<p>
Because they have superb work ethics and academic accomplishments?
I’ve never heard of anyone who says that stats and numbers aren’t important. They may not be the only factors, but GPA and Test Scores are generally considered the two most important ones.</p>
<p>Personally, I believe the kind of intensive academic environment described isn’t productive. Cramming doesn’t help students develop genuine interests.</p>
<p>Come on guys… memorization and comprehension are not mutually exclusive. Discussion and analysis are great, but they are not the only way to comprehend something.</p>
<p>What do you think… these Koreans sit at home for 12 hours a day studying math but don’t comprehend polar functions as well as we Americans do because we have 10 minute “discussions” on it?</p>
<p>Oh and deezmom… are you really suggesting that it would be better if Ivies couldn’t be prepared for, that their admittances should be determined by genetics?</p>
<p>^She’s saying either that or have some magical way of showing which students have the most potential without creating any possible way of preparing for those measures.</p>
<p>To deezmom: HYP CAN’T be crammed/trained for.</p>
<p>The link about the suicide rate is interesting. Did you guys notice that the rate is lower in less developing countries? Some even has a 0.0
but wiki says that we should be cautious with the dara:D</p>
<p>Bring up my thread, please.</p>
<p>This article is an example of the growing competitiveness to get into colleges.</p>
<p>Many students spend more time studying than enjoying their freetime (however, this is not at all apparent at my school). I tried balancing leisure with studying sometimes, but studying usually was the first priority. Of course, I had extracurricular activities.</p>
<p>Even with all my studying, I was waitlisted at Brown and Stanford.</p>
<p>ok… Im south korean…I have many friends who go to "MIn sa go ( 민사고, ) and 대원외고 (Dae won wae go)… I heard from my friends they have cameras in their rooms…</p>
<p>A lot of my friends who graduated from Harvard work up to 12-15 hour days as investment bankers at Wall Street. Some even work weekends. I think that it’s definitely doable and really not that crazy.</p>
<p>those kids are going to be severely messed up.</p>
<p>2250? i beat them.</p>
<p>hell i can probably beat them at starcraft too</p>
<p>kekekek</p>
<p>heh wasn’t there a featured article on CC a few months ago about Korean schools making the class easy As so that they could boost their Ivy admittance stats?</p>
<p>No one can beat Koreans at Starcraft…</p>
<p>While I’m not completely happy with the education I’ve had being raised in the USA, I will say that I am deeply happy my parents immigrated to the US and spared me the ridiculousness of the Korean education system.</p>
<p>That said, it’s really a culture thing, in my opinion.</p>
<p>From personal experience, </p>
<p>While my parents aren’t as crazy about “getting 100’s on everything”, they do expect me to succeed and be above an average student. I have brought to date 4 B’s home, and while they do somewhat “scold” me and say I could have done better, for the most part they understand that school is difficult and I am thankful I do not have Asian parents that I know of who will ridicule and punish you for bringing even an A-.</p>
<p>They do expect me to work hard, and work harder if “just” working hard isn’t enough. My entire family is based on the “hard work” ethic, and the cousins that I do have living in Korea exemplify it more than I do. I can honestly say that while I might not be as NATURALLY highly intelligent as some friends I know of, I do bring home the grades because I work for them and I work for knowing whatever I’m learning, and I owe that to my parents and family for giving me that. And I also think that that article in the NYTimes basically makes this point: Korean students are intelligent and much of that intelligence is based off of a high work ethic. Being raised in the US but being of Asian ethnicity, I don’t find that the American education system necessarily pushes that idea of work paying off. In a general sense of American culture, rags to riches, etc. it does- but from what I experience in school right now as a senior, the education system doesn’t push that.</p>
<p>Another thing I have to say is that the US seems to be more of an individualistic country rather than a “collectivist”, family-oriented country. Korean and Asian cultures are very much based on family, and a major reason to live is to support your family and to make your family proud. The norm used to be to live with your parents, even when you were married- the wife would move in with the husband. Once your parents get old enough, it was your turn to take over the finances, the work, etc. and to support them. Obviously this isn’t totally true now, but it is still pretty much the thing, maybe just in a different way. While I’m not saying the US isn’t family-oriented, I am saying that Asian cultures base much of their lives on family and keeping up the family name.</p>
<p>As far as the elitism in colleges go as far as Koreans attending and knowing only the big ones, that is one thing that has always bugged me and partially the reason I am having such difficulty with my parents over which college/university I should attend. I don’t think Koreans fully understand the reasons for an education that is based on the pure thrill of learning and gaining knowledge.</p>
<p>And that’s really all I can think of to say right now.</p>
<p>p.s. I didn’t get into Stanford either, and frankly, am happy I didn’t.</p>
<p>A 2250 isn’t that hard to beat. But you think you can beat them at Starcraft? HA, SILLY KID.</p>
<p>
Those are adults not 14-18 year old kids.</p>
<p>
Agreed.</p>
<p>ee33ee:
I think that d4r7h3v1l is completely right. Your understanding of learning, “Repetition until an idea is ingrained,” sounds as if it is completely centered around grades and test scores. In your example you even equated mastery of a subject to “perfect 100’s on tests every time,” which is pretty shallow to say the least. </p>
<p>
You are wrong. “Learning” and “memorization” are separate when you are talking about the idea of learning. “Learning” connotes that you have a concrete understanding of key concepts and are able to apply them to any situation. However, “memorization” connotes that you have no understanding of the key concepts and are unable to apply them to new situations. “Learning” is about knowing where the right pieces fit so that you can make that “beautiful picture.” With “memorization” you merely know what the pieces look like but you have no idea how they fit together.</p>
<p>
What “equations” are you talking about?</p>
<p>
Just wanted to point out you contradicted yourself. You said, “that the American system promotes rote learning too,” which implies you think that like the Korean/East Asian education systems the Western system promotes rote memorization. (I am assuming your typing “rote learning” is a gaffe and that you meant “rote memorization”.) Then you said, “the Korean system deemphasizes rote memorization.” But how can the Korean system, which like the American system, promote rote memorization yet deemphasize it simultaneously?</p>
<p>Did anyone catch that comment about the girl self-studying 9 AP’s. That’s beyond even CC madness. Plus I’m sure she has 15 or more hrs a day of school and work to do.
The tones from most of the responses border on disgust, but frankly I’m rather impressed. They all graduate polyglots; Korean, English, and two more. It makes me wish I had gone to a more competitive school.
Just imagine one of these kids graduating who goes to an American college. The kids at the Korean school couldn’t be in relationships and worked all day. How will they react to American college life?
Also some one made this point. I’m a Junior in Calc BC. I’m not particularly smart and I spend about an hour a day on math but my average is high 90s and I understand the material. Before this year I rarely did work. If they’ve been working for probably 1000%harder than me for about 6 years how could I be in the same or maybe harder math than them? What is it that they are working so hard to learn?</p>
<p>hmmm they must be life blood a frat parties! also i wonder how many of them have money as their main goal in life.</p>
<p>i grew up in a system as brutal as that (Taiwan). Like many of my friends, i had to give up ballet, drawing classes and piano in the end (middle school) when the competition got so intense. Standardized testing was the only measure of competence, and determined one’s future. That’s why i’m incredibly grafeful to be in the American system now, as you are not your test score. I mean, i had friends who were solid A students throughout high school, yet just because they got nervous/ sick on the day of the test (entrance exams for both HS and College, only administered once the entire year) they screwed up their future. All because they guessed wrong, their composite score dropped a few points, they went from going to a top school to a low-ranking high school. It’s so incredibly sad that what you bubble in those couple days determines your entire future.</p>
<p>“2250? i beat them.” (feel free to tell me how to correctly quote a post.)</p>
<p>Ahh, but could you do it in a foreign language?</p>
<p>Most universities don’t even require the SAT or ACT of their foreign students, and use the TOEFL instead.</p>