<p>huskem:</p>
<p>In my house, all the words (except one) that I used are common, everyday vocabulary. The sole exception is “upbraid,” which is only two syllables, so it’s not that large a word. I chose it specifically, though, because it seemed to best convey the tone of what I have been trying to do. Every other word that occurred to me seemed too harsh or too weak.</p>
<p>Words are building blocks of meaning. I can’t help it if your own attempts to convey meaning are so sloppy that you are willing to substitute fuzzy terms for more precise ones. That is your choice.</p>
<p>I did a quick thesaurus check on the words you cite. Of them, I think only “corroborate” could have been changed without damaging the intent of the words, but only with another “big” word. “Interpolate” is a mathematical term for which there is no substitute. “Indignation” cannot be replaced with any close synonyms that conveys precisely the same shade of minor outrage. </p>
<p>But the whole issue of “big words” is, of course, classic misdirection. I’ve played along to see where it would lead, and I must say that it’s been fun. </p>
<p>You are probably right that those who are happy at Harvard and Chicago would probably be underchallenged at Conn.</p>
<p>I would not advise going to your parents’ house. The copy of whatever it is you think you says CC has a 1390 average SAT score almost certainly does not exist. To the best of my knowledge, all the publications on colleges contain numbers from the same source: the common data set. That is why the US News and princetonreview.com numbers match up. It will be the same with all publications.</p>
<p>I hardly think that looking up a number on a website is “crazy indepth analysis,” but I realize that there are a number of people to whom even the easiest confirmation of numbers is more work than they are willing to do. They prefer uninformed opinions. So be it.</p>
<p>Your CV is not useful. You are quite likely to make it up.</p>
<p>This should pretty well end this very pleasant exchange. You will probably not take my advice, but I will offer it, anyway. The next time someone expresses doubt about your numbers, and expresses reasons why they seem unlikely and provides conflicting evidence, it would be best to actually check a reference instead of pretending to check a reference.</p>
<p>My field is a hybrid. I analyze motivating factors in cultural environments, using the three major theories of motivation as well as newer research on the effect of cognitions on brain function.</p>