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From: spaf@gatech.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.flame
Subject: Re: Re: Sickened by the sickening "sickning" controversy
Message-ID: <278@gatech.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 8-Jul-83 09:04:43 EDT
Article-I.D.: gatech.278
Posted: Fri Jul  8 09:04:43 1983
Date-Received: Sat, 9-Jul-83 18:57:33 EDT
References: <5513@unc.UUCP>
Organization: Georgia Tech, School of ICS
Lines: 47

SAT scores do not a valid comparison make.  (Like that
construction?)  Nor do GRE scores or the results of any other
standardized test provide valid grounds for comparison of
much other than how talented the test takers are at taking
the tests.  They especially don't prove anything about how
good a school is, except to show (probably inflated) admission
requirements.

Put 20 geniuses on a desert island somewhere (by the way,
for those of you who cannot spell, please strand me on a 
dessert island somewhere) and they'll still have impressive
scores on their tests. Does that make it a good school?

My comments are not intended to impugn the reputation of UNC or
of any other school.  Rather, I want to point out that if
you intend to make comparisons about schools be sure you
are comparing the right things.

I went to a small state-supported school (SUC Brockport in NY).
I had been accepted at schools like Princeton and UofR but
felt a smaller, less competitive school was "better" for *me*.
They had a special, time-variable degree program and a number
of very good faculty who were more interested in teaching than
in research.  That means you won't see the name of the college
in many publications as the origin of research.  Still, I am
convinced that I got a very fine education there.  In fact,
I doubt that I would have learned so many important things at
a "more impressive" school because I would have spent so
much time just trying to survive.  If you want to judge it
by score results, 2/3 of all of the math/computer science
double majors who graduated the year I did had scores above 800
on the GREs (this was before ETS put the 800 limit on), and
1/3 of us got NSF graduate fellowships.

UNC needs no defense.  You are a representative of UNC when you
correspond on the net and we can draw our own conclusions.
I'm sure everyone out here knows of the fine reputation that
UNC has.  Basketball would just not be the same without UNC.
Neither would your keyboard.

-- 
"The soapbox of Gene Spafford"

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