MaxEntropy_Man wrote:rishi -- what MOOC courses have you been taking lately?

Rishi wrote:

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:rishi -- what MOOC courses have you been taking lately?

Relevance to the subject of the thread?

For your kind (not mean) information, I am not taking any courses right now.

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:

Rishi wrote:

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:rishi -- what MOOC courses have you been taking lately?

Relevance to the subject of the thread?

For your kind (not mean) information, I am not taking any courses right now.

oh sorry. just wanted to take the opportunity to ask you the q. as to the question, not sure why harvard would want to admit him. i think there has been a program for some years of MIT admitting the top ten JEE rankers and offering them a full ride. not sure if harvard has anything equivalent to that.

Rishi wrote:http://www.ndtv.com/article/blog/all-india-cbse-class-xii-topper-shares-his-success-mantra-534718?pfrom=home-topstories

bw wrote:getting 99.6 in CBSE is not all that big a deal. am sure he is a bright kid and has worked hard but CBSE exams don't really test anything too deep and fundamental.

truthbetold wrote:

bw wrote:getting 99.6 in CBSE is not all that big a deal. am sure he is a bright kid and has worked hard but CBSE exams don't really test anything too deep and fundamental.

He is ranked one in India. Why is that not a big deal?

truthbetold wrote:

bw wrote:getting 99.6 in CBSE is not all that big a deal. am sure he is a bright kid and has worked hard but CBSE exams don't really test anything too deep and fundamental.

He is ranked one in India. Why is that not a big deal?

bw wrote:

truthbetold wrote:

bw wrote:getting 99.6 in CBSE is not all that big a deal. am sure he is a bright kid and has worked hard but CBSE exams don't really test anything too deep and fundamental.

He is ranked one in India. Why is that not a big deal?

all that CBSE board exams test is just the basic stuff. in my days, there were several who scored near 100s in physics, math and chemistry and had a very high average. all that was required was knowing the basic concepts and direct application of them - there weren't any tricky and creative applications required.

as i said, it is commendable that he topped it (though i am surprised no one got a perfect score) but it does not really separate the men from the boys. it is not comparable to getting a top rank in the JEE exam.

Kris wrote:

bw wrote:

truthbetold wrote:

bw wrote:getting 99.6 in CBSE is not all that big a deal. am sure he is a bright kid and has worked hard but CBSE exams don't really test anything too deep and fundamental.

He is ranked one in India. Why is that not a big deal?

all that CBSE board exams test is just the basic stuff. in my days, there were several who scored near 100s in physics, math and chemistry and had a very high average. all that was required was knowing the basic concepts and direct application of them - there weren't any tricky and creative applications required.

as i said, it is commendable that he topped it (though i am surprised no one got a perfect score) but it does not really separate the men from the boys. it is not comparable to getting a top rank in the JEE exam.

>>>I don't know specifically about CBSE, but the article said something about studying some insane number of hours per day. There is something unhealthy about it. I would discourage my kids if they showed that kind of zeal. Of course, since the number of study hours per day is rather close to zero on that front, I guess this won't be a problem anytime soon.  

bw wrote:

Kris wrote:

bw wrote:

truthbetold wrote:

bw wrote:getting 99.6 in CBSE is not all that big a deal. am sure he is a bright kid and has worked hard but CBSE exams don't really test anything too deep and fundamental.

He is ranked one in India. Why is that not a big deal?

all that CBSE board exams test is just the basic stuff. in my days, there were several who scored near 100s in physics, math and chemistry and had a very high average. all that was required was knowing the basic concepts and direct application of them - there weren't any tricky and creative applications required.

as i said, it is commendable that he topped it (though i am surprised no one got a perfect score) but it does not really separate the men from the boys. it is not comparable to getting a top rank in the JEE exam.

>>>I don't know specifically about CBSE, but the article said something about studying some insane number of hours per day. There is something unhealthy about it. I would discourage my kids if they showed that kind of zeal. Of course, since the number of study hours per day is rather close to zero on that front, I guess this won't be a problem anytime soon.  

why is being passionate about something bad? musicians spend insane number of hours practising. as long as it is done willingly, it should be ok? i do understand that it is good to be balanced.

bw wrote:

Kris wrote:

bw wrote:

truthbetold wrote:

bw wrote:getting 99.6 in CBSE is not all that big a deal. am sure he is a bright kid and has worked hard but CBSE exams don't really test anything too deep and fundamental.

He is ranked one in India. Why is that not a big deal?

all that CBSE board exams test is just the basic stuff. in my days, there were several who scored near 100s in physics, math and chemistry and had a very high average. all that was required was knowing the basic concepts and direct application of them - there weren't any tricky and creative applications required.

as i said, it is commendable that he topped it (though i am surprised no one got a perfect score) but it does not really separate the men from the boys. it is not comparable to getting a top rank in the JEE exam.

>>>I don't know specifically about CBSE, but the article said something about studying some insane number of hours per day. There is something unhealthy about it. I would discourage my kids if they showed that kind of zeal. Of course, since the number of study hours per day is rather close to zero on that front, I guess this won't be a problem anytime soon.  

why is being passionate about something bad? musicians spend insane number of hours practising. as long as it is done willingly, it should be ok? i do understand that it is good to be balanced.

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:

truthbetold wrote:

bw wrote:getting 99.6 in CBSE is not all that big a deal. am sure he is a bright kid and has worked hard but CBSE exams don't really test anything too deep and fundamental.

He is ranked one in India. Why is that not a big deal?

TN board exams... not much by way of solving challenging problems in any subject. 

swapna wrote:

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:

truthbetold wrote:

bw wrote:getting 99.6 in CBSE is not all that big a deal. am sure he is a bright kid and has worked hard but CBSE exams don't really test anything too deep and fundamental.

He is ranked one in India. Why is that not a big deal?

TN board exams... not much by way of solving challenging problems in any subject. 

I cannot see how the high-pressure setting of a board's exam might be suitable for testing the ability of a student to solve "challenging problems." If one credits the board with minimal intelligence, that ability is not what its exam is testing.

Kris wrote:
>>>I don't know specifically about CBSE, but the article said something about studying some insane number of hours per day. There is something unhealthy about it. I would discourage my kids if they showed that kind of zeal. Of course, since the number of study hours per day is rather close to zero on that front, I guess this won't be a problem anytime soon.  

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:

bw wrote:

Kris wrote:

bw wrote:

truthbetold wrote:
He is ranked one in India. Why is that not a big deal?

all that CBSE board exams test is just the basic stuff. in my days, there were several who scored near 100s in physics, math and chemistry and had a very high average. all that was required was knowing the basic concepts and direct application of them - there weren't any tricky and creative applications required.

as i said, it is commendable that he topped it (though i am surprised no one got a perfect score) but it does not really separate the men from the boys. it is not comparable to getting a top rank in the JEE exam.

>>>I don't know specifically about CBSE, but the article said something about studying some insane number of hours per day. There is something unhealthy about it. I would discourage my kids if they showed that kind of zeal. Of course, since the number of study hours per day is rather close to zero on that front, I guess this won't be a problem anytime soon.  

why is being passionate about something bad? musicians spend insane number of hours practising. as long as it is done willingly, it should be ok? i do understand that it is good to be balanced.

i was going to post something similar. there is a definite bias in the current college admissions climate in the US towards students that are more "balanced", whatever that means, and away from single-minded individuals who have a single passion.  i recently attended one of those info seminars about college admissions where i raised this specific q and asked them pointedly if they are willing to forego admitting the next steve jobs, einstein, or duke ellington in favor of a "well rounded" individual. they hemmed and hawed and didn't particularly like my question very much at all.

bw wrote:

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:

bw wrote:

Kris wrote:

bw wrote:

all that CBSE board exams test is just the basic stuff. in my days, there were several who scored near 100s in physics, math and chemistry and had a very high average. all that was required was knowing the basic concepts and direct application of them - there weren't any tricky and creative applications required.

as i said, it is commendable that he topped it (though i am surprised no one got a perfect score) but it does not really separate the men from the boys. it is not comparable to getting a top rank in the JEE exam.

>>>I don't know specifically about CBSE, but the article said something about studying some insane number of hours per day. There is something unhealthy about it. I would discourage my kids if they showed that kind of zeal. Of course, since the number of study hours per day is rather close to zero on that front, I guess this won't be a problem anytime soon.  

why is being passionate about something bad? musicians spend insane number of hours practising. as long as it is done willingly, it should be ok? i do understand that it is good to be balanced.

i was going to post something similar. there is a definite bias in the current college admissions climate in the US towards students that are more "balanced", whatever that means, and away from single-minded individuals who have a single passion.  i recently attended one of those info seminars about college admissions where i raised this specific q and asked them pointedly if they are willing to forego admitting the next steve jobs, einstein, or duke ellington in favor of a "well rounded" individual. they hemmed and hawed and didn't particularly like my question very much at all.

i have the same problem with this demand for all-rounders. the IB curriculum emphasises that a lot and of course, the US colleges, i suppose.

Kris wrote:

bw wrote:

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:

bw wrote:

Kris wrote:

>>>I don't know specifically about CBSE, but the article said something about studying some insane number of hours per day. There is something unhealthy about it. I would discourage my kids if they showed that kind of zeal. Of course, since the number of study hours per day is rather close to zero on that front, I guess this won't be a problem anytime soon.  

why is being passionate about something bad? musicians spend insane number of hours practising. as long as it is done willingly, it should be ok? i do understand that it is good to be balanced.

i was going to post something similar. there is a definite bias in the current college admissions climate in the US towards students that are more "balanced", whatever that means, and away from single-minded individuals who have a single passion.  i recently attended one of those info seminars about college admissions where i raised this specific q and asked them pointedly if they are willing to forego admitting the next steve jobs, einstein, or duke ellington in favor of a "well rounded" individual. they hemmed and hawed and didn't particularly like my question very much at all.

i have the same problem with this demand for all-rounders. the IB curriculum emphasises that a lot and of course, the US colleges, i suppose.

>>> I agree this often results in pushing the kid in multiple directions to make the college application impressive. In a way, this is the flip side of pushing kids academically beyond their abilities via years of coaching to get into a coveted program in India, be it an IIT or a Medical school. Neither of these measures allows for a person to come into his or her own naturally. Unfortunately, this is the ground reality of the college application process when your target is the big name schools.

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:

bw wrote:

Kris wrote:

bw wrote:

truthbetold wrote:
He is ranked one in India. Why is that not a big deal?

all that CBSE board exams test is just the basic stuff. in my days, there were several who scored near 100s in physics, math and chemistry and had a very high average. all that was required was knowing the basic concepts and direct application of them - there weren't any tricky and creative applications required.

as i said, it is commendable that he topped it (though i am surprised no one got a perfect score) but it does not really separate the men from the boys. it is not comparable to getting a top rank in the JEE exam.

>>>I don't know specifically about CBSE, but the article said something about studying some insane number of hours per day. There is something unhealthy about it. I would discourage my kids if they showed that kind of zeal. Of course, since the number of study hours per day is rather close to zero on that front, I guess this won't be a problem anytime soon.  

why is being passionate about something bad? musicians spend insane number of hours practising. as long as it is done willingly, it should be ok? i do understand that it is good to be balanced.

i was going to post something similar. there is a definite bias in the current college admissions climate in the US towards students that are more "balanced", whatever that means, and away from single-minded individuals who have a single passion.  i recently attended one of those info seminars about college admissions where i raised this specific q and asked them pointedly if they are willing to forego admitting the next steve jobs, einstein, or duke ellington in favor of a "well rounded" individual. they hemmed and hawed and didn't particularly like my question very much at all.

bw wrote:

Kris wrote:

bw wrote:

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:

bw wrote:

why is being passionate about something bad? musicians spend insane number of hours practising. as long as it is done willingly, it should be ok? i do understand that it is good to be balanced.

i was going to post something similar. there is a definite bias in the current college admissions climate in the US towards students that are more "balanced", whatever that means, and away from single-minded individuals who have a single passion.  i recently attended one of those info seminars about college admissions where i raised this specific q and asked them pointedly if they are willing to forego admitting the next steve jobs, einstein, or duke ellington in favor of a "well rounded" individual. they hemmed and hawed and didn't particularly like my question very much at all.

i have the same problem with this demand for all-rounders. the IB curriculum emphasises that a lot and of course, the US colleges, i suppose.

>>> I agree this often results in pushing the kid in multiple directions to make the college application impressive. In a way, this is the flip side of pushing kids academically beyond their abilities via years of coaching to get into a coveted program in India, be it an IIT or a Medical school. Neither of these measures allows for a person to come into his or her own naturally. Unfortunately, this is the ground reality of the college application process when your target is the big name schools.

i get your point about parental pressure but sometimes, a little push is useful in getting the kids going and motivated.

michelle2 wrote:

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:

bw wrote:

Kris wrote:

bw wrote:

all that CBSE board exams test is just the basic stuff. in my days, there were several who scored near 100s in physics, math and chemistry and had a very high average. all that was required was knowing the basic concepts and direct application of them - there weren't any tricky and creative applications required.

as i said, it is commendable that he topped it (though i am surprised no one got a perfect score) but it does not really separate the men from the boys. it is not comparable to getting a top rank in the JEE exam.

>>>I don't know specifically about CBSE, but the article said something about studying some insane number of hours per day. There is something unhealthy about it. I would discourage my kids if they showed that kind of zeal. Of course, since the number of study hours per day is rather close to zero on that front, I guess this won't be a problem anytime soon.  

why is being passionate about something bad? musicians spend insane number of hours practising. as long as it is done willingly, it should be ok? i do understand that it is good to be balanced.

i was going to post something similar. there is a definite bias in the current college admissions climate in the US towards students that are more "balanced", whatever that means, and away from single-minded individuals who have a single passion.  i recently attended one of those info seminars about college admissions where i raised this specific q and asked them pointedly if they are willing to forego admitting the next steve jobs, einstein, or duke ellington in favor of a "well rounded" individual. they hemmed and hawed and didn't particularly like my question very much at all.

hello, all.

i've heard that harvard admits many students who are single-minded and passionate about some scholarly pursuit and are excellent at it; they also admit many who are high achievers in extra-curricular activities and very good at academics. harvard's value system seems to be summarized by "outstanding at something academic, or very good at both academic and extracurricular activities, and not anyone who is 'merely' quite competent at any number of activities." why? probably because they can fill their capacity without admitting anyone who is merely competent.

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:

michelle2 wrote:

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:

bw wrote:

Kris wrote:

>>>I don't know specifically about CBSE, but the article said something about studying some insane number of hours per day. There is something unhealthy about it. I would discourage my kids if they showed that kind of zeal. Of course, since the number of study hours per day is rather close to zero on that front, I guess this won't be a problem anytime soon.  

why is being passionate about something bad? musicians spend insane number of hours practising. as long as it is done willingly, it should be ok? i do understand that it is good to be balanced.

i was going to post something similar. there is a definite bias in the current college admissions climate in the US towards students that are more "balanced", whatever that means, and away from single-minded individuals who have a single passion.  i recently attended one of those info seminars about college admissions where i raised this specific q and asked them pointedly if they are willing to forego admitting the next steve jobs, einstein, or duke ellington in favor of a "well rounded" individual. they hemmed and hawed and didn't particularly like my question very much at all.

hello, all.

i've heard that harvard admits many students who are single-minded and passionate about some scholarly pursuit and are excellent at it; they also admit many who are high achievers in extra-curricular activities and very good at academics. harvard's value system seems to be summarized by "outstanding at something academic, or very good at both academic and extracurricular activities, and not anyone who is 'merely' quite competent at any number of activities." why? probably because they can fill their capacity without admitting anyone who is merely competent.

that's what they say michelle, but applying that policy to known successful and unsuccessful applicants to harvard and other ivy leagues from a population of this year's graduating senior class from a certain school we know well, reveals that this is only an approximate guide.  some of the admissions make no sense at all and neither do some of the rejections.  i think this is an overall policy, but overlaid on top of that is the need to distinguish between applicants from a class of highly ambitious applicants from a school with many high achievers.  

anyway best not to get singularly obsessed with ivy leagues.