doing so to be cool. They didn't get any pleasure out of being drunk besides people 'thinking' that they were 'being a good brah'. The girls and guys seemed to only care about hooking up with those who could generate the most 'sexual attraction'- whether that was through cockiness and/or good looks... or simply being plain ol' rich. </p>
<p>Being superficial and concerned with outer appearance are not signs of high intelligence.. however, they are signs that the person is greatly motivated to achieve. </p>
<p>Call me arrogant, but I just feel a little disillusioned. I thought that I would of had the opportunity to associate with people on my wavelength but instead it seems to be that I would simply be associating with people who cry over an A-, spend thousands of dollars on SAT prep, and every step taken is with the question, "Will this get me into HYPSDDCPBN...?</p>
<p>What do you guys think? I'm going to be a high school senior this year.</p>
<p>I think you are right. But unless you’re a school like Chicago, most schools see the good grades and ECs and <em>hope</em> that they are not all like the people you described at the end.</p>
<p>Well, this is a loaded post, so I think it deserves a loaded answer.</p>
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<p>Both. High intelligence won’t always guarantee you a spot at “HYPSDDCPBN” nor will ambition to become great. You generally need both, especially with admissions officers fixation with “leadership potential”.</p>
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<p>Well, there probably aren’t as many “super geniuses” as you probably think there are. That being said, college admissions hinges not only academic potential but also on “softer” accomplishments-extra-curriculars, recs, essays, things that show (and I hate this phrase) “you have a life outside the classroom”. However, if you want to find the super-geniuses in a top school just look at their applied physics students and you’ll likely be satisfied lol. But overall, students at top schools are extremely smart, and are really motivated.</p>
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<p>Well, well, well. Duke and Michigan pride themselves on their sports programs so that could be the reason for their social scene. I’d be loathe to call it “disgustingly superficial” since that means many different things to people. Columbia on the other hand is sort of the antithesis to that so perhaps your coloration of top schools is based on the schools you looked at. Maybe you shouldn’t attend a school with a huge sports program.</p>
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<p>I think this is where you get a little arrogant. Being superficial and concerned with outer appearances are not signs of high intelligence…they are a sign of being an adolescent in modern America! You seem to be too concerned that because these students are intelligent, they can’t be normal. That’s akin to saying, if you’re tall, you can’t be normal. Height is a trait, intelligence is a trait. Intelligent people can be goof-offs, care about physical traits, and still be intelligent. Some people seem to have this belief that just because a person is intelligent, they are really serious. To be honest, that only represents a sliver of the highly intelligent population.</p>
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<p>lol at every top school you’ll find kids like that. I do think you will need to readjust your view, not all intelligent people are highly intellectual just like not all athletic people aspire to be great athletes. You seem to be worried that the kids are “human”. That being said, some of your other worries are fair. It does seem that some (many?) of the kids getting into top schools are doing it by gaming the system or being too technical about it. I’m not sure if that’s the type of student the colleges are looking for. In a way I even think colleges like these kind of kids because they are likely going to be successful in what they do and donate to their alma mater. However, this kind of admissions process may screen out the highly, highly successful people-the people who march to the beat of their own drum and don’t care about admissions requirements. So, it is a double-edged sword and this won’t be the first discussion on it. I think certain schools would fit you better than others; I think you should be looking at schools like UChicago, Columbia, Reed, Swarthmore, etc. Probably not schools like Michigan or Duke.</p>
<p>my random input:i don’t consider myself very ‘smart/intelligent’ in the slightest (plus, my dad says i most likely have “mild ADD” like him, but whatever…) BUT i do study a LOT harder than i know some of my ‘smarter’ friends do. i might not get as high grades as them in the end, but i think i push myself harder in the sense that i am researching colleges much earlier than necessary, will find a college that is the perfect fit for me, am preparing earlier than most for the SATs, trying to build a good relationship with teachers, etc., etc. Even without the highest gpa (my school, esp. MY grade, is filleddd with over-achieving, ass-kissing, extra-credit earning, day-and-night studying, will CLAW their way up to the top type of [mostly asian] kids), i guess i won’t really let myself NOT get into a top college, so i just study hard and be the best i can be. (WOW, that was a long sentence).</p>
<p>uhh…i’m rambling…what was the question?? haha.</p>
<p>Well, not all top schools are like that. I bet most even aren’t. I know some great individuals who attend elites.</p>
<p>You did learn a good lesson tough: intelligence and ability to work hard don’t make someone a good person or someone you would want to be friends with. There’s more to a person than his or her grades - something a lot of people seem to forget when they suggest that by going to a “lesser school” you’ll be surrounded by nincompoops who will inhibit your personal growth.</p>
<p>there are actually very few geniuses. most and i mean 99 percent of ivy league students are smarter than the average person but definitely not super smart.</p>
<p>HYPSDDCPBN? Okay people, this is getting way too crazy. Let me take a guess. It stands for Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, Dartmouth, Duke, Columbia, Penn, Brown, Northwestern? I think you forgot to squeeze another C (Caltech), M (MIT), C (Cornell), C (Chicago), J (Johns Hopkins), and W (WashU) in there.</p>
<p>It seems that you are against the type of people that a big sports school attracts. That being said, you should probably avoid those types of schools.</p>
<p>My Harvard friend said it best, ppl at top elite schools are not “smart” or they are not “geniuses,” they are just extremely hard working. They get stuff done on time, they get things done right. Thats how they earned the grades, thats how they aced the SATs. Studying and hard work ethics. lol</p>
<p>That’s damn flattering, but I’m certainly not as hard working as some of my friends at “less elite” colleges(I attend one of those top 10’s). I think it’s all relative. Some are very smart, some are very hardworking, and some are both, but to assume that all students at top colleges are die-hard study freaks is a bit of a stretch.</p>
<p>It’s funny how one comment from the OP would generate so much stereotype. </p>
<p>The problem is not limited to the “big sports schools” and the “type of people” they attract. Most elite schools will have drinking/substance-abuse types. (G. W. Bush drank, Bill Clinton smoked marijuana, some MIT students years ago drank themselves to death, etc.) There will always be people with above-average intelligence and who typically study very hard but nevertheless have inadequate emotional intelligence. Perhaps the OP should have visited the libraries rather than drinking parties to observe the truly smart students and their behavior?</p>
<p>CaptionFal, welcome to adulthood. Are the students at these elite schools highly intelligent or highly motivated? The answer is obviously one, the other or both. But I think most are probably highly intelligent. (I teach college and see a big difference in intelligence/aptitude no matter the motivation) However, these students are also human (obvious cliche). Look at historical legends- brilliant people- who were addicts, had mental illness or std’s. Look at local country clubs and observe the behavior (drunkedness, cheating, etc.) of some very successful, probably highly motivated and maybe intelligent, folks. </p>
<p>I think you will find the social scene to be “disgustingly superficial” wherever you go. The only exceptions I have observed are very religious schools, families, communities. (I am not advocating, just observing)</p>
<p>So find your “not superficial and highly intelligent” classmates at these elite schools. But also expect to see other behaviors. It does not mean they are not intelligent.</p>
<p>Oh, please. I go to a big sports school and I can say with confidence that you have no idea what you are talking about. I know tossing out casual massive stereotypes can be fun, but try to control yourself next time.</p>
<p>He would have asked you to show him your moves, and scream “COME ON!,” and you would not have been able to live up to his standards of universe-imploding, villain-exploding awesomeness. Also, he would have gotten utterly plastered and laid every night while still getting all of his work done perfectly. God, he is the man.</p>
<p>Anyway, unfair generalizations. Top school kids, I’ve found, have done or achieved SOMETHING incredible or outstanding in their lifetimes. It’s not socially healthy to judge people and whole environments before you’ve even become a part of them.</p>
<p>Phead summed it up…just because you are smart and get into an elite school does not mean you don’t want to kick back, drink and even hook up with somebody you find “sexually attracitve”. I mean it sounded fun to me…like being a college student. Why should smart people, always be serious…thats boring.</p>
<p>Kelsey, did I say that all people that go to big sports schools are like that? No, of course they aren’t. But big sports schools will attract more of the type of people that the OP doesn’t like. He felt that people at Duke and U Mich are superficial, but yet at Columbia, the only school of the 3 without a nationally relevant sports program, he was not disappointed. Obviously there is a trend there.</p>