Bingo. |
Am I totally clueless or is part of the problem also the common app? When I applied, there was no way I could have applied to 18 schools as the girl in the article unless they were all huge colleges that basically used a formula. I didn’t waste my time applying to so many schools. But maybe it’s a chicken or egg question since the acceptance rates have gotten so low, kids have to apply to reduce the risk of not being accepted anywhere. |
Yes. My kid is graduating from one of the universities that is on the list released today of institutions still accepting freshmen. He has great social skills. He scored a very prestigious summer internship and job offer and will be working with kids who predominately graduated from Ivies and top 20s. |
Myth of meritocracy so that we don’t change the system. Who bought you those sat books? Who encouraged you to apply to Ivy League colleges? Who paid for your tuition? The concept of the law school is very foreign to Europeans, who instead prefer the inns of court. This is because they recognize law schools for what they really are: bourgeoisie breeding grounds. |
It is harder to get into the top schools. There is so much grade inflation and test optional has run amok. Every average kid thinks they have a shot now, but they don't. In the age of social media, it is harder to ignore the stress of the process. There is more economic uncertainty and families are obsessed with a good school to get a good job.
However, I know plenty of kids who did just fine going to an average school. It is more about if you have the drive and know how to succeed in a work environment. There are plenty of people who are book smart but lack life skills and can barely hack a job. However, a lot of colleges are closing as the population of teens will fall over the next decade. Schools will try to make up for it with international students but it will continue to be a widening gap between the top schools and those that have falling enrollments and are located in less desirable locations. |
The former is correct, but the latter serves the NYT's point so that's the set of facts used. |
Doesn't change the fact that their undergrads don't get the time of day compared to MIT or even Dartmouth grads. |
So what I’m getting out of this conversation is that if you and your family don’t give a sh*t about investment banking or corporate law, none of this panic applies to us. Good riddance. |
Investment banking Management consulting Big law Academia |
Academia is 100% about where your graduate degree is from. I got into a top graduate program because I worked as a research assistant in undergrad at a middling school for a prof who had gone to graduate school with friends who now were on the admissions committee at that top graduate school. The academic market is also about which departments need someone in your subfield of your discipline, which you can’t predict Italy the beginning of your 5-7 year graduate and postdoc training. It’s nothing like a normal job market. |
One of the many sad parts about that article is that the rich but smart kid who wasn't burdened by a need for financial aid only got into her places where her parents were legacies (Dartmouth, UVA). |
That’s reality. Who do you think is paying all the full freight and making donations? |
Another person who didn't read the article carefully. She was also admitted to Johns Hopkins and Michigan/OOS. |
My kid went to an average school (UVA), majored in Econ (Not McIntire) went to Wharton and now makes a ton of money, it happens, just have to grind and make the most of your opportunity. |
This. I knew one analyst that would often accidently fall asleep in the men's room as he was exhausted from working 110 hour weeks. We had one Managing Director we called "5 o'clock Bob" who would tag some poor analyst late afternoon on Friday to work on some pointless project. He knew exactly what he was doing. There were some truly egotistical asshats in investment banking back in the day. I was unhappy when I was there and would never want my kids to go work in that type of environment. I wonder if it has changed at all. |