<p>Whoa whoa rainynightstarz! </p>
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Being in Lynbrook, or Monta Vista or Mission San Jose or Gunn or some expensive private schools doesn't make ANYONE "smart, or good at math". The individuals in the school work hard to win their achievements. Just because someone goes to Exeter doesn't mean he is automatically going to get into this and that, they had to work for it. Shouldn't standing out amongst outstanding students mean something more?
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<p>Yes and no. Yes people will applaud your and other's hard work at these top tier schools. But being surrounded by talented students helps tremendously. Notice how your school is producing, year after year, top scores in various mathematics competitions. Coincidence? </p>
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Many of Lynbrook teacher aren't even good cuz Lynbrook pay them soo little that they move to teach at other schools. A Chem teacher that doesn't have any degree in chem, and makes mistakes on EVERY SINGLE test's answer key, tells student false info in class, and can't answer student's questions doesn't stop most her students get 750+ and lots of 800s on SAT 2 Chem, because her students choose to study outside of class to learn the material.
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<p>Many schools around the country are like this. The fact that so many of your friends and classmates choose to study for the SAT Chem outside of class is important. Don't you think as a starry eyed 9th grader you looked up to see how the older kids did it? If your friends are busy studying at home, it will subtly pressure you to do the same.</p>
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Going to a competitive school or some school that doesn't get anyone into AIME doesn't matter. But does choosing to work hard and do well on contests and standing out among other brilliant students matter? Right now there are so much info on the internet and other sources that being in a not as competitive school has nothing to do with how well one does on the math contests. It's whether or not one uses those info and sources.
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<p>Of course working hard matters. But you are wrong on two points (or at least I see things slightly differently). </p>
<p>First, studying math, chemistry, etc after school is not hard. Not when you have direction. Not when you have a rough idea of what to do. Your classmates all qualifying for the AIME and USAMO inevitably pass on to their juniors how it can be done. Studying for chemistry or physics, while grueling, is not cutting edge stuff. The book is there, you study it, you work at it. But you don't face a brick wall, where you don't even know how to start. In fact sometimes this brick wall extends such that people don't know what the hell the USAMO or AIME is. Sometimes this brick wall gets so big that your peers discourage you to be smart... it's not the "in" thing to be. </p>
<p>Sometimes, coming from a top notch school can hurt you, if you haven't faced this brick wall. Because in the real world, problems are not found in textbooks, and you often start not knowing whether you should apply equations or just approximate. And when you face those situations, there will be massive brick wall, and you have to learn how to get through it, or when its right to look for another way around. </p>
<p>Second, learning from the internet is not easy. Remember that you already have a mountain of background behind you when start looking around. Other's don't always have that. Sometimes people don't have internet access. What about when your family doesn't support you studying for abstract math contests because they want you to pursue more useful learning that will have more immediate practical results? Looking things up on the internet is one thing, but being able to discuss and share your excitement with others is very important as well.</p>
<p>Consider these points carefully. </p>
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I get offended when people say anything like " you are Asian, of course you are smart" It's like all my hard work is totally overlooked JUST because I am ASIAN?
Should one's accomplishment be overlooked just because they go to a competitive school?
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<p>You should be grateful that you are considered smart and have accomplishments as a result of your hard work. If you keep up the attitude now of "It's like all my hard work is totally overlooked JUST because I (am ASIAN)/(GO TO A GOOD SCHOOL)," you will find it harder and harder to continue the higher up your accomplishments rank.</p>
<p>I'm not mollie or ben or matt or any of the mit adcoms, but in my opinion, getting into MIT is not about math and science scores (although they serve as an indicator that you have the basic ability to get through MIT). It's about what you have faced, how you reacted when you are hit with a brick wall, how much you are persevere, your joy for something beyond just getting to the top of the class. Yes this is not a definite straight forward process. But it is extraordinarily naive to think that real world problems are definite and straight forward. This is not a math problem, this is a human problem. </p>
<p>So relax, take it easy, do what you enjoy and just keep plugging. Don't worry too much about how unfair such and such is right now, it won't help. When you've grown older and have many more years of experience, then it will be your turn to make a judgement on how such things are run.</p>