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JFK's Application to Harvard

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Re: JFK's Application to Harvard

#51

Post by MisterBastahrd »

hyperbovine wrote: post #7
sown wrote: post #2

Heh. Get born into the right family and off to Harvard you go.

If you're coming from the "right family" a Harvard education probably isn't worth that much to you anyways.

Of course it is. Families like that don't think in terms of a single generation. Joe Kennedy knew that putting his kids in Ivy League schools meant that his grandkids had a very high probability of being in Ivy League schools, simply because of the connections you make with other wealthy people at these universities.

Joe didn't care whether his kid was in Princeton or Harvard, as long as it was one of them. Once you've made more money than you can count, the next step is to focus on your legacy.

Re: JFK's Application to Harvard

#52

Post by wilfra »

joshAg wrote: post #42
wilfra wrote: post #40

In which quarter of the class is he? 3rd What number out of 110 students is he? 85th What honors has he won in literary or scholastic pursuits? None So JFK was basically just George W. Bush. Interesting.

those are his high school grades, not his university grades.

This is his application to Harvard. Of course they are his high school grades...

Re: JFK's Application to Harvard

#53

Post by [deleted] »

barking wrote: post #48
wilfra wrote: post #40

In which quarter of the class is he? 3rd What number out of 110 students is he? 85th What honors has he won in literary or scholastic pursuits? None So JFK was basically just George W. Bush. Interesting.

There are other abilities that are not measured by tests, such as the ability to get on with people, humility, courage, willingness to learn from mistakes, insight, etc. According to Robert McNamara, JFK's ability to empathise with the Russians' position was very important in resolving the cuban missile crisis. As was his courage in facing down the military who wanted to attack cuba. Presumably he had also learnt fro…

[deleted]

Re: JFK's Application to Harvard

#54

Post by zizee »

slurgfest wrote: post #39
jordanbaucke wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

comment wasn't meant to be partison. I would favor seeing all former president / presidential candidates transcripts regardless of party. They're hardly relevant anyways as whom someone is when they apply to college (typically 17-18 years old in the US) than whom they are as an adult.

If you would favor seeing all transcripts, then why did you choose to single out Obama? I hope you'll understand why I struggle to believe that this singling-out is purely coincidental in the context of an election season where rhetoric about Obama being 'the least transparent in history' is abundant, on the same weekend as a new movie which claims to dig up sinister anti-American mysteries from Obama's past. It is j…

Perhaps because obamba is the current president? Why so sensitive?

Re: JFK's Application to Harvard

#56

Post by abalone »

ojiikun wrote: post #43
jontas wrote: post #17

I'm curious: does anyone know the context of the grades in the application? I saw actual grades listed in three places (pages 3, 17 and 26). He seems to have received scores ranging from 50-85. Are these out of 100? If so, it appears he wasn't a great student. He was ranked 65th out of 110 students (page 17). I'm not questioning his intelligence, he was clearly brilliant. However, I find it interesting that he was an…

I can't speak for Harvard in particular, but back in the '30s, grade inflation hadn't yet taken hold, so it was quite normal for there to be many students with Cs, rather than 90% As like today. http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/14/the-history-of-...

That doesn't explain his middle-of-the-pack class ranking. Even at a prestigious boarding school that's not exactly "Harvard material". (Well, I guess it is...)

Clearly he got in because of family connections.

Re: JFK's Application to Harvard

#57

Post by mquander »

MengYuanLong wrote: post #16
sown wrote: post #2

Heh. Get born into the right family and off to Harvard you go.

I would be interested to hear other's thoughts on JFK's answer to why he would like to attend Harvard. I suck at writing essays but it seems his reason for wanting to attend Harvard is incredibly trite and superfluous, especially coming from a man who would eventually be considered a great orator. For example, he states that Harvard " is a university with something definite to offer." Yet gives no definitive examples…

I assume his reason is trite and superfluous because it's a stupid question. When you're a high school senior, all you know about colleges probably boils down to

- General reputation

- About famous people (or family members) that went there

- A brief visit to a few of them that you pick out of a hat

- How much it costs

What kind of non-superflous evidence do you expect him to be able to bring to bear?

Re: JFK's Application to Harvard

#58

Post by wilfra »

barking wrote: post #48
wilfra wrote: post #40

In which quarter of the class is he? 3rd What number out of 110 students is he? 85th What honors has he won in literary or scholastic pursuits? None So JFK was basically just George W. Bush. Interesting.

There are other abilities that are not measured by tests, such as the ability to get on with people, humility, courage, willingness to learn from mistakes, insight, etc. According to Robert McNamara, JFK's ability to empathise with the Russians' position was very important in resolving the cuban missile crisis. As was his courage in facing down the military who wanted to attack cuba. Presumably he had also learnt fro…

George W. Bush wasn't a one dimensional idiot either. He had a lot of charisma and people skills and is probably one of the highest Presidents of all time on the 'would like to have a beer with him' barometer, even now.

I always thought of JFK as more like Obama (or rather, I thought of Obama as like JFK). As in, a genius. It is pretty clear from this application that a genius he was not.

Re: JFK's Application to Harvard

#59

Post by barking »

wilfra wrote: post #58
barking wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are other abilities that are not measured by tests, such as the ability to get on with people, humility, courage, willingness to learn from mistakes, insight, etc. According to Robert McNamara, JFK's ability to empathise with the Russians' position was very important in resolving the cuban missile crisis. As was his courage in facing down the military who wanted to attack cuba. Presumably he had also learnt fro…

George W. Bush wasn't a one dimensional idiot either. He had a lot of charisma and people skills and is probably one of the highest Presidents of all time on the 'would like to have a beer with him' barometer, even now. I always thought of JFK as more like Obama (or rather, I thought of Obama as like JFK). As in, a genius. It is pretty clear from this application that a genius he was not.

What led you to think that JFK was a genius? I've never heard him described that way.

Re: JFK's Application to Harvard

#60

Post by TheComedian »

MisterBastahrd wrote: post #51
hyperbovine wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're coming from the "right family" a Harvard education probably isn't worth that much to you anyways.

Of course it is. Families like that don't think in terms of a single generation. Joe Kennedy knew that putting his kids in Ivy League schools meant that his grandkids had a very high probability of being in Ivy League schools, simply because of the connections you make with other wealthy people at these universities. Joe didn't care whether his kid was in Princeton or Harvard, as long as it was one of them. Once you'…

> Joe didn't care whether his kid was in Princeton or Harvard, > as long as it was one of them.

And oddly enough, JFK went to both Princeton and Harvard. He attended Princeton for six weeks before getting ill and withdrawing and then going to Harvard the next year.

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