<p>First, I’m white, so let’s get that out of the way. I go to a large state university with a bevy of students from every possible background - foreign, domestic, etc. The attrition rates for engineering and medically inclined fields are jaw-droppingly, panty-droppingly mind-blowing. Something like 30% of the freshman engineering class ever graduate with an engineering degree. Similar failure is evident in admission, or lack thereof, of our own students into our medical, pharmacy, and dental schools. I had more than a few friends freshman year who were in engineering. ALL have dropped out or switched majors. ALL. The only ones who seem to have had any success in that program are the international students who come from places where 4th graders learn calculus. And a handful of some really smart-ass Americans too, most of which are either EXTREMELY nerdy or sheerly puritanical in their work ethic…</p>
<p>(I can’t comment on my compadres’ admissions into our own medical/pharmacy/dental schools as of yet, although I’ve heard of similar attrition/failure.)</p>
<p>…On the other hand, I have friends in some private engineering-focused schools, all white, who haven’t struggled nearly as much as those in my own university. The smartest kid in my high school Physics class, who was in 10th grade in a class full of Seniors, attended my public university on scholarship and dropped out shortly thereafter due to epic failure. Dumber (goin’ by teh numbers) kids attended private schools, and have succeeded in their academically rigorous pursuits. These private schools have tailored to the needs of white students for decades. Could it be that these private schools are waaayyy easier to graduate from? These schools cost 30+ grand a year and don’t offer nearly as many free rides to the geniuses of the far and near East that public schools do. Do you “get what you pay for”? Do white people use their wealth that they’ve accumulated through the generations to cruise on (relatively) easy street into stable well-paying careers; attending schools with standards far lower than those of the East and, by extension, those standards of schools with high populations of Easterners who have a tendency to set the curve sky-high?</p>
<p>This is not a private vs. public debate. This is a question I am positing with the idea in mind that we have not built a ‘fair’ society here in the U.S.A. It has always been a belief of mine that teh Asians are more able to build a just society than we Westerners are, what with our history of serfdom, slavery, etc. etc. slaughtering Indians etc. etc.</p>
<p>Thank you for entertaining this seemingly provocative discussion.</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s a question of race. I have a friend who went to a big public school and flunked out. The next semester he went to the school i’ll be attending which is a smaller private school, and is doing really well. Same major.</p>
<p>The difference in the schools has a lot to do with it. Not his race.</p>
<p>Well yeah, everyone knows we haven’t built a ‘fair’ society. Let’s face it, there are no fair societies anywhere. It’s the same reason that true communism can’t be achieved.</p>
<p>That’s the thing, I really think India, Japan etc. really would be capable of making communism work. And communism never really failed, it’s just that no one ever really tried it. Those that say they did were really Fascists. But that’s neither here nor there.</p>
<p>When was the last time you heard of an Indian guy kicking someone’s ass? How many murders were there in Japan last year? like five? probably all the same guy…</p>
<p>AJH, are there private schools in the Far East that make success less of a headache for those who can afford it? If there are, I’d wager that there aren’t nearly as many (per capita etc.).</p>
<p>The race argument is ridiculous. My experience is that private schools have a greater $ investment in students and are more inclined to offer services/assistance to students, regardless of race. I can only imagine the amount of weed-out necessary at The Ohio State University with their 300+ student per class common courses. I think it is primarily people making a bad choice in the school they attend. My D is doing fine at Vandy. I think she would have washed out at Case-Western. Just my opinion.</p>
<p>BTW, I’m white and if there is a cheat for life please let me in on the secret…</p>
<p>“Yeah, white people definitely cheat at life. The only reason minorities make less income, score lower on standardized tests, and go to less prestigious colleges then whites is because white people are conniving bastards with no moral qualms about their chicanery. Wait, what do you mean Asians outperform whites on all those areas… uh…”</p>
<p>Hey, all you other white people out there. I found the cheat. It’s just being born white, google said so. I didn’t know it was that simple! I didn’t realize I had been cheating for all this time. Since I am so far in debt since I wasn’t using the cheat isn’t there a special white guy cheat to get rid of it?</p>
<p>Sounds like someone’s got an Asian fetish. Take a look at the past - neither the Qing dynasty and the Communist government of China nor the caste system in India have a great track record on human rights. In fact, there’s plenty of serfdom, slavery, and slaughter in the history books.</p>
<p>I don’t read history books, shades, so I’ll have to take your word for it. But what I do know is that the ancient Indians in the Indus Valley left virtually no evidence of ever having a war, ever, or something to that effect. So they just must be in a little bit of a funk right now.</p>
<p>Also, you’re right. Nobody ever gets killed in Japan. But, the “history books” don’t tell lies about the tens of millions of people they slaughtered in other nations =)</p>
<p>Boy. I know that has really worked out well for me…NOT. I, and just about everyone I know, amreally much too busy worrying about my own *** to really concern myself with whether someone else is being held back. Get a grip.</p>