The price students pay for a prized IIT seat
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The price students pay for a prized IIT seat
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Re: The price students pay for a prized IIT seat
#2I used to think that the “holistic” criteria elite US colleges use to select students was a failure of meritocracy. My view was that the non-objective metrics were excuses for colleges to let in students who wouldn’t grind but wanted prestige and had rich parents.
But if you tie a person’s social status to performance on a single test, you suffocate all the useful things people could be doing if they didn’t have to solely dedicate themselves to prep. So maybe we’re doing okay as-is.
Re: The price students pay for a prized IIT seat
#3So, when do the parents step out of the picture, if ever? Sounds like the worst affected would fly apart the moment they had to live on their own. This is a type of student I've heard of in the US of course, but this appears to affect a huge portion of the students.
Re: The price students pay for a prized IIT seat
#4There is an argument to be made that to be the best at something you have to commit like that.
You could write a similar story about pro athletes probably, although team sports would include some level of socialization by default, not all sports are team sports. And I imagine a lot of other sacrifices (friendships outside the team or sport, hobbies, education) are made in pursuit of a pro athlete dream too. And of course there are tons of people who put that kind of work and sacrifice into becoming a pro athlete and never make it.
I think the part that really makes this story stand out to me is the fact that even the ones who make it into this prestigious program don't actually wind up in some top echelon. The article says they find the skill gap between what the industry wants and what they have studied is too big.
That is incredible. Absolutely bonkers to sacrifice so much at a shot at some "top" thing that basically never actually pays off for anyone.
Re: The price students pay for a prized IIT seat
#5I would love to see really elite schools lowering the threshold for the quantitative measurements like the JEE to say, 85% percentile, and just randomly selectively students who meet it.
In my experience there's definitely a point in which better scores on things such as the JEE stop being correlated with both college performance, life satisfaction or even career earnings.
Re: The price students pay for a prized IIT seat
#6Couldn't help but wince at the irony that one of the entrance exams is called NEET, just like the catchall term for people who've fallen through the cracks (Not in Education, Employment, or Training)
Re: The price students pay for a prized IIT seat
#7This is what happens when supply side overwhelms demand side. I remember in my teens, a person who graduated highschool with a modicum of technical aptitude could get hired as an entry level engineer in electronics, manufacturing, automotive etc. No longer the case. They won't even hire you for dog catcher with that background.
Re: The price students pay for a prized IIT seat
#8There is an argument to be made that to be the best at something you have to commit like that. You could write a similar story about pro athletes probably, although team sports would include some level of socialization by default, not all sports are team sports. And I imagine a lot of other sacrifices (friendships outside the team or sport, hobbies, education) are made in pursuit of a pro athlete dream too. And of co…
It's not even being "at the top". Ultimately the difference in education in high-quality institutions just isn't really that big. And while it's true that it is a useful signal that you're sufficiently dedicated to study something deeply for a few years, the correlation between actual success or utility outside of that just doesn't seem to make it worth much.
Re: The price students pay for a prized IIT seat
#9There is an argument to be made that to be the best at something you have to commit like that. You could write a similar story about pro athletes probably, although team sports would include some level of socialization by default, not all sports are team sports. And I imagine a lot of other sacrifices (friendships outside the team or sport, hobbies, education) are made in pursuit of a pro athlete dream too. And of co…
It seems to me that the problem is what these students should be the "best" at.
Taking tests and learning academic material? They appear to be super successful. Being able to navigate the world of business and working with other people? Well, they aren't learning all the soft skills and life experience they need.
I see this partially as a failure of the metrics used for acceptance. Social skills and other activities are important to the success of an individual, and they should be measured as such when considering who to accept.
Re: The price students pay for a prized IIT seat
#10This is what happens when supply side overwhelms demand side. I remember in my teens, a person who graduated highschool with a modicum of technical aptitude could get hired as an entry level engineer in electronics, manufacturing, automotive etc. No longer the case. They won't even hire you for dog catcher with that background.
Are we overpopulated?