<p>HEY ZEPHYR YOUR ARGUMENTS ARE TOOOTTALLLY AWESOME MAN I TOTALLY SEE THE WARRANTS BEHIND YOUR COMMENTARY</p>
<p>(try constructing an argument next time, maybe it 'might' work for you)</p>
<p>dude Harvard is so gangsta playa</p>
<p>Must one speak Hindi to enroll at IIT? Maybe I'll apply...</p>
<p>yo tupac, I hit em up</p>
<p>A couple of people in my family, father included, went to IIT, and I completely agree w/ you Jacobian. Some of these kids in India are so brilliant, and others are the most hardworking mofos I've ever seen in my life--my cousin, who lives in India, is only in 5th grade, and he is already being tutored for the IIT entrance exam! The cutoff is incredibly high, too. It's like 98. <insert 3-5="" numbers="" here="">, which just shows you how many kids score that high on a very difficult exam. Also, it's a clear fact that you can get into American schools, Harvard included, by some other talents (e.g. sports) or influence. The son of one of the largest companies in India applied to IIT last year with very high statistics (not sure exactly what they were, but he was clearly talented). He, however, was denied at IIT, so his backup school was Cornell (boo-hoo, right :-P).</insert></p>
<p>I do agree on the "nerdish" point, though. Hell, if I got admitted into both Harvard and IIT, I'd probably want to stay here because kids at Harvard, generally, are more well rounded than kids at IIT since IIT is based solely upon academics.</p>
<p>Thanks RamJag. My dad is an IIT grad (Dehli) and you know what I am talking about. He is a physics wizz and can recall equations, formulas, and solve problems mentally while driving his stick shift car, eating a sandwhich, and talking on his cell phone simultaneously. He hadn't touched the stuff in 30 yrs, but can remember it off the top of his head. So you can imagine how effective an IIT education is. It takes the word "mastery" to a whole new level.
I would appreciate your comments on a discussion I started on the Harvard Board.<br>
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=82853%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=82853</a></p>
<p>zemookmook, this isn't Lincoln-Douglas and there's no need to construct warrants, or contentions, or even drop a few cards in, okay? Frankly, the arguments presented on this thread are simply ridiculous and it's hard to debate them. </p>
<p>"He, however, was denied at IIT, so his backup school was Cornell (boo-hoo, right :-P)."
That's a poor example. Cornell and Harvard are in totally different leagues. </p>
<p>Sure, the kids at IIT may be smart. Congratulations for forcing that point down our throats. There are a lot of smart people in the world. The successful smart ones can write well, defend themselves verbally, reason with words, communicate with others, and so on. Doing math problems in your head while driving won't get you anywhere. </p>
<p>Wow, the school has a high cutoff. Don't all top schools? Harvard accepts about 2000 students out of more than one million high school seniors per year. So that would put every accepted kid in the 99.85th percentile, approximately. Unless that much-vaunted entrance examination is scaled and normalized, cutoff numbers mean nothing.</p>
<p>@ zephyr151:
Cornell and Harvard are, indeed, in totally different leagues. However, Id hope youd agree that Cornell is still a top tier school in the United States, if not the world. With this in mind, is it possible that IIT is on the level of schools such as ivy leagues? Please understand that Im, by no means, debating the brilliance of the Harvard institution/students vs. IIT or, but Im rather making it a point that IIT is on a similar level in terms of math/science academics. </p>
<p>As you mentioned, all competitive schools have high cutoffs, but what makes IIT different? Take into consideration IIT is solely for academics unlike, to be blunt, many schools in the US; that is, athletes can be recruited and other factors are also regarded during the admissions process (e.g. fame, fortune, legacy, etc.). </p>
<p>The IIT entrance exam is normalized, so it does mean something to the 175,000+ people who take it since thats where their admission lies. No institution would give an exam that isnt standardized; it is unfair. If youd like more information or are just curious, heres a link that will provide you with more information: <a href="http://www.indicareer.com/entrance-exams/IIT-JEE.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.indicareer.com/entrance-exams/IIT-JEE.html</a>. </p>
<p>Id also like to make another point that people who are truly brilliant/hardworking dont need these institutions to make it. People, who are as such, in my mind, will succeed provided that theyre given, at least, some opportunity.</p>
<p>"this in mind, is it possible that IIT is on the level of schools such as ivy leagues? Please understand that Im, by no means, debating the brilliance of the Harvard institution/students vs. IIT or, but Im rather making it a point that IIT is on a similar level in terms of math/science academics. "</p>
<p>I agree more or less. I was more debating the types who seem bent on declaring IIT the best university in the world by far. I think that's a bit much.</p>
<p>I know that IIT competes very well with MIT, Caltech & Stanford. I never said it didn't.</p>