<p>Correlating with the current debate, I feel that social expectations really holds true for me. I’m an Indian kid, the stereotypes acquainted with me are countless. My parents expect an Ivy for me, especially since my brother was their child that failed to do it (yeah, I know.) </p>
<p>The enigma in this is that if I tell someone that I’m an Indian who is a B student, it’s like they disregard me totally, think I’m not worthy for some reason. I just don’t get why they think that way. “You’re Indian, shouldn’t you be smart?” I seriously hate stereotypes and those social expectations force me to try my best. This probably doesn’t hold true for all but my two cents is this.</p>
<p>Great student, Amazing student blahblahblah. As catchingnfinity was saying, people have personalities too. Self-Esteem can factor into performance and it also depends on a persons social life/personality not just work ethic. Sometime I’m in total lazy mode where I don’t wanna do ANYTHING. Of course, I do it anyway but that characteristic can hinder me greatly. I’ve stopped doing this, as well as procrastinating, but before this I didn’t reach my expectations solely because of my trait which affected my work ethic and then my grades. Grades don’t necessarily reflect ones academic ability in some cases. I don’t know, call me crazy.</p>
<p>I also agree with Apandia.
Stereotypes make me sick. “Oh, this guys this so here’s where his intelligence stands”. No. I’m African American and I often hear people saying things like, “Because I’m black”? I’m just like shut upppp. Must it really come down to that? Sadly, it does most of the time. Not all of us are bad nor are all of us stupid. Sorry, this is so off topic. Lol</p>
<p>@sk99, yeah I get that feeling as well. You’re right about the other stuff.</p>
<p>@Apandia</p>
<p>I know… I’ve stopped doing that when it comes to work and studying, but it still happens under minor circumstances. Lol</p>
<p>I would say that “great student” and “amazing student” are relative terms based on your definition of “student”. For instance, DS1 has made a conscious decision throughout HS to keep a balance between school, service, ECs, sleep, life, etc. He dropped out of IB as a junior A) because he felt that rampant cheating in his school’s program cheapened the diploma and the experience and B) he had things he wanted to do outside of school that were more important to him than jumping through “busy work” hoops that he didn’t feel would teach him anything. He wasn’t even in the top 10% of his class GPA-wise, but he has a page full of national awards (including Coca Cola and several other “majors”)–far more than any other student in his class. So, though his GPA wasn’t tops, his academic accomplishments combined with his EC’s seem to classify him as a fairly amazing “student”. However, if you look at his grades alone, not so much.</p>
<p>He was accepted to USNWR Top 10 schools, but chose to attend that inferior RI school mentioned before (you know, Brown, lol) because of the flexibility it offers which, in turn, gives him the time and opportunity to actually enjoy school, study what he wants with other engaged students, participate in campus activities and boards and still have time to run his charity. Two of his best friends at B chose B over H, for the record. Many “amazing” students don’t choose their schools based on arbitrary rankings. Crazy, but true. ;)</p>
<p>Just read your last post, it is certainly on topic. I love stereotypical kids and even bullies who call me a nerd. They’re just like, “Screw you, damn nerd!” I’m just like, “this nerd will be your boss.” lol</p>
<p>I get lazy on Fridays, and leave all my work for Sunday lol</p>
<p>@happykidsmom, first off, congratulations on raising a Brown student! I certainly do not consider Brown completely inferior to Harvard, it’s the fact that I know nothing of what influences a student to choose either way. I know no alumnus and have not visited the campus of any of those prestigious schools. Call me clueless, which I am, by the way.</p>
<p>Agree with @apandia on stereotypes…I’m Asian and I feel like I have to get into a top school for my parents, friends, and teachers.</p>
<p>lol @catchinginfinity, I’d rather have that stereotype versus, “You just got in because you’re black, you obviously have no real intelligence” and “you get to go to college for free…boo affirmative action”</p>
<p>lol @liveleadlove, I was just discussing this with my friend today. Both his parents went to Stanford and he is Mexican. His sister was rejected with great EC’s and a 2070 SAT, not to mention a 3.9 GPA. On the other hand, his brother got accepted with a 2370 superscore, awesome EC’s, and a 4.0 (valedictorian) though this is merely a quick overview, there’s a lot more that goes into the process of course. As you can see though, you would think both would get in because of URM and legacy. It didn’t hold true even though both were overall solid applicants. You must have the intelligence, unfortunately, stereotypes don’t believe that.</p>