UChicago is Tops at Top Prep Schools

sushiritto
Sat, 02 Jan 2021 07:03:46 +0000

JBStillFlying:

“Academic superstar” is usually determined by some sort of metric (top grades, a curriculum that includes graduate courses or the rigorous version of a subject, etc.).

Of course, that is your metric, grades and scores. And others may agree with you.

But you see IMO, your metric doesn’t account for students, who are both elite in their sport AND their academics enough to be recruited by a Harvard or a Stanford. These elite student-athletes may not need a high SAT score, so some may just walk into an SAT test center on a Saturday, with little or no hours of prep and get the test score that they need to get into a Harvard or a Stanford, because they are a recruited athlete.

Coach says “you need X.” Athlete responds “Shoot, I can do that without even studying.” Why bother spending all that extra (or any) SAT prep time when it’s just not needed.

I know a few.

OTOH, I’m sure that there are some these “academic superstars” at UoC that take the SAT 2, 3 or more times, just to get a test score that a non-athlete needs to qualify for entry. And these “academic superstars” also may have the time, since they’re NOT on a court or field, being “grade grubbers” in their “spare time,” which athletes do not have. These “grade grubbers” probably realize that the only way into a UoC is to pester their teachers for “extra credit” or that extra 0.5% or whatever to get that A-, instead of a B+.

I know a few.

IMO, you can’t simply boil the definition of an “academic superstar” to just their SAT test score and grade deciles on a chart. Not all “academic superstars” fit into that nice neat little top box(es) in the CDS.