Math isn't my specialty but I know enough to figure that out...again like I said: I have friends that went to Clements and based on the stories they've told me, I'm glad as hell I didn't get caught up in that bulls**t. And the funny thing is...for the most...the grades you get, the schools you go to...don't amount to hardly anything once you get into the real world. It's all about experience and connections. Found that out real quick. I agree with the 10% rule in principal though...while it is unfair to some, it does give others opportunities (who deserve to be there) they would otherwise not have. And like I said there are plenty of good universities in Texas; you don't HAVE to go to the most popular one.
I agree with this in every way. Its a state school. Those people have every right to go there. Like you said before, the real world is all about experience and connections. Youre going to learn the same useless crap no matter what school you go to. Just live with it. Lucky for me I got plenty of college credit via internships. Hands on experience can't be beat especially competing with those who know how to read and memorize textbooks. If you cared about your education so much just go ahead and walk in and attend class at UT. Nobody is going to stop you. Nobody will even notice. Wait, you don't care about what you learn; all you care about is the diploma, which of course matters only for your first job anyways. Also, if you have a 4.0 with above a 1300 on your SAT (I forgot who it was but saw the post) coming out of a reputable school, you will get into UT based on experience. But then again, I know people with above 4's and higher SAT scores who flat out got rejected. Its a crazy system but whatever. If you're really that smart to begin with just go to UTSA or UT Arlington and transfer. Simple as that.
Man, are schools that competitive today? I wasn't even in the top 15% of my class (1996), yet I still got into an Ivy League school. Early decision, too. (Of course, I had stellar extracurricular activites and a very high SAT, but still.) Hearing the stories in this thread about kids scratching and clawing just to gain admission to UT absolutely amazes me... and scares the hell out of me when thinking about my eventual future children. "Sorry, little Johnny. You're only 25th in the class with a 4.3 GPA. It's off to ACC for you." MadMax, are you getting college nightmares yet?
I wasn't in the top ten because I did horrible my Freshmen year. I got really good SAT score (1400+), tried out and made our school's academic teams (decathalon and academic challenge), was an officer in the chess club, and did above average in debate competitions. I think those kind of things will help you out on a college app. Also having a ton of AP courses and credits help too. Overall, I think the system is a joke, I consider my self reasonably intelligent, but I just don't like the class room setting. Grades and tests and those things should not be the sole or 90%determining factor for college and other things but unfortunately they are. It also seems the higher the education I get, the more I realize that it's not necessarily the smart or even the ones that learned the most about a subject that gets the good grades, it's those that understand how to take the tests, of follow guidelines of essays and things of that sort that do well. I.E. those that know how to play the game, and that's just messed up.
Hmmm...you'll have to point out where I said that. More 'organic,' lol? Er, yeah whatever that means.
Don't get into UT? Boo hoo. Life is hard. If you went to Bellaire HS and was in the top 20%, I'm not losing any sleep over your loss. Sorry. You don't think life is fair, tell that to a kid growing up with no father. I'm currently job searching and 10 years out of college, not ONCE has anybody asked me what my GPA was. It's really annoying how competative high school is these days. If anything, recent graduates are a bunch of spoiled brats rather than a bunch of 1400 SAT super kids ready to take over the world. Kids today seem to have better grades. But am I the only one that thinks kids today are dumber than ever? Kids today get pissed off if they have to tie their own shoes. It's Friday night and I've already had a couple beers.
Let's just level the playing field by actually having every child on the same field for once. When the kids from Madison receive as good an educational experience as the much more intelligent kids (hilarious) from Bellaire, then we won't have to talk about 10% or affirmative action.
Not sure why some people are assuming that all kids that go to school in a 'good' district are products on a nuclear family and are rich. Neither of those assumptions are true.
I did a story for a class on the Top 10% rule once. My memory may be hazy on the exact numbers so I'll use round figures from a seminar I attended on the rule. Before the Top 10% rule, 80 or so percent of UT students came from 10 school districts. If those districts lose a few spots in UT so students in other districts have a chance, I don't really lose any sleep over that.
Wow. Didn't realize that it was so skewed. I don't think the 10% rule is optimal but in the face of stats like that I guess its better than nothing.
Calm down...Max said the same thing in different words. Private schools are insulated, if you prefer that term...I'm not going to bother explaining it, because it's self-explanatory. Max, isn't Stratford one of the top high schools in the area?
This statement sums up the entire argument imo. Getting a degree from UT does not guarantee success in the real world. I'll you a very simple real life example.... UT has the #1 Accounting program in America consistently year after year. You would suspect that students coming out of the PPA program (the 5 yr Accounting program) at UT would be without a doubt the best hires you get every year. UT typically places well over 90% of the graduates from this program into Big 4 Accounting firms because of the name recognition of the program. I would like to say that in my personal experience that all the UT PPA grads I have worked with are stellar, but the reality is they are not. Some are excellent, but others simply come in thinking they are the sh*t and simply are not as focused and hard working as they need to be. Interestingly enough, some of the best new hires and interns I have worked with have come from schools such as UH and Sam Houston St. The Big 4 firms typically only take the very top students from these so called second tier schools, and these students come in with an extremely positive attitude and ridiculous desire to prove that they belong. This is not the case in all situations, but it very true in a lot of them.
Graduating from the PPA program at UT I can actually vouch for this. However you cant expect every single person graduating from the program to be the best-hire....if each big 4 firm hires 20 from UT and 2 or 3 from the smaller schools chances are the ones they hired from the other schools might impress them more. This is why I avoided the big 4 all together though, i am in mid market...
I hire as many UT and Rice grads as I can....and then I make them listen to my stories about SWT and the outstanding ratio of women to men. DD
Just be careful about trusting other people's opinions. I have friends who've graduated from Stratford tell me they learned nothing at all except how to cheat. My friend's graduating class supposedly had 10 valedictorians.
Didn't mean to insult you or anything. Just telling you what I've heard about Stratford's current state of affairs from students who graduated 3 or so years ago.
