[prepend]

> Despite being a smart person, I've never been the kind of A type personality who does well at school.

It’s hard to measure smart. Especially to measure myself. How do I know if I’m smart or stupid? Beats me.

I’ve met people who think they are dumb and seem like a genius to me. And I’ve met people who wear “I’m a genius” and literally showed me a Mensa card and seemed very dumb to me.

I’ve met lots of people claim to be smart when “it’s important” but seem stupid to me.

So I don’t try to measure smartness.

Some people suck at school. That doesn’t mean you’re dumb. If you’re happy and productive then don’t worry about it.

But one want to substantiate intelligence is through credentialing systems like school. There’s tons of flaws and no way perfect. But I think it’s more accurate than just asking people if they think they are smart.

[spoiler]

Agree with everything you said, but want to add something regarding the school systems worldwide: they're designed for the average kid. And I mean more than intellectually average. Just average in general, which inclides "neuro-typicality", or family situation, etc.

So, depending on what makes the kid an an outlier, they might struggle in this system that wasn't designed for their needs.

[prepend]

Oh certainly. I think my point isn’t that a smart people do well in school, but it’s pointless to self describe as smart.

The best programmers I ever knew were terrible students. Like drop out at 6th grade terrible.

But in OP’s case, I think it’s reasonable for the school to set their standard for admitting to a CS program and then stick to it. I’m not sure how OP can prove if they would do well if they got in and really cared. As they knew the requirements and importance so if they cared enough they would perform at the minimum. Just saying “I’m smart and I swear I’ll start working hard if you let me in” will never be very successful for purposes of admitting people to a limited size program.

[dasil003]

Once when I was young I mentioned something about being smart. My dad asked, "what makes you think you are smart?" In my youthful arrogance I didn't have an answer, but the question stuck with me, especially in light of all the studies showing that praising kids for hard work increases performance, and praising them for intelligence suppresses it.

The fact is: one should avoid even having an opinion on ones own intelligence. It's a form of ego-driven navel-gazing, and can only hurt you. On the other hand, if you dedicate yourself to deep understanding, attentive listening, clear communication, and thinking things through in your work, you will develop a reputation that goes far beyond "smart".

[satisfice]

If you are right, then wow, I must be even smarter than I think I am— considering all the suppression that must have happened from being told I am smart.

But I think it’s more likely that considering myself capable of solving problems is a good thing. It’s a trait called self-efficacy. Thank you, Mom, for getting me that subscription to Scientific American when I was nine.

Here’s where I might agree with you. In my youth I joined Mensa and Intertel, to try to hang out with the smartest people I could find. I can report that it is a poor heuristic for socializing. I came to the conclusion that a gathering of people filtered specifically for performance on intelligence tests results in conflict, not harmony.

As I aged and became a teacher, I found it is better to treat everyone as potentially brilliant, in some possibly undiscovered way; or at least as possessing qualities that may unlock the brilliance of others. We’re all valuable if we seek to be, and intelligence tests are beside the point of living.