Any other Ivy League parents finding this funny?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I am a partner at a law firm and it was a big deal when I made it and I am still proud of having achieved it - it took a lot of hard work (and I attended public school through college). I wouldn't know about going to Harvard or Princeton, but I imagine the folks who got into those places worked very hard to do so and it was a big deal for them. I don't equate those things with getting your kid into a froofy elementary school - that is about the kid. But the most important thing is that none of this guarantees happiness - I know a lot of law firm partners and ivy grads who are very unhappy people. A good education is critical, but that is available from public school. I think the more important goal is to help your kid figure out what makes him happy, then help him learn how to achieve what he wants for himself. It may be excelling in a sport, creating close friendships, becoming a good musician or excelling academically. You don't need any of the fancy private schools for that. It is a nice thing to be able to give your kid that education, but there are so many more important gifts every parent can give.

beautifully said

[Anonymous]

This is a thread to tear down rather than build up. It IS a big deal to go to an Ivy League and it IS a big deal to become partner in a law firm. I would never want to take away from others hard work and YEARS of education...that is simply not fair.

What that education and job do NOT guarantee is happiness. Money? Yes. Prestige? Sure. But not happiness. If that is what a person WANTS, then they are happy. That is that. But I am not going to slam others work.

I will slam a parent for being so insecure in themselves that they seek out this life for their children, even if that future is not what the child wants. The Ivy path is lovely, but for few. SO many pursuing it? Obviously sad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I admit, I partook in this yearly Washington game of, "what school can my child get into?" We did well, but I'm appalled at the desperation I am seeing on this board. Without sounding egotistical, my sense is that most people who are dying for their children to be accepted at these "elite" elementary schools are yearning for the Ivy League stamp down the road because they never had it themselves.

$0.02 that they were the same ones that were lining up to purchase a Baby Einstein video when they first found out they were pregnant.

Going to Harvard or Princeton is NOT a big deal.
Becoming a partner at a law firm is NOT a big deal.

Perhaps I'm ungrateful, or perhaps I've realized the hard way that such pursuits are not really worth the stress and anxiety.

I wouldn't know about going to such second-rate institutions as Harvard or Princeton, but going to Yale is a big deal.

[Anonymous]

When was the last time you asked your doctor about their academic credentials?

[Anonymous]

It's easy to "laugh" if you already have the Ivy League degrees and admissions for your children to schools of choice. I wouldn't laugh at families that are really trying to achieve the American dream for their families through hard work and education.

Maybe I have a different perspective on this having parents who were immigrants and who struggled and scrimped and pinched working blue color jobs (they didn't speak English well) to get their children the educations that would get them into Ivies (well, my siblings, I, alas, went to the University of Chicago).

Sure you can laugh at my parents for wanting this for us. But you'd be a real jerk.

[Anonymous]

Chicago is a fantastic school. Why would you feel less than your siblings?

[Anonymous]

I don't--it was meant to be a self-deprecating joke that didn't go over well online

I was the nerdy one, sibs were more "well rounded."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I admit, I partook in this yearly Washington game of, "what school can my child get into?" We did well, but I'm appalled at the desperation I am seeing on this board. Without sounding egotistical, my sense is that most people who are dying for their children to be accepted at these "elite" elementary schools are yearning for the Ivy League stamp down the road because they never had it themselves.

$0.02 that they were the same ones that were lining up to purchase a Baby Einstein video when they first found out they were pregnant.

Going to Harvard or Princeton is NOT a big deal.
Becoming a partner at a law firm is NOT a big deal.

Perhaps I'm ungrateful, or perhaps I've realized the hard way that such pursuits are not really worth the stress and anxiety.

OK, OP, put your money where your mouth is. Where did your kid(s) apply, and where did he/she/they get in?

What I'm trying to figure out is, are you (a) supercilious and smug, or (b) bitter.

Honestly, talk about people with stones and glass houses.... Because I'm about as "appalled" by your smugness as I am by the desperation you criticize.

PS, DC didn't have to apply anywhere this year - but a few years ago DC got into a big 3.

[Anonymous]

When was the last time you asked your doctor about their academic credentials?

sigh. It's right there online, which you check before you go for the first time.


I rose much, MUCH higher in the Washington world that anyone nodding along to this thread would expect. If I told you where I went to high school, college, and law school, you would wrinkle your nose, definitely, if you're the type to know and care what the acronym HYP even means. Sometimes I'm surprised how far I went with my crappy degrees, lack of a 'hook' and, I admit, middling grades.

My DH went the Andover + Ivy + Ivy route, and while I cannot say which one of us is more content with life, I can assure all readers that professional success was much easier for him up until the age of 30-33 or so.

So, yeah, if my kid wants to shoot for what DH had rather than what I had, I'm not going to hold him back and my DH won't "find this funny."

[Anonymous]

It is not standard for doctors to mention their undergraduate Institution

[Anonymous]

I think Ivies are important for connections you will make and 'name recognition'. However, there is huge grade inflation and the education itself isn't so far superior to alot of the top/excellent universities or 'public ivies'.

Btw, some--like Harvard are on the verge of bankruptcy--seriously--cutbacks are a problem.

Frankly, I'll take a Dr with a JohnsHopkins degree over one of the ivies any day.

[Anonymous]

21:36 - well said. Won't be surprised if we don't hear from PP again now that you've called BS on her.

[Anonymous]

OP,
Not me. I got tired of DCPS, it's as simple as that. I don't think my child will go Ivy. That wasn't the idea if switching to private school.

[Anonymous]

I went to Harvard and I agree it does not lead to all happiness. But I also recognize that it is a perk in many parts of the world, including many parts of DC. And thus I don't particularly find it fair - particularly for me who went to one of these so called coveted schools - to laugh at or judge in any way parents for doing what they can to give their child the best shot at Harvard or wherever else. That's particularly the case when I too am reading these boards and also think about these schools.

(meanwhile i still interview for Harvard Admissions and it's my understanding that they don't notify anyone till the end of this month, but whatever. It is true though that they take a lot of kids in this area from public schools, including many many from Thomas Jefferson).

[Anonymous]

I rose much, MUCH higher in the Washington world that anyone nodding along to this thread would expect. If I told you where I went to high school, college, and law school, you would wrinkle your nose, definitely, if you're the type to know and care what the acronym HYP even means. Sometimes I'm surprised how far I went with my crappy degrees, lack of a 'hook' and, I admit, middling grades.

My DH went the Andover + Ivy + Ivy route, and while I cannot say which one of us is more content with life, I can assure all readers that professional success was much easier for him up until the age of 30-33 or so.

So, yeah, if my kid wants to shoot for what DH had rather than what I had, I'm not going to hold him back and my DH won't "find this funny."

YOU ARE VERY FUNNY!!