

Harvard: The Class of 2013 Senior Survey - ekm2
http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2013/5/28/senior-survey-2013/?page=1

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hkmurakami
I was going to comment on how only 5% of the class sees a permanent future in
the finance industry while 20% of the class sees a long term career in
health/medicine, and how it reflects the perceived attractiveness of the
various industries as our population ages and finance is increasingly bound up
by legislation.

But then I saw this:

 _39 percent of respondents said they sought some form of mental health care
during their time at Harvard._

A culture and society that coerces its most potent individuals to develop
depression and other mental issues is one that we cannot by any means be proud
of. While I technically didn't seek mental health care during my college
years, I should have by all means. During those four years, one friend visibly
broke down and took a leave of absence for a year. Another committed suicide
using cyanide from her lab. I can't imagine things are any better at my alma
mater both compared to my years of attendance and compared to Harvard today.

I really wish I could even have _hope_ that things are getting better.

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w1ntermute
> finance is increasingly bound up by legislation.

The health care industry is also bound up by legislation. The difference is
that the legislation is in the favor of those who pursue a career in the
industry.

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acjohnson55
I find it really interesting that 11.1% of men identify as gay coming out of
college, yet only 1.7% of women do. Those numbers are respectively higher and
lower than I would expect. It really speaks to the differences between male
and female sexuality, even outside of "normal" heterosexual identity. Any
thoughts as to why these numbers are so different? Is our conception of sexual
orientation fundamental or just a social construction? I'm endlessly
fascinated by these questions. There's so much we don't understand,
complicated by politics of heteronormativity and equality. Wikipedia has an
interesting article here:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_sexual_orientat...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_sexual_orientation)

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beloch
Ivy league students, on average, come from wealthier families than those
attending other universities. Even ivy league students from poor backgrounds
are likely under higher pressure to succeed than similar students going to
other universities. The result is a stronger than average motivation to cheat
and a stronger ability to cheat (e.g. Ghost writers do cost money). Couple
this with a higher probability of litigation when students are
punished/expelled, which causes Harvard to typically go easy on cheaters, and
it's no surprise that cheating is more common at Harvard.

The question for HN employers is whether or not this should impact the value
of an Ivy League degree.

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aashaykumar92
The cheating statistics really don't surprise me. In fact, I think they are
underestimated, understandable considering some students may fear that their
answers could be held against them despite being assured it won't.

"Why is this on HN?" Well I think the cheating part has a some transferrable
takeaways, the main one being online education. Online education is much like
Harvard's honor system in that every assignment, quiz, and test can be
completed on your own time (at least that's what I hear Harvard's policies
are) and just have to be turned in by a certain date. But what you do to
finish in that time is totally unknown to the administrators. Personally, I
think it is the biggest obstacle for online education and this so-called Honor
system. When there are people who want to succeed, and in class succeeding is
generally represented by high grades, they will do whatever it takes and if
using external resources is the way, why wouldn't they if no one is going to
stop them? Not saying this is everyones mentality, but it obviously exists in
many intelligent brains.

The problem is outlined and has been for a while...the solution will have to
be amazing.

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wavefunction
These are the people being groomed to make decisions that affect our world?
Terrifying.

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ggamecrazy
Why is this on HN? I'm not seeing it.

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ruswick
Admittedly, it might not coincide with the ostensible subject matter of HN
(other than it being tangentially related to statistical analysis and the
technology sector), but evidently, a nontrivial number of people see value in
reading it. The entire point of HN is that is to organically select superior
content. Differentiation and evaluation shouldn't happen before posting, it
should happen afterwards and be conducted by the community.

The whole point of HN is that nothing has to be strictly topical. Everyone is
free to throw whatever the fuck they want into it, and the readership will
identify and promote the best content.

~~~
ggamecrazy
...or to put it another way: "Lets see if this shit sticks"

