<p>Do people in texas have accents? I can't remember.</p>
<p>I can't relate to a single person in that book.</p>
<p>She did a recent interview with US News. I just read it in their magazine with real estate on the cover. Here is the online version:</p>
<p>Hold on a second. How did AP Frank get into Harvard with no ECs (as the first chapter makes out?) And wouldn't Harvard be ****ed if they found out that those 17 APs weren't all self-motivated?</p>
<p>I haven't read the book. it seems to me that you are sort of a slow reader. The last post here was on the 13th :)</p>
<p>heh. I had the impressions that AP Frank had done many internships, stuff that the mother deemed important for getting into Harvard, like the NIH thing.</p>
<p>17 APs and As in all of them… crazy…</p>
<p>yeah, I read it. I liked the stories but skipped over the advice parts.</p>
<p>^LOL at skipping over the advice.</p>
<p>Wow, this thread is three years old:/</p>
<p>ahhhhh this school is 10 minutes away. and my school is commonly compared to it! i know an ap frank! except even more…29 aps.</p>
<p>The people who skipped out on the “dry stuff” are missing out on the important parts. The whole point of this book is that she’s trying to examine what is wrong with our nation’s on useless overachieving, rather than learning and genuine intellectual growth. I feel like interest in only the characters and ignoring the rest is kind of self-aggrandizing, like you’re reading your own diary and nodding along “yeah, my life is harsh.”</p>
<p>I disagree with you obviously, my problem with the advice sections was that she never really gave great advice. I read a bit of it and she basically told us to stop useless overachieving and worry about our own inner goals. Cutesy. Personally, I think that competition/overachieving is necessary.After all, the most prevalent problem in America is that not enough people do overachieve which is why we are lagging behind in math and science.</p>
<p>ha, i’d also disagree with you there. I thought she was telling us to be pragmatic. Is college and working hard important? Absolutely. But it’s also like that article posted on CC about this family of three kids who went to mediocre colleges and are now leading members of their fields. What the author is saying is, achieve the right things. Obsession with over-meticulous things like ten or twenty points on the SAT, or beating your classmates, is stupid. Igniting passions and exploring ideas, innovation, etc. is the whole point of school. Even colleges want that, and that’s why even kids with 4.0 GPAS and perfect SAT scores are rejected.</p>
<p>As the author cited, her book isn’t a “call for mediocrity”. It’s a complaint against hyper-competition. Coming from a similar public school system like Whitman, I have seen students and parents alike resort to the most extreme, ridiculous forms of behavior to make sure that their kids get into an Ivy and other kids don’t. The author is saying that yes, we can be successful and relatively sane students at the same time. As long as you have drive, curiosity, and good sense, you are sure to go far in life with these combined traits, regardless of college. Perfect SAT scores ain’t going to help this country; passion and innovation will. </p>
<p>My cousin is living proof of how an over-achiever can go wrong. She (forced by her parents, mostly) was the consummate overachiever. Her name remains a semi-legend in her school. Now she’s graduated from an Ivy League, has no sense of direction, and is pretty much one of the unhappiest people I know.</p>
<p>and as for the math and science thing, I’ve been thinking about that for awhile too. I really think it is less about students than it is about poor resources (teaching, calculators, textbooks, etc). This country really pours very little into education.</p>
<p>i tried reading that book but it was too depressing so i put it down after 50 pages or so</p>
<p>good book though</p>
<p>I saw this and started reading it. I love it.</p>
<p>Checked it out on Thursday and didnt have much time but I managed to get to 176 as of thirty minutes ago.</p>
<p>Is it wrong that after reading the first chapter I feel an odd compulsion to compare my stats with these kids ? What have you done to me, CC?!</p>
<p>^ haha i love your username! 
and im doing that too as i read :(</p>