<p>Nope, you did not offend me at all 
I too did complete the online things including the math and there also was a survey. I really do not remember ever being asked where I had been accepted. I seem to remember that I did this all mid April as I got my permit to report pack around the 5th but had not yet decided not to attend. I actually waited until May1st to let Stanford know. It was a hard decision but one that I needed to make for me.</p>
<p>I have been given a hard time by a couple of kids for “not turning it down as soon as I got Stanford or Cal Tech” that I some how took a spot away from someone else. Really - not my problem.</p>
<p>My comment on “average” not doing as well has purely to do with “average SAT” When an Ivy type school has their middle SAT scores being from say 700 to 770 and USNA are in the 600’s one can make an agrurement that the “Average” USNA student (by SAT score only) will probably have a more difficult time (academically) at said Ivy.</p>
<p>Yah NASS did what is supposed to do - it is a marketing tool pure and simple, no different than doing the campus visit elsewhere… maybe they plain just didn’t like it, didn’t like the East Coast, didn’t like the other kids - just not their peeps, didn’t like the food - hey that was important to me on my college visits, maybe it had nothing to do with the “rigors” whatever that may mean. The discussion had nothing to do with nominations - just that there are people in the 12000 that never completes the process yet are still in the numbers for admission applications. This is the same at every college. There are statistics and there is no way that any of us has a clue of what they really mean. They can all be inflated numbers for all we know.</p>
<p>As far as intense academics, they are no more or less intense than anywhere else and to assume they are is arrogant. I know a lot of Mids, (both with and without prior college experience) have a cousin who is a current Mid, brother who is a graduate and all say the whole intense thing and “how really hard the academics are, chemistry will kill you type attitude” is really BS. </p>
<p>I really only got into this as there were things posted above that were supposed to “get this idea to exit stage left with a resounding arguement.”
There really was no resounding arguement with any concrete facts only an opinion - so I offered my own just to show (which CelticClan07 bit on) that none of us really know who - what - where is any better, or any more difficult. The students and the institutions are totally different. Neither are better than the other type. Some kids would not do well in a SA environment and Some kids would not do well in an Ivy type environment. Pretty plain and simple.</p>
<p>As far as “coconuts” Not every one who attends a LAC or IVY (or put it this way doesn’t attend a SA) is two shades nuts. Lets leave it at apples and oranges. The fruits and nuts thing is really tiring. </p>
<p>I’m with you Duke80 who really cares.</p>