<p>I've always wondered about this and I've yet to get a straight answer lol -- and im probs gonna post this on a main board too but I was more curious about how it applies specifically for penn...</p>
<p>Is it like, cutthroat competitive-ish when you go to a school where nearly everyone is from the top 10% of their respective high schools? Is there a lot of jealousy of smarts, unpleasantness etc.? </p>
<p>OR is it the opposite, like more of a synergistic environment where people help each other and grow upon each others' intellect? Is the widespread intelligence a HUGE benefit for each individual?</p>
<p>I'm sorry in advance if this is an obnoxious, over-assuming question heh</p>
<p>^^ yeah its actually the people who get in with low SATs and hooks that make penn hard to get in. i think its good tho b/c next year it will help when classes are graded on curves :)</p>
<p>Well, I didn't mean "nerdy" exactly -- I mean just students who are smarter than the average bird who don't necessarily have IQ's through the stratosphere. And even though it's a common misconception that everyone's a nerdy, weird, competitive genius, the kids who go to top tier schools are very smart, though not necessarily all of them.</p>
<p>What I want to know is if this brings about competition among the students OR more of a feeling of camaraderie to work hard together and learn even more? (I'm guessing that it's a little bit of both, but in your opinion, which one more so?)</p>
<p>On average, I think you'll find that it's more of a "We better put our heads together to solve this huge ass case because we're going to get a crappy grade otherwise"</p>
<p>First, it is not the case that everyone is a genius (I would say that, almost for sure, less than 20% are real geniuses, with the true percentage being much lower than this). Second, no, the environment is not as you fear, so don't worry.</p>
<p>The only school that comes close to "everyone being a genius" is probably Caltech. Otherwise, these schools are just filled with highly motivated, extremely intelligent people. If you're accepted, it's very likely that you are one of these people.</p>
<p>Put another way: I consider myself very smart, but certainly not a genius. I have natural talent with standardized testing and verbal elocution, which carried me pretty far with relatively little effort.</p>
<p>However, for large classes where those skills don't cut it (i.e., most intro classes with essay tests/short answers), I have to work fairly hard to do well. And I was still able to do it; my GPA right now is Summa Cum Laude-level, and my easiest classes are ahead of me.</p>
<p>So, don't lose hope. With some work and little luck, you'll pull through with flying colors.</p>