TresSugar

Immigrant Takes Unimproved SAT, Gets into All Ivy Leagues

LibertySugar — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 06:00:36 -0700

Lukasz Zbylut, who came to America only five years ago with a limited understanding of English, has secured admission to all seven of the country's Ivy League schools. The Polish immigrant chose to accept admission to Harvard, where he plans to study politics, law, and philosophy. Of the 21 schools Lukasz applied to, only MIT rejected him. Nobody's perfect!

So what's his secret? Lukasz's success may have to do with the fact that he does not use social networking sites, instant message, or watch entertainment television, which he says is a waste of time. He does, however, watch cable news - totally not a waste!

As for the rest of college bound Americans, the new and improved SAT, rolled out three years ago, isn't actually improved. Just like the last test, scores have a lower correlation to performance in college, than high school GPAs. As before, combining SAT scores with GPA does more accurately predict success; but the added writing section only improves correlation by .01.

I hope next year's students don't find out the extra test section is basically a waste of time! And, I have a feeling we'll be hearing about Lukasz Zbylut again on the political circuit.

Source

Do Tell: What's Your Definition of Perfect on Paper?

DearSugar — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 08:00:00 -0800

I'm sure you've all heard the saying "he's perfect on paper" - you know, the guy who went to an Ivy League school, the guy who comes from a good family, who's caring, generous, and of course good looking. While that description might sound good to some, it's far from perfection to others. So ladies, once you've decided he's boyfriend material, do tell, what's your definition of a guy that's perfect on paper?

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Dubai: Pumping Sewage, Jailing Lovebirds, and Growing

CitizenSugar — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 03:00:00 -0700

Dubai is everywhere. Well, not everywhere, it's specifically on the southern coast of the Persian Gulf and one of the seven emirates in the United Arab Emirates and the most populous city of the UAE. On the plane to the RNC I read Ben Mezrich's new book, Rigged: The True Story of an Ivy League Kid Who Changed the World of Oil From Wall Street to Dubai. It's excellent and piqued my interest for this rapidly expanding city blending western ideas deep in the heart of the Middle East. Then my dad forwarded a photo taken from the top of the construction of the world's tallest skyscraper being built there. Seems like Dubai is a glittering paradise?

Sort of. To see what I mean, read more.

The mix of a Vegas-y feel of Western excess within a Middle Eastern climate of expectation has led one British couple to be imprisoned for three months for allegedly having sex on the beach. Literally. They're appealing their sentence. In the meantime, discussion has been sparked as to what is, or is not, acceptable behavior in the Muslim state of Dubai. Oh, and that huge skyscraper? It turns out giant buildings like that require giant infrastructure. That hasn't quite kept pace with Dubai's growth - they're having a little bit of a raw sewage problem on the beaches. As soon as they get that straightened out, I could be down for a visit.

Source

DearSugar Needs Your Help: Is Dating Out of My "Class" a Bad Idea?

DearSugar — Sat, 17 May 2008 07:00:00 -0700

DearSugar and Middle Class Melissa need your help. She's in a relationship with a man who comes from an upper class family and has all upper class friends. She is starting to feel a rift in her relationship because she's unable to relate to his lifestyle. Though she loves her boyfriend, she's questioning if it's possible to have a happy and successful relationship with someone who comes from a different "class." What do you think? Any advice you could offer up would be a great help to her.

Dear Sugar,
I'm in a relationship with a guy who comes from a completely different background than me. I've never been the type of girl who considers money or class when it comes to boyfriends. I've always held the view that love and
material possessions are not mutually exclusive. I would never not date a guy because he came from a poor family, and likewise, I would never not date a guy because he was wealthy. I myself am an intelligent, open-minded 23-year-old who comes from a middle-class background. In my past, I have tended to date guys with backgrounds similar to myself however, for the past year, I've been in an exclusive relationship with a guy who comes from a wealthy family. He was shipped off to boarding school at the age of 14, has a graduate degree from an Ivy League university, and has lived and traveled all over the world. He's a 28-year-old artist who does not have a "real" job. He has no health insurance, and his rent and other bills are taken care of by his parents, although he does send them money when he manages to sell artwork from time to time.

I've never been jealous of his comfortable situation, and until recent months, it had never been an issue whatsoever. But recently, I have found myself starting to get annoyed by his lack of sensitivity. For example, he refuses to go to "normal" restaurants or supermarkets because he only eats organic foods. I however, cannot afford to always go to these expensive places, and because of his "choice of profession," he's not exactly generous when it comes to picking up the tab. Also, whenever I'm spending time with him and his friends, they talk about things that I can never relate to - their favorite restaurants in Mexico, experiences they've had at socialite parties, what it was like living in Berlin for the summer - you get the idea.

In these instances, I'm left sitting there with nothing to say, and it makes me feel completely worthless. I have always been proud of the accomplishments I've had in my life but he doesn't seem to ever acknowledge them. I know that he doesn't mean to hurt me, I think he's just used to dating girls more like him. I've tried to talk to him about this, but he assures me that he doesn't in any way think that he's "better than me" so is this just the kind of thing that happens when you date someone outside of your "class" or is he just a jerk? For the most part our relationship is good. I care about him a lot. He is intelligent, talented, and makes me strive to be a better person, I just don't want to lose myself in the process.

Source

"No Condom For the Heart." Does Abstinence Education Work?

CitizenSugar — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 16:00:34 -0700

No-nookie talk is breeding like rabbits! The New York Times magazine section this weekend got to at least second base with a great feature on virginity clubs at Ivy League schools. These "just-say no-way-until-marriage" groups, have religious members, but some are focused on the feminist part of withholding the goods. Janie Fredell, the co-president of the True Love Revolution, the Harvard group at the center of the piece said,

I am an unconventional feminist. . . . it takes a strong woman to be abstinent, and that's the sort of woman I want to be.

What struck me about the piece were the stats about abstinence education:

A 2004 report issued by Representative Henry Waxman, (D - CA) found 11 of 13 abstinence programs his government-reform committee examined were rife with scientific errors and false and misleading information about the risks of sexual activity.
A national survey found that those who took virginity pledges held on to their technical virginity about 18 months longer than teenagers who didn’t pledge, but they were six times more likely to engage in oral sex than virgins who hadn’t taken a pledge. They were also much less likely to use condoms during their first sexual experience or to be tested for sexually transmitted diseases.

And these reports are just out too:

$1.5 billion tax dollars have been spent on abstinence programs since 1982.
A new study shows that students who receive comprehensive sex education are half as likely to become teen parents as those who get none or abstinence-only sex education.

Even Grey's Anatomy actress Kate Walsh is talking abstinence, saying on CBS's Early Show on Friday that, "Abstinence only is not working. It's a $1.5 billion program over the last 10 years that has, quite frankly, failed."

Should we be saying yes to saying no? Should abstinence be taught?

Source

GiggleSugar Best of the Week

GiggleSugar — Sat, 24 Mar 2007 10:00:00 -0700

Comic Books Gone Wrong.
What the hell is going on here?
Ivy League student hangs out with chicken in a suit--read more about it!
Don't cha wish you were at Ellen's dance party?
Dog + kitten = new "Scary Cute" category.
Abs-olutely ridiculous: Interspecies exercise.
Rico Suavé: Gay Pirate.
Meet Baby, the 36 year old cat.
Hillbilly Roller Coaster.
Women vs. Gravity, funny, but not pretty.