In in '87 and out the 1st time in '93 MatE co-op. Back for an MS MSE '99. I, too, would not be accepted today with the credentials I had in '87. But, I think, like most, if I were going to HS today, my credentials would probably be stronger than they were back then. I went to a damn good public high school in an affluent town in Connecticut. Most of my class ahead of me went to Ivy league or Ivy-level schools. I don't think many of us would be accepted today with the grades and scores we had back then. I think the bar has been raised across the board.
Now, as for the level of difficulty in schools, at least back when I was there, there is truth to what is being said. I co-oped 13 quarters, with 6 of them being with Sikorsky Aircraft in Connecticut. While I was there, I worked with other engineering co-ops or summer interns from RPI, WPI, Michigan, MIT, Cooper Union, Boston University, Northwestern, and Carnegie Mellon (at least those are the ones I remember). Many of them knew about the Tech Shaft by reputation. The MIT guy actually asked about E-Mag, Re-Mag, and Three-Mag, using those terms. We occasionally had discussions about classes, and what we were learning in 11-12 week quarters, they were learning in 18-week semesters.
Math is math, mechanics is mechanics, so, it doesn't matter where you go to learn it, it takes the same level of mental capacity to absorb the knowledge, regardless of where you matriculate. My friends who left GT and ended up at Southern Tech took the same calculus we took. It was generally the way it was taught, the speed at which is was pushed, and the level of difficulty of the examinations that were different. You can test someone's comprehension of basic concepts without making the questions so difficult that there's no way to finish the test; yet is seems some of my professors didn't believe that to be true. My Chem 1112 class had 36 students. There were 28 F's, 4 D's, 3 C's and 1 A. Retiring quarter for the professor: he didn't care. I had a friend that was diagnosed with PTSD after 'getting out.'
So, while all schools are not created equal, math is math and science is science. I don't hold Tech up to be a "better" school than many other schools in the engineering. Like Special Forces training, it's not for everyone, and some found it easier than others, but if you have the blind stubborness and unwillingness to give up, there is a feeling of great accomplishment one feels by "getting out." It's something you can try to describe, but always fall short when explaining. There is an instant kinship you feel with someone else you know went through the same experience. This is what I think others are saying you can't understand if you didn't go through it. It's not a condescension.
Anyway, I'm sure this didn't come across well, and will probably piss a lot of people off. But, it's what I feel when I think of my time at Tech. I look at my fellow fans as just that: fellow fans. I don't care if you are an alumnus, a graduate, a "sidewalk" fan, an option fan, a what-ever fan. You are my fellow fan and we stand and cheer the brave and bold with everything we got. I became a fan when I first came to Tech. The first day I stepped on campus was my first day of classes. So, how could I ever question the fandom of someone who was supporting this school's teams longer than I've been alive? Go Tech!
