On grades and accomplishment

I watched some of Michael Cohen’s testimony yesterday. As Donald Trump and I went to the same high school, Kew Forrest School, I was astonished to hear Cohen say this: “When I say con man, I’m talking about a man who declares himself brilliant but directed me to threaten his high school, his colleges and the College Board to never release his grades or SAT scores.”

From what I know Donald Trump had to leave Kew Forrest high school for some undisclosed reason. His father served on the Board of the school and after Kew Forrest, Trump ended up finishing high school in a military academy. No one from Kew Forrest I’m still in touch with knows anything about why Trump had to leave Kew Forrest.

I should also say academically Kew Forrest was much harder in core subjects like physics and mathematics than the United Nations International School where I spent the majority of my high school years. If you wanted to be an A student at Kew Forrest, you would have no life outside school and kids need to be kids and have a little fun growing up.

For that, and many other reasons. I for one don’t understand anyone’s obsession over grades, high school, college, or otherwise, especially decades later. I’ve had students who became extremely successful with so so college grades. As a professor, I always knew who would excel professionally even when they weren’t A students in my economics or management classes. Grades are not a predictor of much post your academic years. It makes me think what the President would be worried about. He’s worried about his SAT scores from over 50 years ago? I’m lost.