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From: gerber@mit-amt.MIT.EDU (Andrew S. Gerber)
Newsgroups: net.college
Subject: Re: Topics for Discussion
Message-ID: <47@mit-amt.MIT.EDU>
Date: Mon, 2-Dec-85 00:22:11 EST
Article-I.D.: mit-amt.47
Posted: Mon Dec  2 00:22:11 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 3-Dec-85 07:41:43 EST
References: <1054@gitpyr.UUCP> <43@mit-amt.MIT.EDU> <9075@ritcv.UUCP> <603@mit-eddie.UUCP>
Organization: MIT Media Lab, Cambridge, MA
Lines: 50
Summary: OH god yes...

In article <603@mit-eddie.UUCP>, lenoil@mit-eddie.UUCP (Robert Scott Lenoil) writes:
> In article <9075@ritcv.UUCP> jrc@ritcv.UUCP (James R. Carbin) writes:
> >I would also add that I strongly feel that students should not be allowed
> >to withdraw from a course after a few weeks without any record made of it.
> >A student's transcript is not only a record of achievements, but also
> >an historical document which records the student's association at a
> >particular institution of higher education.
> 
> I agree with James on his first point: a student that gets a 4.0 (5.0 at
> MIT) by getting A's in everything he takes is a cut above a student that
> gets a 4.0 by dropping those courses which he/she was not doing A-level
> work in, and the transcript should reflect this difference.  However, I
> must disagree with the "historical document" argument.  A transcript
> merely shows what courses a student took, when they were taken, and what
> grades were received.  It by no means describes the full picture of a
> "student's association at a particular institution of higher education."

I heartily agree.  What I've done at MIT up to this point is about 60%
school and 40% other.  This includes many jobs, two UROPS
(Undergraduate Research Opportunitiess Program -- lets an undergrad
work in a lab, often under a professor, helping with research work),
being active in the school paper......etc

An employer who only would care about your transcript is not one I
would want to work with.  I have spoken to several after-college
employers for engineers.  Their feeling was similar:  Rather a 3.1
(4.0 MIT) who can interact with others, than a 4.0 (5.0 MIT) who can't
communicate.  A friend of mine who was doing interviewing brought a
circuit to examine with him.  He only gave it to two candidates --
both who had 4.0 (5.0 MIT) aves, but he saw couldn't fill their 30
minutes of interview with interesting conversation.  Neither were
hired.  

A much more important skill than ability to get straight A's is one's
ability to get along with others, to do diverse activities to learn
more about other things than your major.

Of course straight A's help.  But other things are just as good, if
not better.

		-andy

			
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