NYT opinion article "Did I choose the wrong college "

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A kid that has the smarts and stats to get offered a full ride at UF AND admission into Cornell has the brains to figure this stuff out for themselves.

She is lucky that she had two working parents to help her. Between the three of them they decided that Cornell was worth taking on some debt and dipping into their own nest egg. Parents and students make financial choices like this every day although they are usually not trying to decide between Ivy or a full ride at the state flagship

Ha, no. You don’t understand the world she is coming from at all. She was probably full of idealistic dreams of making a difference and follow your dreams and don’t worry about money.

eh, she doesn't mention a thing about her idealistic dreams of changing the world. In fact, she specifically mentions how she and her parents were schmoozed in by Cornell. They thought that attending Cornell would offer her privileges that a state flagship would not.

Now that she has fully enjoyed 4 years of those privileges, she is second guessing the benefits of her education. I dunno. When I think about the kids who would jump at the chance to take that full ride at UF....yeah, I don't feel much sympathy for her.

You don’t end up here: “Jennine Capó Crucet, an assistant professor of English and ethnic studies at the University of Nebraska-Linco” unless you followed some kind of idealism.

How is she an assistant prof with just a master's degree?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A kid that has the smarts and stats to get offered a full ride at UF AND admission into Cornell has the brains to figure this stuff out for themselves.

She is lucky that she had two working parents to help her. Between the three of them they decided that Cornell was worth taking on some debt and dipping into their own nest egg. Parents and students make financial choices like this every day although they are usually not trying to decide between Ivy or a full ride at the state flagship

Ha, no. You don’t understand the world she is coming from at all. She was probably full of idealistic dreams of making a difference and follow your dreams and don’t worry about money.

eh, she doesn't mention a thing about her idealistic dreams of changing the world. In fact, she specifically mentions how she and her parents were schmoozed in by Cornell. They thought that attending Cornell would offer her privileges that a state flagship would not.

Now that she has fully enjoyed 4 years of those privileges, she is second guessing the benefits of her education. I dunno. When I think about the kids who would jump at the chance to take that full ride at UF....yeah, I don't feel much sympathy for her.

You don’t end up here: “Jennine Capó Crucet, an assistant professor of English and ethnic studies at the University of Nebraska-Linco” unless you followed some kind of idealism.

We don't even know if she entered Cornell as an English major. She may not have. Maybe she changed majors while she was there, was heavily influenced by her professors and peers and that is what ultimately led her to this job. She hasn't really mentioned a thing about her Cornell experience or what, if anything, about it was a disappointment to her.

[Anonymous]

Is she a tenured professor or tenure track ... or just an adjunct?

[Anonymous]

Cornell absolutely opened the door for a tenured position in English and ethnic studies. Masters degree is from university of Minnesota. Doesn’t say anything about a PhD.

[Anonymous]

She seized on her outlier friend at UF when I bet she had dozens of other friends from her hometown area who went UF who have middle class 9-5 careers or are SAHMs. And I bet she conveniently forgot about the kids in her hall at Cornell who are now dental surgeons, corporate lawyers, execs, etc.

Maybe the real issue is Cornell is a waste if you're just going to become an english professor who dreams of a rich lifestyle? Maybe she should have studied pre-med, pre-law or computer science/engineering?

[Anonymous]

Says assistant prof, doesn't mean tenured. Could be. But she's only has a master's at U of Minnesota. Hard to believe someone can be a prof with just a master's degree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am curious about her DH. For a beautiful woman like her, going Ivy also opens up dating circles. Not PC to say so, but it’s rare for a man to marry up.

I wish the writer would disclose who her UF married -- I'd bet she married well. Really, the undercurrent of the piece is the writer didn't find a born or soon-to-be rich Ivy husband while in college.

And being a tenured professor at a Big10 college is a pretty freaking big deal. She probably makes $150,000 a year...for life?

That is the undercurrent of her piece. It wasn't so much the education she would receive but the social circles that would suddenly open up to her. She would be a modern day princess married to a rich, handsome successful man.

Instead, she only wound up with a much coveted fantastic career position. Ugh, she just needs to learn when to quit while she's ahead...

[Anonymous]

Yeah, if you don't find a rich husband, major in something marketable, or strive for a corporate track, Ivy is probably a waste of time.

[Anonymous]

I love reading NYT comments:

“A few years back while working at a Wall Street firm, we had summer interns from Columbia, Amherst, Princeton and the University of Florida all vying for one offer. The kid from the U of F got the job and it wasn’t close. So much better prepared, so much less entitled, and just as smart.

As for the notion that there are schools that give out golden tickets, rest assured that is utter baloney, but it persists. The best of the best don’t need the school (Gates, Zuckerberg, Jobs) anyway. It is merely a heuristic for our lazy minds.

With college applications/demand and costs soaring as well as certain cohorts being given priority at the most “elite” schools while supply has not changed, great candidates are cascading down to the supposed next tier of university. The net result will over time be a much wider array of top schools - and that is a good thing. Go and look at the reputation change at BC, Northeastern and so many others over the past 30 years, cause it is jaw dropping. This trend will persist.

Tim Cook went to Auburn, Michael Dell went to Texas, Mark Cuban went to Indiana, etc and there are tons of other non Ivy, MIT, Stanford success stories”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cornell absolutely opened the door for a tenured position in English and ethnic studies. Masters degree is from university of Minnesota. Doesn’t say anything about a PhD.

No kidding. This woman has lived a very charmed life and she is so used to opportunities falling out of the sky and straight into her lap that she doesn't even realize how incredibly fortunate she is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cornell absolutely opened the door for a tenured position in English and ethnic studies. Masters degree is from university of Minnesota. Doesn’t say anything about a PhD.

No. You don't become a prof without a phd - unless you are a genius like kripke. Something else is at work here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love reading NYT comments:

“A few years back while working at a Wall Street firm, we had summer interns from Columbia, Amherst, Princeton and the University of Florida all vying for one offer. The kid from the U of F got the job and it wasn’t close. So much better prepared, so much less entitled, and just as smart.

As for the notion that there are schools that give out golden tickets, rest assured that is utter baloney, but it persists. The best of the best don’t need the school (Gates, Zuckerberg, Jobs) anyway. It is merely a heuristic for our lazy minds.

With college applications/demand and costs soaring as well as certain cohorts being given priority at the most “elite” schools while supply has not changed, great candidates are cascading down to the supposed next tier of university. The net result will over time be a much wider array of top schools - and that is a good thing. Go and look at the reputation change at BC, Northeastern and so many others over the past 30 years, cause it is jaw dropping. This trend will persist.

Tim Cook went to Auburn, Michael Dell went to Texas, Mark Cuban went to Indiana, etc and there are tons of other non Ivy, MIT, Stanford success stories”

Exactly, golden tickets are given at birth from your parents, as in your examples.

[Anonymous]

Damn love the wind swept hair in her byline. Surprised she didn’t bag an i-banker at Cornell. Maybe she dated from the State school side?

[Anonymous]

Cornell is kind of a joke in the ivies, since it is part land grant school with majors in animal husbandry and hotel administration. Those hallmates that teased the pig farmer daughters were way out of touch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cornell is kind of a joke in the ivies, since it is part land grant school with majors in animal husbandry and hotel administration. Those hallmates that teased the pig farmer daughters were way out of touch.

I knew that when I saw my low-level govt employee friend who got into Cornell wins ago. She's rude, loud, and position heavy when dealing with customers. Absolutely not an intellectual. Yet Cornell took her.