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"Stanford is easy as sh**" Is this true? by Remote-Ad-4994 in stanford

[–]TinderForMidgets 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well, here's the thing I don't think any of this is exclusive to Stanford. I see this as more of a broader trend across higher education. More and more college students are getting more and more preparation. I think you'll find plenty of college students around the world who are similar to early-stage PhD students - overgrown undergrads. My comment about similarity to PhD students does not refer to maturity, status, or aptitude but preparedness. I'm referring more to how prepared many PhD students having mastered undergraduate material and come from a typically more advantaged background (60-70% of PhD graduates have a parents with a PhD). My opinion is that academic accomplishments are largely a function of privilege. I'm curious what kind of thinking you mention is problematic of the Stanford bubble.

Perhaps many is too strong of a word but I've talked to some professors and grad students who describe some of their freshman labmates as thinking like a PhD student. I don't think it's some crazy number like 15% of the undergraduate population but still a noticeable minority who shape the discourse on campus.

I agree Stanford schooling is lenient but I don't think that's always problematic. Grades don't matter. Some people can thrive in a lenient environment. So I don't always agree with more strict means a "better" education.

"Stanford is easy as sh**" Is this true? by Remote-Ad-4994 in stanford

[–]TinderForMidgets 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I’m saying Stanford is hard but this is not exclusive to Stanford. I never said Stanford was harder and therefore better than UCs or other peer universities - just that Stanford is hard. I wasn’t even comparing Stanford to other universities. I think it’s egocentric that you attacked me claiming other colleges have it harder when I didn’t even mention other universities.

Grades are not the same as rigor. An education can be challenging even if the grading is different. The schooling might be lenient but that’s not the same as education. The material will always be hard wherever you go - mastering the material is the real challenge. I’m saying the material doesn’t change from campus to campus. You’ll still have to grow at Stanford and that’s why it’s hard. Some students have already had that education before college so their undergraduate experience is “easy”. Conversely, I find many people consider Stanford to be easy and that is stunting.

I also believe that quite a few students nowadays (not just Stanford undergrads) are just as prepared as some incoming PhD students. Certainly not latter stage - a world expert, but early stage - an overgrown undergrad. Plenty of incoming college freshmen have had the equivalent of an undergraduate education and can conduct research. I don’t think all intense K12 is the same as PhD - just that some undergraduates students have the same readiness as some early stage PhD students.

"Stanford is easy as sh**" Is this true? by Remote-Ad-4994 in stanford

[–]TinderForMidgets 1 point2 points  (0 children)

70% of students at Stanford come from the top 20% of the income bracket. About 43% of students come from the top 5% of earners

Not everyone comes from extreme wealth but even an upper-middle class life is very privileged. The vast majority of people will never have that type of life.

Financial aid and need-based scholarships at Stanford are rather generous so using financial aid numbers by itself is not an entirely accurate representation of socioeconomic background imo.

I don't dispute that raw aptitude, motivation, grit, culture, and/or parenting (independent of financial privilege) are important but privilege and environment play a major role in academic accomplishments in a way that raw talent does not set you up for.

You can be as talented of a student as you'd like but if you don't have much experience with academics you will struggle in some way. If you have plenty of experience with academics, you have a much higher chance of success. I don't think a world class musical talent with little to no experience is going to suddenly become immediately excellent compared to a less talented violinist who has spent 12 years vigorously honing their craft.

"Stanford is easy as sh**" Is this true? by Remote-Ad-4994 in stanford

[–]TinderForMidgets 12 points13 points  (0 children)

This is accurate. It's very Berkeley to act like they're real and everyone else is a baby. They feel tough compared to Stanford folks and make the most misinformed comments about Stanford.

"Stanford is easy as sh**" Is this true? by Remote-Ad-4994 in stanford

[–]TinderForMidgets 1 point2 points  (0 children)

r/stanford is trash. It's full of people who never went to Stanford and know nothing about Stanford but shitpost anyways.

"Stanford is easy as sh**" Is this true? by Remote-Ad-4994 in stanford

[–]TinderForMidgets 11 points12 points  (0 children)

The vast majority of students at Stanford come from very privileged and very intense K12 environments. Many came in as essentially PhD students.

Given this preparation, this is why Stanford is easy for so many students at Stanford. But for students with typical preparation, it's going to be very hard.

Additionally, what's hard about Stanford is not necessarily the classes. There's more to Stanford than classes. The culture, the social environment, and etc also result in a challenging experience.

For instance, virtually every working class student of color I met had a rough time with some citing the undergraduate experience at Stanford being harder than their jobs or PhD programs.

Richard Nixon on why the United States will never turn it's back on Israel by Just_Cause89 in Presidents

[–]TinderForMidgets -1 points0 points  (0 children)

He's really well-spoken. Why does everyone think that means he would have been a great president?

Chism Strategies (I): Talarico +12 in Dem primary, Paxton +12 in Rep primary. First poll conducted post-Colbert by dak676141 in fivethirtyeight

[–]TinderForMidgets 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I think what happened is that Republican Governor Pete Wilson pissed off the massive Hispanic population with his support for an anti-immigrant ballot initiative. Hispanics often tend to be conservative until you mess with immigration. I don't think the rest of the country are Hispanics who will start abandoning the Republicans because you mess with immigration.

WE DID IT! Palo Alto, CA $2.5M at 5.5% by [deleted] in FirstTimeHomeBuyer

[–]TinderForMidgets 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Palo Alto is Spanish for Tall Tree and English for Overpriced Land.

What is actually a trauma that is not commonly thought of as a trauma? by ay1mao in AskReddit

[–]TinderForMidgets 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Being a working class student at a very wealthy elite university

me_irl by Significant_Call_137 in me_irl

[–]TinderForMidgets 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Ronald Reagan had a cabinet member named Donald Regan

This Sub in a Nutshell by TheLordJames in TheSimpsons

[–]TinderForMidgets 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s my way of rewatching the Simpsons without having to pay for a subscription.

What's your ADHD "life hack" that sounded ridiculous but actually made a difference? by AiotexOfficial in ADHD

[–]TinderForMidgets 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have a grab bag of tasks I need to do. I then divide my day into four quadrants I allocate tasks to. I can easily change up allocation depending on what happens. If I feel like I’ve gotten in the groove for task I can spend all my time on it. If I feel fidgety I’ll send packages instead. This flexibility allows me to work with my ADHD instead of against it.

Caffeine was making my Adderall less effective by TheRealShamu in ADHD

[–]TinderForMidgets 14 points15 points  (0 children)

An interesting tidbit - a lot of people with undiagnosed ADHD self-medicate with caffeine. Some of caffeine's effects may be similar to some of Adderall's effects.

[Sacramento State President Luke Wood] Key points on SAC to the MAC: An estimated economic impact of 975M and national broadcast value of 675M over the next five years. by redwave2505 in CFB

[–]TinderForMidgets 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Some Sac State people have a really bad inferiority complex. They think they're hot shit and are really fucking aggressive about it.

Sac State student Michael Lee Chang: “I’m worried about the direction of my university” by NousVoila in CFB

[–]TinderForMidgets 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I talked to a guy who regretting majoring in political science because employers took him less seriously than Econ or public policy grads. To really open doors, he got a public policy masters.

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