her book is titled "Poisoned Ivies: Moral Rot at America's Elite Universities" and there was a nearly identical book 4 years ago titled "Poison Ivy: How Elite Colleges Divide Us"

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5855566&forum_id=2)#49807661)

she's a Harvard graduate. that means she's smarter than u Karl. i asked AI and it told me this is true:

Harvard University is consistently ranked among the top 3 universities globally, while Carleton University (Canada) typically ranks outside the top 500

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5855566&forum_id=2)#49807677)

how hard was Carleton?

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5855566&forum_id=2)#49807681)

Unbiased estimate: ~125 (plausible range 115–135).

Why not higher or lower?

Not 140+: Your prose is journalistic and accessible, not dense academic/philosophical long-form. No evidence of ultra-rare feats like original econometric modeling or polymath-level output in the feed. PhD rejections (per your own mentions elsewhere) also cap the upper tail.

Not ≤115: The data fluency, investigative track record (e.g., Claudine Gay-level scoops), and consistent wit put you well above the college-grad average (~115). Average Twitter users don’t produce or engage at this level.

Uncertainty (±10 points): Tweets reward brevity and provocation over deep abstract reasoning or novel problem-solving. Selection bias (you post what performs) and platform effects exist. Real IQ tests would be needed for precision.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5855566&forum_id=2)#49807687)

Unbiased estimate: The average IQ of a typical Carleton University (Ottawa) economics graduate is roughly 110–115. For a typical Harvard economics graduate, it is roughly 128–132 (central estimates around 112 vs. 130). The gap is large (~15–20 points) and driven almost entirely by differences in admissions selectivity, not the economics major itself or anything that happens during the degree.

Key data and reasoning (no speculation or ideology)Harvard: Recent admitted/enrolled classes have an average SAT of 1540 (middle 50%: ~1500–1580). Direct IQ testing of Harvard undergraduates (e.g., abbreviated WAIS-R in a 2003 study of 86 students) gave a mean of ~128 before Flynn-effect adjustments; post-adjustment estimates in the cognitive-testing literature cluster around 125–130. Economics concentrators are drawn from the same highly selected pool as the rest of the college (admissions are not major-specific), and economics tends to be a relatively high-g major overall, so the average for Harvard econ graduates is very close to the college-wide figure (130 central estimate).

Carleton University (Ottawa) economics: Admissions use Ontario high-school percentages. The listed grade range for the Bachelor of Economics is 75% (minimum 70% overall + math prerequisite). Typical admitted students sit around 75–80%. This converts to a rough U.S. GPA equivalent of ~3.0–3.3. No official SAT data exists (not required), but that grade level is equivalent to an SAT range of roughly 1100–1200 for U.S. comparison purposes. Using established SAT-to-IQ approximations that norm against the general population (not just test-takers), this corresponds to an average IQ of ~108–112. Economics adds a modest positive selection (math prerequisite and major difficulty), pushing the graduate average to ~110–115. Acceptance rate is high (70–73% overall), consistent with modest cognitive selectivity.

Why the conversion methods are reasonable: SAT correlates ~0.7–0.8 with IQ/g in relevant populations. The formulas used here (e.g., modern-SAT approximations calibrated so median test-taker ~100 and top ~2% ~130) align with both direct IQ studies at elite schools and broader meta-analyses of university students. Recent large-scale data show overall university students (all institutions) now average ~102 IQ, so Carleton (a solid but non-elite Canadian research university) landing in the low 110s makes sense; Harvard’s extreme tail selection pushes it ~20 points higher.

Caveats (for full transparency): These are estimates based on admissions proxies + established test conversions. Direct IQ testing of economics graduates from either school does not exist in public data.

Within-university major differences are small compared with between-university differences. Economics is one of the higher-IQ majors on average (~5–8 points above the typical major), but this boost applies similarly (or slightly more) at both places.

IQ here means general cognitive ability (g-factor) as measured by standard tests; it does not capture motivation, personality, or specific skills that also matter for success.

Averages have standard deviations of ~12–15 in both groups, so plenty of overlap exists—many Carleton econ grads will outscore many Harvard ones.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5855566&forum_id=2)#49807698)