<p>In a discussion in another thread, someone stated that HYPSM gets more "Oh wow"s than other schools, and I noted that it wouldn't from me because
1. There are too many backdoors in to HYPS (athlete/URM/legacy/etc.) while MIT actually isn't as difficult (relatively speaking) to get in for girls.
2. I've seen too much variation in the quality of the grads from those schools to be automatically impressed just because someone went there.</p>
<p>Instead, what would get "wow!"s from me are
1. Graduating with a >3.7 GPA from CalTech/UChicago/Swarthmore/Reed/Mudd/Cooper Union (that would be really impressive).
2. Getting one of the tiny number of full-tuition merit scholarships to CalTech/Duke/UChicago/JHU/Rice. The total number of those scholarships handed out each year is a small fraction of the total number of admittances that any one of HYPSM give out.</p>
<p>Seeing my D in love with the school she’s attending and growing intellectually and emotionally by leaps and bounds so that when she graduates she’ll be prepared for whatever the world throws her way.</p>
<p>I believe that “which” refers to the entire graduating class rather than to its top half. :-/ </p>
<p>Mudd, Cal Tech, and Cooper Union are in large part STEM schools, which pulls their mean GPAs down. Comparing GPAs by department would be fairer. Princeton, which artificially caps grades a la the curves of STEM classes at many schools, is about as “deflated” as Mudd. (Note: I am not making a claim about Princeton’s “rigor” relative to Mudd, only its grade distribution.)</p>
<h2>2. Fair enough.</h2>
<p>Apologies, I don’t have an answer to your question at the moment.</p>
<p>Rhodes Scholar
MFA in acting from NYU/Tisch (only 16 per year admitted to program)
Yale Law School (smaller and harder to get into than you know where…)
Any CS degree from Carnegie Mellon</p>
<p>“1. I’m not sure that any of these schools except CalTech has fewer backdoors than Harvard et al.”</p>
<p>I’m quite certain that UChicago/Reed/Mudd/Cooper Union care far far less about how good an applicant is at sports than Div1 HYPS (Swarthmore cares less as well, but still cares some). In fact, does CU even have sports teams? Mudd doesn’t have its own and forms teams with students from other Claremont schools.</p>
<p>“2. Variation in the quality of graduates probably afflicts all schools.”</p>
<p>Indeed, and so I’m not impressed by anyone simply because of where they got in or went for undergrad (in the US; some of the top French Ecoles are tiny). Some folks seem to think that just getting in to/graduating from a certain school should gain them admiration or something, though. </p>
<p>“1. Chicago and Swarthmore seem to have almost as much grade inflation as Harvard and Stanford.”</p>
<p>The question is how much harder they have to work for their grades. Traditionally (and the stereotype still is that) U of C kids and Swatties have to study harder to get the same grades that Harvard and Stanford students do. </p>
<p>I did add all engineering in later. I’ll add high GPAs in philosophy/math/physics from top philosophy/math/physics departments as well.</p>
<p>In short, I’m more impressed by what people do beyond HS than what they do during HS.</p>
<p>Getting a full ride or close to to any university (merit not athletic)
Immigrants who have made a life for themselves
Being fluent in a language you didn’t grow up with</p>
<p>Showing personal development and growth.
Learning what really matters to them as an individual.
Getting involved in research.
Getting internship experience.
Getting involved in clubs.
Having friends.
Finding a passion.
Showing compassion for others.</p>
<p>For me, I would like to see above average grades, but not top grades at the cost of the other items I listed. </p>
<p>The development of empathy and the realization that having the opportunity to learn for four plus years after high school is a privilege that not everyone gets; one that it should be used to better people’s lives and ultimately society, especially the most vulnerable amongst us. </p>
<p>Keeping a 3.8 GPA in applied math while struggling with a severe mental illness. That’s my son. I can’t count the number of healthcare professionals who have told us it’s amazing what he is doing.</p>
<p>There is this giant oak tree behind my property that is just magnificent. It’s probably been there since the minutemen fought the redcoats, and I get to look at it every day. </p>