Re: to kinnera and jeremiah

by Guest Thu Apr 12, 2012 12:42 pm

Marathadi-Saamiyaar wrote:
Richard Hed wrote:
Kris wrote:'caesar' and 'internship'- my bad!

Internships to a huge extent and a real good giving mentor (parents not counted) :-)

My 2 paise...

Dude:

We are not rich Indians rather poor FOBs long settled in Amrikkaa and financially deprived compared to the middle class in India.

Kids here will take loans and add them to their mortgages to repay all their professional lives (same thing happening in India as well).

I'm confused by what youre trying to say but, wont ask further :-)

by Petrichor Mon Apr 16, 2012 1:46 pm

The Choice blog has an entry on A First Draft of 2012 Admissions Decisions at Dozens of Universities which had the following comment from a reader:

"

While these numbers reflect one aspect of the admissions process and results, it is hardly the whole picture. In fact, I actually think it reflects the basic background information. Using the Harvard freshman book of Class of 2015 and going over profiles of hundreds of randomly selected students (this was not a scientific study), I am impressed by the sheer diversity of the backgrounds they represent. For a highly selective school like Harvard, they are definitely looking for and admitting students who bring “something” different to the student body. While certain level of academic proficiency and accomplishments are necessary (students after all have to be able to survive four years of Harvard), beyond certain basics, unique features of students seem to far outweigh pure academic prowess. My suggestion at least for people who endeavor to get into Harvard and the like put more emphasis on “uniqueness”. A few examples: A Chinese student who grew up in Kenya and Thailand who knows Swahili. A Bulgarian Math Olympiad champion. A New Zealand math whiz who spent a couple years growing up on a medical missionary boat off the coast of Africa. A first student to attend from Zambia. A NJ student who spent some time teaching English to Palestinian kids in refugee camps in Lebanon under tense security conditions.
While not everyone comes such backgrounds, these are specific examples of those who are current freshmen at Harvard based on personal contacts. These are some of the “competitors” that the applicants are being compared to.

— Dennis Y. Loh, MD"

by MaxEntropy_Man Mon Apr 16, 2012 2:02 pm

i don't know atcg, i find all this very discouraging. i keep falling back to the same conclusion that it's a fool's errand to build such a resume in a contrived way with the express intent of trying to make it to the ivies. i mean whatever happened to picking up a few passions and excelling at them? ultimately she won't enjoy doing something if it isn't something that keeps her interest over the long haul. these kids had the fortunate circumstance of growing up in these kinds of unique environs.

i have to start taking the pragmatic approach of having her thoroughly enjoy what she likes which right now is discovering on her own and with my help a lot of mathematics, and pursuing bharathanatyam (both of which are probably the commonest pursuits amongst southern indian girls and so hardly unique). let the chips fall where they may.

by Hellsangel Mon Apr 16, 2012 2:04 pm

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:i don't know atcg, i find all this very discouraging. i keep falling back to the same conclusion that it's a fool's errand to build such a resume in a contrived way with the express intent of trying to make it to the ivies. i mean whatever happened to picking up a few passions and excelling at them? ultimately she won't enjoy doing something if it isn't something that keeps her interest over the long haul. these kids had the fortunate circumstance of growing up in these kinds of unique environs.

i have to start taking the pragmatic approach of having her thoroughly enjoy what she likes which right now is discovering on her own and with my help a lot of mathematics, and pursuing bharathanatyam (both of which are probably the commonest pursuits amongst southern indian girls and so hardly unique). let the chips fall where they may.

Well said, Il Professore!

by Petrichor Mon Apr 16, 2012 2:48 pm

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:i have to start taking the pragmatic approach of having her thoroughly enjoy what she likes which right now is discovering on her own and with my help a lot of mathematics, and pursuing bharathanatyam (both of which are probably the commonest pursuits amongst southern indian girls and so hardly unique). let the chips fall where they may.

I posted that comment just to show what everyone seems to be thinking of as the "process" and "what works". And the real issue, as you correctly pointed out, is that the competition is silo-ed into narrow buckets of identity - so its always interesting to note that what ultimately works is the success of the "hybrids" and cross-overs.

Also, without demeaning anyone's individual effort, we see there is a vast wasteland of mediocrity in these "common" pursuits that does not rise significantly above a local arangetram or county-level math olympiad. There is the Kumon-driven masses that miss the boat entirely by distorting a math education and bollywood-dance-craze induced self-styled BN gurus in it for a quick buck, all looking to give young miss dayaalini a leg-up in her self-discovery. So, is it any wonder that a significant % of them will matriculate to non-ivies and develop a healthy disdain for their "culture" when they compare themselves to the mainstream kids that blossomed in activities out of their own volition, rather than things that were thrust on them.

There are some core assimilation and identity issues here that need to be worked out.

by MaxEntropy_Man Mon Apr 16, 2012 3:34 pm

much truth in what you say. we discovered early that kumon is completely pointless. something jeremiah here pointed out to me early and i realized a little later on my own.

the BN is something we exposed them to and they've taken a strong interest in. hard to say how the longer term will unfold. the pursuit of serious math is the older one's own volition (and i am only playing the part of someone who greases the path to understanding). it is quite serious from what i can tell based on where i was at her age. i keep telling them that none of this is *just* for college admissions and that they need to keep at whatever activity they feel turned on by.

by MaxEntropy_Man Mon Apr 16, 2012 3:35 pm

how they feel four five years on is hard to say, but i'll be perfectly happy if they only end up with their (hopefully sure) back up option and don't get anywhere near the ivies. i keep telling them that life is a marathon. the idea is to peak in their 40s and 50s and not in their twenties.

by Marathadi-Saamiyaar Mon Apr 16, 2012 11:43 pm

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:how they feel four five years on is hard to say, but i'll be perfectly happy if they only end up with their (hopefully sure) back up option and don't get anywhere near the ivies. i keep telling them that life is a marathon. the idea is to peak in their 40s and 50s and not in their twenties.

I created this analogy.

Since you have used the analogy without my expressed consent, I have decided to (create) use a different analogy.

Life is a triathalon.

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