3 ms·
"Harvard students, who can be very risk-averse and afraid of failure..." An interesting statement, which seems worthy of its own article.
by jeff-davis 4y ago
"Harvard students, who can be very risk-averse and afraid of failure..."
An interesting statement, which seems worthy of its own article.
- elefanten 4y agoIs it? The coincidence of risk aversion and status grubbing seem quite strong. In many ways, status grubbing is the safest meta strategy in contemporary society. [ascii shrugface]
- ankit219 4y agoNot really. The current admission system is such that students with slightly lower grade would likely not make it. So, only those who make it are the ones who haven't taken much risks, focused on their grades, kept taking the subjects where it's comparatively easier to get a higher grade, and then the curriculars which are standard and augment the profile. Tests/SATs are also standard ones, and since top Ivy-leaguers only focus on a handful of things, it's important to maintain high score in that. Many students who experimented with a tough (but interesting) course in high school/undergrad, and got bad grades in 1-2 subjects will likely not make it. This results in a higher proportion of admitted students who are risk-averse and afraid of failure. If that is the input, very improbable that it would be much different with them once they are in college.