<p>"Tarhunt … I think you are a little too sensitive. </p>
<p>Nicely done! Rather than explore the issue of rationality, you launch an ad hominen attack!!! </p>
<p>Refuting is so much easier, isn’t it, when the other person has a flawed personality.</p>
<p>Once again, WELL DONE!"</p>
<p>I didn’t realize I was stating you had a flawed personality. Sorry about that.</p>
<p>
Agreed again.</p>
<p>Now, would that concept of “fairly high number” necessarily be exactly the same number to all rational people of good heart?</p>
<p>My daughter goes to a very good private HS. Most of kids are there because they are smart, but there are some kids that are there just because their parent could afford it very well. From freshman to junior years she took mostly AP and Honor couses, but for the spring senior semester she decided to take some easier English and History classes. She said that those classes were harder to handle than her AP classes because of the calibre of students there. She said that those classes are dummied down and discussions in class are not very interesting. It’s very frustrating to her when many of those students don’t do their assigned reading and they have nothing to say during class or just not very interested.</p>
<p>To date, she has been accepted to a few state and LAC science honors programs and has not heard from other top schools yet. We have seriously asked her to consider those honors programs because of $$(merit scholarship and in state tuition) and the fact that they are also good, reputable schools. She has gone to their open house and met some people that were accepted. She told us that if it’s just a money issue, she would go, get a good education and probably have fun too. But she wants to go a school where she won’t be a big fish in a small pond. </p>
<p>Last summer she went to our state’s Governor School for Arts. She was in awe of number of top talented kids in music, film, theater, and dance, all in one place. Everyone she met was amazing (to quote her). She said because everyone was so good, they were expected and motivated to do more. I think that’s what she would want from a college - a place where she’ll be intellectually challenged and meet some “amazingly talented people”. My daughter has not applied to all the ivies because she thinks some of them have more reputation than substance, but she has truly been inspired/impressed by students/factuly at some of those top schools from her over night visits. </p>
<p>We don’t know what next 12 days (who is counting) will bring yet. We are keeping our fingers crossed and will support her on whatever decision she makes.</p>
<p>curm:</p>
<p>That’s not the issue at hand. My initial post on SAT scores was in support of someone who was making the point that many posters had begun to negatively stereotype people with high SAT scores. I used a reductio ad absurdum argument to point out that there IS a difference. Some people are ACTUALLY smarter than others. Probability actually works. Imagine that!</p>
<p>I have no idea what your follow-up questions have to do with the price of eggs in China, other than to equate Rhodes with some other fine colleges for personal reasons.</p>
<p>Hey. In post 161, I was making YOUR point, that differentiating factors influence, and should influence, buying behavior.</p>
<p>So much to digest! Everyone here is so passionate, and the points made are certainly thought-provoking. In the end, though, is the burning question — what does the kid want???</p>
<p>My D never even applied to HYP or the like, simply due to perceived lack of fit. Does that mean she wouldn’t have had a good experience at such a school? Who knows. Does that mean she will somehow suffer in her life because of that decision? Again, who knows … but the cool thing is, it doesn’t matter.</p>
<p>Life is for living in whatever manner a person chooses to live it. If a person focuses on climbing some ladder someone else puts in front of her, she may never be “successful,” no matter how “good” her degree, how “good” her career, how “good” her alumni network. If she focuses on climbing a ladder made of rungs of her choosing, and she works hard to get to the top … to wherever that ladder leads her … then she will almost certainly be a success.</p>
<p>If you ask my D whether $25k makes a difference in choosing Harvard over Centre, she’d tell you — without a moment’s hesitation — that she’d prefer Centre even at the same price. Of the two choices, it would be what makes her happy.</p>
<p>I attended a school most of you have probably never heard of (it even goes by a different name now!). I have classmates who are incredibly successful in business today, by all “traditional” measures of success. From the armpit of America made famous by Roger Moore to the boardrooms of major corporations … and we paid very little for the privilege of our relatively unknown education. I firmly believe it does not matter to those of us for whom it does not matter. Deep, eh? But true. If something is important to you, then do it. If something else is more important, do that. The key is to figure out what you want to do!!</p>
<p>Tarhunt, Rhodes has nothing to do with my purpose in asking the followup questions. Edit: At this moment I wish I had never brought it up. It’s just getting in the way. </p>
<p>I am trying to discuss the points that you have made, and if you’ll notice I’m agreeing with your every (responsive) post. Let’s keep it going and see where it leads, shall we? There may be more common ground than you think.</p>
<p>For the sake of discussion, if you feel I’m one of the rational folks worthy of discourse, can you humor me with an answer? would that concept of “fairly high number” necessarily be exactly the same number to all rational people of good heart?</p>
<p>Tarhunt:“… a class of 1500 scorers would be more lively, talented, and interesting”
Me: “Are you serious?” That indeed was a real question and I did wait for an answer but no response for over an hour. Just a post on my lack of discussion of your post while awaiting an answer. </p>
<p>So you were serious.</p>
<p>I am only here to let others know that my son’s choice of a lower ranked school with the perks of being at the top of his class is working out for him. That said I am done.</p>
<p>sax:</p>
<p>Yep. Your thoughtless post set me off. Just a drive by. No substance. Typical.</p>
<p>aarrgghh. I want to go ride my motorcycle, Tarhunt if you don’t answer I’ll have to finish it by myself and that may not help the thread get back on track.</p>
<p>curm:</p>
<p>You keep asking me questions that are mathematically obvious, and you wonder why I’m tired of answering them? Ask and answer your own rhetorical questions.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>If you insist. 
</p>
<p>C-would that concept of “fairly high number” necessarily be exactly the same number to all rational people of good heart?
T- Well that is obvious , too. Simple math would tell you that it is doubtful every independent reviewer would come up with the same number.
C- So there would be a range of what you have called “fairly high numbers” to express the breakpoint between the lively etc and the not?
T- Duh.
C- So some reviewers would be more narrow, some would be more broad?
T- Are you ■■■■■■■■?
C- Possibly, but it seems to me all that is happening here is that some folks believe the range in scores for a lively etc classroom is broader than some other people think it is. Some think it is a few hundred points, 1500/1200. Some think it is “fairly high”, but not THAT high. Some may even think 100 points is enough for a clear differentiation.
T- It took you that long to get there?
C - We all travel at our own pace. ;)</p>
<p>How’d I do?</p>
<p>IMO, a lot depends on finances. If you could afford an Ivy or elite, top school - great! Go for it…But if you’re faced with other financial responsibilities, then go for the scholarship…or maybe, if you’re lucky, your kid will get $$$ to the top school…</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Pretty well, but you missed some things.</p>
<p>First off, rational people wouldn’t disagree on the exact range. They would understand that, given class sizes, statistical variation, the reliability of the measurement, etc., no exact range is possible. They wouldn’t have to disagree because disagreeing, when the data are what they are in this case, is absurd. All that can be agree upon is what data are needed to become more sure … if, indeed, such data can be obtained.</p>
<p>This is exactly why I used such a broad range. Perhaps I shold have used 1600 and 800, but then I would have gotten the same thing I got before, “Where can you find such a range?”</p>
<p>Well, I’m off to terrorize the civilians on my big black motorcycle. tarhunt, if you’d be so kind - please make my responsive posts for me. ;)</p>
<p>It can be still be a good thread.</p>
<p>“Where can you find such a range?”</p>
<p>Who asked that? I wanted to find your list of 1500 avg SAT schools. </p>
<p>I really have to go. Bye.</p>
<p>Tarhunt said:Well, only if you think a classroom benefits from students who sit there like bumps on a log during class discussion while only one or two people have anything useful to say or, more importantly, useful questions to ask.</p>
<p>Are you absolutely sure that those asking useful questions are necessarily the ones with the higher scores? :)</p>
<p>On broad ranges:</p>
<p>At the most selective schools, it is possible to have classes with ranges from 1200 to 1600 because these schools look beyond SAT scores to build their classes. These tend to be classes that are large, introductory, or part of the core or gen ed requirements, or classes in which SAT scores are not particularly relevant (eg. music, art). It is in the upper-level and smaller classes that the range is more likely to shrink significantly, sometimes to nil For example, I expect that students in advanced math classes scored 800 on the SAT-math or as close to it as to make no difference.</p>
<p>actually, epiphany, I asked you for the names of the mediocre schools and promised that you wouldn’t be blacklisted for naming names, nothing to do with you blacklisting people or whatever you meant by that. I asked because i wanted to understand what you considered to be a homogenous school. I asked in a humorous way. you’ve shown yourself to fall a little short in the humor department. perhaps can you hire a tutor?</p>
<p>curm, do you have to wear a helmet in texas?</p>
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</p>
<p>In a general sort of way, the answer would be “yes.”</p>