51–60 of 136 posts
Colleges such as Harvard that base admissions decisions on grades, standardized test scores, traditional social/leadership signals (club x, sports team y), alumni connections, geographic/ethnic background, and writing/storytelling skills (i.e., the “personal essay”) are going to miss a lot of brilliant, innovative people and future leaders. The 17-year-old Steve Jobs (free spirit), Barack Obama (slacker), and Jack Ma…
Classical education is DEAD. I see this worldwide and there're countless examples about it. 1. Smart people do not get accepted for various reasons 2. There's no personalization of classes - people are not machines and shouldn't be treated to study the same thing in the same ways. No creativity inspired. 3. Big gap between businesses and universities. and on and on..
The technical founders of Google, Facebook, even Apple all went to world class schools.
* Not-so-exceptional people are not granted admission
* Exceptional people are demonstrably exceptional even before admission
It is an interesting claim. I think Harvard would still reject him, he doesn't seem to fit in with what a "Harvard Man" is. The mistake is thinking that Harvard wants all the successful people in the world to go there, as far as I can tell they don't. Every private University recruits from their "tribe" whether it is 'quirky' at Reed or 'cosmopolitan' at Harvard, while not discriminating on race, religion, Etc they d…
Affirmative action IS discrimination on race. AFAIK Harvard has been sued because of that not too long ago - I don't know the outcome though.
It is an interesting claim. I think Harvard would still reject him, he doesn't seem to fit in with what a "Harvard Man" is. The mistake is thinking that Harvard wants all the successful people in the world to go there, as far as I can tell they don't. Every private University recruits from their "tribe" whether it is 'quirky' at Reed or 'cosmopolitan' at Harvard, while not discriminating on race, religion, Etc they d…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> They are nothing for entrepeneurs. This is absolutely false. Great colleges are extremely hard, and in top programs kids are always fighting for life to not get kicked out. To me, CMU taught invaluable lessons in hard work, getting kicked in the teeth over and over, surviving mostly on coffee and alcohol, and persisting till success comes along. All these lessons help while starting a startup. A great college progr…
As you mentioned those universities are extremeley hard what means time consuming. Starting a company is time consuming too. Doing both at the same time is nearly impossible. But when you are studying it is the best time to start a company. It would be better if colleges would honor this instead of just ignoring.
But I agree, it would be nice to have a guided entrepreneur-track independent study style option. Or at least a more startup-friendly environment and outlook in departments.
http://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2012/09/the_harvard_cheating_...
Classical education is DEAD. I see this worldwide and there're countless examples about it. 1. Smart people do not get accepted for various reasons 2. There's no personalization of classes - people are not machines and shouldn't be treated to study the same thing in the same ways. No creativity inspired. 3. Big gap between businesses and universities. and on and on..
The technical founders of Google, Facebook, even Apple all went to world class schools.
Colleges such as Harvard that base admissions decisions on grades, standardized test scores, traditional social/leadership signals (club x, sports team y), alumni connections, geographic/ethnic background, and writing/storytelling skills (i.e., the “personal essay”) are going to miss a lot of brilliant, innovative people and future leaders. The 17-year-old Steve Jobs (free spirit), Barack Obama (slacker), and Jack Ma…
I did not grow up in a big city. I grew up in a place where a state degree from a good college was enough to show aptitude and I did not understand the value of attending and paying for a school like Harvard. Now that I am older, I have moved to a few big cities and currently live in SF. Unfortunately, in SF, having a Harvard degree is pretty standard / common and people that did not attend a 'top university' are regularly passed over for funding (YC) and positions at top companies etc.
I understand why. If I am a hiring manager and everyone in the world is applying to my company, I might as well pick people who went to Harvard / MIT / Stanford. But... it does mean that a decision someone made when they were 17 years old will keep them out of a lot of interviews regardless of how successful they were after they attending XYZ state college.
I attended a state college 15 years ago that most people on the west coast do not pay much attention to. I have now worked at some of the top companies in the world and I have noticed a really, really strong pattern.
People who attended no name schools and worked to get an offer at a great company are typically the best performers at the next company.
If I were looking to hire / fund someone, I would always look favorably on those that attended a top institution, then had a track record of success. In addition to the 'standard' applicant, I would look really hard at those that attended a lower tier school and 'outperformed' their peers.
It is an interesting claim. I think Harvard would still reject him, he doesn't seem to fit in with what a "Harvard Man" is. The mistake is thinking that Harvard wants all the successful people in the world to go there, as far as I can tell they don't. Every private University recruits from their "tribe" whether it is 'quirky' at Reed or 'cosmopolitan' at Harvard, while not discriminating on race, religion, Etc they d…
I disagree for a simple reason- suppose Harvard could go back in time and reject Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, or Stanford could reject Sergey Brin and Larry Page- do you think they would?
Of course not, even though you'd be hard-pressed to suggest that they were great fits for their programs since they dropped out after their first year. The reason is that unicorn students like that give those schools a huge amount of mystique, not to mention press, which adds a lot more to their image than most doctors, lawyers, or consultants could.
I grew up in a Chinese household, and I swear, Chinese people are way too obsessed with university branding. It's not even about quality of education, it's a cultural status phenomenon. If you take 10 mothers, the dick size of each one is directly proportional to the US News (yes, specifically US News) ranking of the university of her child. And if Timmy, some random kid in school, had a 2380 SAT, then as a fellow Ch…