<p>^And people who aren’t passionate about anything…?</p>
<p>I think I can manage to major in something I’m not passionate about. Sure it’s better to be passionate about what you’re majoring in than to not be, but I think it gets unfairly characterized as impossible on these forums too much.</p>
<p>maybe some people want to go to harvard just because they like the color crimson and want to wear crimson colored clothing all the day.</p>
<p>Okay… Our school anonymously releases each student’s GPA, ranking, SAT score, where they were accepted, and where they were rejected. Its so creepy. </p>
<p>Here it is: <a href=“http://www.greatneck.k12.ny.us/GNPS/SHS/INDEX.HTM[/url]”>http://www.greatneck.k12.ny.us/GNPS/SHS/INDEX.HTM</a></p>
<p>Sorry… The link doesn’t work because it only sends you to our homepage. </p>
<p>Click on guidance
Then click on senior
Then click on summary report
… And then you can see everyone’s grades.</p>
<p><<<Okay… Our school anonymously releases each student’s GPA, ranking, SAT score, where they were accepted, and where they were rejected. Its so creepy. </p>
<p>Here it is: [url=<a href=“http://www.greatneck.k12.ny.us/GNPS/SHS/INDEX.HTM]GNSHS[/url”>http://www.greatneck.k12.ny.us/GNPS/SHS/INDEX.HTM]GNSHS[/url</a>]</p>
<p>Sorry… The link doesn’t work because it only sends you to our homepage. </p>
<p>Click on guidance
Then click on senior
Then click on summary report
… And then you can see everyone’s grades.>>></p>
<p>WOW!! That is scary-intrusive. ICK!!</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Um, basically none of the things you’ve said are true.</p>
<p>Studying to get 5s: Not really. I have a personal interest in doing well, as does everyone in the world (natural human desire, people just have different cultural and personal definitions of what good/well equals and where it’s important). So, on account of that, I do study very hard for AP tests where I wouldn’t do well otherwise. If I can get a 5, or think I can get one w/o, no, I don’t study. A ton of the typical CCers don’t study. Most smart people/kids in the top 10% I know don’t study.
Studying for years to take 1 test: I legit know NO ONE who does this. When I first came to CC and saw posts like the Xiggi method and “I only have 3 months to study! Crunch time!!!” I was sure everyone here was insane. I still sort of feel that way. Yes, I have taken the SAT a lot more than normal people, and yes, I did take it at 11 for the first time, but I was honestly excited about taking it back then, and though I did study in a way that I consider serious, I studied for 2 or 3 weeks. Since then, I have never studied for a standardized test for more than a week, never done more than one practice test, and have usually much less than any of that.
“High” GPA: This, like everything else, comes naturally, in my experience. It’s not something I, or pretty much any of the other top/smart kids I know truly work for.
Top 10%: Basically the same thing as “high” GPA.</p>
<p>I mean, school isn’t that hard. I go to a school that’s highly ranked, but public HS rankings are stupid BS.
It was statistically likely that I’d be successful at some top school. Most of my friends, who are in the top 5%, have also been happy with their acceptances. In general, looking at the past 10 years, people get in where they want to.</p>
<p>You’re entire argument is based on the idea that every college is the same. They’re not. Let’s say I hadn’t been a great student or was just unlucky in admissions, and I, like one of my best friends, were going to OSU, which is a good school, but no Harvard. OSU was going to be my safety school, so it could have happened. It’s highly ranked in my major, which is impo for every student to look into, and the Honors College is pretty nice. But there was an intellectual environment I was looking for, I had particular, very, very different schools that I had always loved, and I really didn’t want to go to school in state. Really, it’s not worth it to explain the reasons I didn’t want to go to OSU. That doesn’t matter. What does is that I could find no reasons to want to go to OSU. I have schools I want to go to. They are all dissimilar to OSU. I wanted to go to the best schools available to me. There’s a reason they’re the best: the resources, the connections, the undergrad experience.</p>