What really differentiates HYPSM from other elite schools

[Anonymous]

There are a lot of threads in this forum that tout HYPSM and denigrate other elite schools as “Ivy rejects,” much to the protest of parents and students at other elite schools. What’s going on here?

First, it’s not about smarts. Every school among the Top 25 universities and Top 15 liberal arts colleges have a very similar academic profile.

It is about two other variables:

1) dispositional intensity - HYPSM are looking for hyper-driven, highly competitive people who believe that worldly success/legacy is existential. Other elite schools, particularly those outside the NE, are looking for more balanced students that value Midwestern Southern or non-tech/SV Western values of hospitality, humility, and enjoyment of life.

2) regional cultural differences - HYPSM
draws heavily from the Northeast, elite private high schools and global strivers. Amongst these groups, prestige awareness and achievement stacking is essential for external validation. For other elite schools that draw heavily from the South, Midwest, or non-tech West, ambition is more subtle, relational and not existential.

When the Ivy-or-bust group deride your kid’s choice as an “Ivy reject,” what they’re really saying is that you’re soft, not hardcore, like them. They want to be a Supreme Court justice; you want to be a local trust and estate lawyer. They want to create Facebook; you want to work at Facebook and get a stock grant.

While many would be tempted to applaud the world-changing desire of HYPSM, I’m not always impressed. First, much of what’s counted as an “advancement” is just incremental improvements on existing human habits. Second, much of this worldly success is privatized (think hedge funds and their ilk). Third, in the worst cases, crazy ambition leads to the breaking of social and institutional norms where society shoulders the consequences. In contrast, hometown doctors, lawyers, educators, and small business leaders almost always benefit their communities.

Only you and your kid can decide what’s right for them. Not all smart kids belong at or will thrive at HPYSM. And, that’s a good thing. If everyone in society acted like the most ambitious, we’d kill each other for scraps.

[Anonymous]

Money.

[Anonymous]

Name

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Name

I think Leland Stanford is a pretty ugly name.

[Anonymous]

Ok.

[Anonymous]

Poor OP. Still nursing those wounds. Hope the post was cathartic.

[Anonymous]

It’s mostly just a lack of perspective combined with neuroticism that leads to undergrad obsession as the end-all-be-all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are a lot of threads in this forum that tout HYPSM and denigrate other elite schools as “Ivy rejects,” much to the protest of parents and students at other elite schools. What’s going on here?

First, it’s not about smarts. Every school among the Top 25 universities and Top 15 liberal arts colleges have a very similar academic profile.

It is about two other variables:

1) dispositional intensity - HYPSM are looking for hyper-driven, highly competitive people who believe that worldly success/legacy is existential. Other elite schools, particularly those outside the NE, are looking for more balanced students that value Midwestern Southern or non-tech/SV Western values of hospitality, humility, and enjoyment of life.

2) regional cultural differences - HYPSM
draws heavily from the Northeast, elite private high schools and global strivers. Amongst these groups, prestige awareness and achievement stacking is essential for external validation. For other elite schools that draw heavily from the South, Midwest, or non-tech West, ambition is more subtle, relational and not existential.

When the Ivy-or-bust group deride your kid’s choice as an “Ivy reject,” what they’re really saying is that you’re soft, not hardcore, like them. They want to be a Supreme Court justice; you want to be a local trust and estate lawyer. They want to create Facebook; you want to work at Facebook and get a stock grant.

While many would be tempted to applaud the world-changing desire of HYPSM, I’m not always impressed. First, much of what’s counted as an “advancement” is just incremental improvements on existing human habits. Second, much of this worldly success is privatized (think hedge funds and their ilk). Third, in the worst cases, crazy ambition leads to the breaking of social and institutional norms where society shoulders the consequences. In contrast, hometown doctors, lawyers, educators, and small business leaders almost always benefit their communities.

Only you and your kid can decide what’s right for them. Not all smart kids belong at or will thrive at HPYSM. And, that’s a good thing. If everyone in society acted like the most ambitious, we’d kill each other for scraps.

“ First, it’s not about smarts. Every school among the Top 25 universities and Top 15 liberal arts colleges have a very similar academic profile.”

You nailed this part. Looking at the rest of your comment through the eyes of someone who attended the ‘M’ in HYPSM it doesn’t hold there at all.

As to the other schools, the eastern three do seem to attract an abundance of narcissists and strivers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Poor OP. Still nursing those wounds. Hope the post was cathartic.

Thanks for validating OP’s post.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Money.

Agreed.

[Anonymous]

Nobody in their right mind tries to differentiate between kids who attend an ivy or a top non-ivy. In south, so many kids decline ivies for similar schools in warm climates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nobody in their right mind tries to differentiate between kids who attend an ivy or a top non-ivy. In south, so many kids decline ivies for similar schools in warm climates.

This just isn't true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Name

I think Leland Stanford is a pretty ugly name.

It’s called “Stanford.”

[Anonymous]

This is a stereotype. Not all kids at any school fit one profile. DC is at HYPSM and is not highly driven or competitive. To me, the mind-boggling resources of these schools are the characteristic that is most salient.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Name

I think Leland Stanford is a pretty ugly name.

It’s called “Stanford.”

Yeah, I don't like the first or last name!