Originally Posted by Unregistered

My gut sense is what most of SIM regard as street smartness is actually more of being a smart ass then anything else.

If you look at some common features of street smartness such as EQ, ability to think on your feet, out of the box creativity, understanding organizational politics, leveraging on connections , deal making etc. local university grads are at least on par if not better. There is no discernible evidence to show that SIM on the whole is better or even on the same level as local uni grads in these areas.

Based on my observations, when a SIM tries to chalk up his street credentials, the emphasis is usually on dubious areas such as thrash talking, puffing, cutting corners, finding excuses for procrastinating & lousy achievements, engaging in legal/regulatory grey area activities etc. You can see a lot of these behavior patterns in SIM and any other private university oriented thread even on this forum.

But one must also note there is a certain self selection bias inherent - the good SIMs have long moved on and are likely competing on a different field in which a SIM degree is but a distant past memory. Those that are left around whining and/or boasting tend to be underachievers with self-esteem issues.