Harvard Admission Exam (1869) [pdf] • Hacker News Board

Re: Harvard Admission Exam (1869) [pdf]

#61

Post by akhilcacharya » Fri, Jan 16, 2015, 12:25 AM UTC

L_Rahman wrote: post #59

cge wrote: post #46

While the point behind posting these entrance exams is often to make a commentary on a decline in education standards, I'd suggest that it really shows nothing of the sort. The exam is, in fact, rather easy and simplistic, and only seems difficult because of different priorities. The grasp of Latin and Greek required for the language portions is minimal. This is particularly the case because, for the translation port…

I personally found the mathematical section to be a little too easy if possible. Any of the students from the top 10% of my 8th grade class would see those questions and start knocking them off. To be fair to Harvard, it's never prided itself of being an institution dedicated to the practical application of mathematics or engineering. I suppose it's why I turned down their offer to attend.

How subtle.

Re: Harvard Admission Exam (1869) [pdf]

#62

Post by cbd1984 » Fri, Jan 16, 2015, 12:57 AM UTC

Svenstaro wrote: post #60

cbd1984 wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Latin, as all other languages, wasn't designed To be fair, some languages were designed, such as Volapük, Esperanto, Ido, Lojban, Klingon, Sindarin, Verdurian, and other, less-known examples.

But it's not like they influence any big parts of culture as opposed to Latin which influences pretty much everything since then.

By that measure, learning English is more important than learning Latin, and learning Sumerian is more important still.

Re: Harvard Admission Exam (1869) [pdf]

#63

Post by mathetic » Fri, Jan 16, 2015, 5:31 AM UTC

L_Rahman wrote: post #59

cge wrote: post #46

While the point behind posting these entrance exams is often to make a commentary on a decline in education standards, I'd suggest that it really shows nothing of the sort. The exam is, in fact, rather easy and simplistic, and only seems difficult because of different priorities. The grasp of Latin and Greek required for the language portions is minimal. This is particularly the case because, for the translation port…

I personally found the mathematical section to be a little too easy if possible. Any of the students from the top 10% of my 8th grade class would see those questions and start knocking them off. To be fair to Harvard, it's never prided itself of being an institution dedicated to the practical application of mathematics or engineering. I suppose it's why I turned down their offer to attend.

I never quite understood why people take pride in what they reject unless it is turning down bribery, refusing to relapse, etc.

It's a shame really, you rejected Harvard but did not go too far away from the place with the attitude.

Re: Harvard Admission Exam (1869) [pdf]

#64

Post by kbart » Fri, Jan 16, 2015, 10:27 AM UTC

simon_ wrote: post #55

cge wrote: post #46

While the point behind posting these entrance exams is often to make a commentary on a decline in education standards, I'd suggest that it really shows nothing of the sort. The exam is, in fact, rather easy and simplistic, and only seems difficult because of different priorities. The grasp of Latin and Greek required for the language portions is minimal. This is particularly the case because, for the translation port…

What you're saying is only true if you assume the existence of a modern test-prep mentality. Do the applicants know in advance which facts they will be asked to regurgitate, or do they need to understand a wide variety of material at this level of detail? Also, I really do not agree that the math sections are easy. Students applying for non-quantitative majors are definitely not required to be able to produce non-tri…

Nearly all of these math problems were covered in my math curriculum between 7 and 11th grades and are really not hard if you have practiced it before. Actually, the only part of this exam I find difficult is geography, because it requires to have memorized many minor facts (something I find nearly useless in the days of Internet). I guess it depends on your country and education system.

Re: Harvard Admission Exam (1869) [pdf]

#65

Post by L_Rahman » Fri, Jan 16, 2015, 7:47 PM UTC

mathetic wrote: post #63

L_Rahman wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I personally found the mathematical section to be a little too easy if possible. Any of the students from the top 10% of my 8th grade class would see those questions and start knocking them off. To be fair to Harvard, it's never prided itself of being an institution dedicated to the practical application of mathematics or engineering. I suppose it's why I turned down their offer to attend.

I never quite understood why people take pride in what they reject unless it is turning down bribery, refusing to relapse, etc. It's a shame really, you rejected Harvard but did not go too far away from the place with the attitude.

It's something that I find myself wondering about as well, and the fact that I bring it up suggests that I haven't quite moved past it.

In the undergraduate program that I actually attended, the schools we had turned down was a bit of a badge of honor. A testament if you will, to how much respect we had for the program we were attending - my peers and I turned down some pretty big names to do what we did.

In retrospect however, it reflects our insecurity with that choice. Outside of our selected niche, those names still garner the most prestige, get the best job offers, are in the news most often, etc.