To you, what's the bottom of the "elite" colleges?

[Anonymous]

I'm Gen X New Yorker, but moved to DC in my 20s, and my mental list is like:

1. Harvard
2. Yale
3. Stanford
4. Columbia
5. Princeton
6. MIT
7. Penn
8. Chicago
9. Cornell
10. Northwestern
11. Duke
12. Dartmouth
13. Brown
14. Johns Hopkins
15. Berkeley
16. Williams/Amherst

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As dumb as this thread is, I’ll share a little anecdote:

My husband’s family has a couple generations of Princeton grads, including his mother (one of the first women admits) and his father. My husband went to Yale - and rejected his Princeton admission - and it caused a huge uproar in his family, even among aunts and uncles. He was the rebel kid.

I went to Dartmouth and met DH right after undergrad. When I met his parents it was clear that I *barely* passed the “is she elite enough to marry my son” test. Like, they acted at times like I went to community college. I actually never applied to Princeton (I applied to Harvard and was rejected) and my ILs have used that at introductions at parties - “she went to Dartmouth, but the poor thing didn’t know to apply to Princeton, so we’ll never know if she would have been admitted!” I mean, heaven forbid someone in their circle thinks their son married someone who *didnt* get into Princeton.

There are people - many, many people - who look down on anything that’s not Princeton or maybe Yale. Harvard, among these folks, is widely known to accept “anyone” if they score highly enough, whereas Princeton and Yale look at overall “pedigree”. Like, Harvard is obviously for dorks and losers, not well rounded children from elite families. Stanford is in California and no one cares about California, and literally no other school is worth mentioning. Like, they are all the same. Ordinary schools for ordinary people. None - none! - are elite.

This is dumb, of course, and I absolutely hate my ILs and the circles they run in. But it puts into perspective that what is regarded as “elite” really depends ENTIRELY on your audience. I mean, there are women in this family who married Harvard grads and you should see how they’re treated - like interlopers who just barely managed to get an invitation to the ball. There’s one cousin who went to U Penn, but everyone kind of knew she was a loser, so we just are polite and don’t bring it up. I mean, all of this is so dumb, but I swear to god I’m not exaggerating in the slightest.

So you can argue on dcum about what is and isn’t elite, but to the people who see themselves as elite, I can guarantee you - you aren’t. I’m not. Almost no one is.

Which is funny because most people see Princeton as dead last in hypsm on DCUM or College Confidential. Don't get where that sense of superiority/entitlement comes from.

I mean…. Old money.

The WASP establishment isn't even that relevant in the 21st century anymore. As a first generation US citizen, I can comfortably say that Princeton (and to a lesser extent, Yale) has not-so-great name recognition outside the US. You would be surprised at how many people only heard of Harvard or Stanford but not other schools.

And guess who doesn't care about that at all ... Princeton grads. They know what elite means. /s

I'm sure they'll be panicking when name-dropping their alma mater simply won't produce as much a "wow" effect as Stanford, or even Berkeley, when they travel and do business abroad. The QS ranking says for it all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As dumb as this thread is, I’ll share a little anecdote:

My husband’s family has a couple generations of Princeton grads, including his mother (one of the first women admits) and his father. My husband went to Yale - and rejected his Princeton admission - and it caused a huge uproar in his family, even among aunts and uncles. He was the rebel kid.

I went to Dartmouth and met DH right after undergrad. When I met his parents it was clear that I *barely* passed the “is she elite enough to marry my son” test. Like, they acted at times like I went to community college. I actually never applied to Princeton (I applied to Harvard and was rejected) and my ILs have used that at introductions at parties - “she went to Dartmouth, but the poor thing didn’t know to apply to Princeton, so we’ll never know if she would have been admitted!” I mean, heaven forbid someone in their circle thinks their son married someone who *didnt* get into Princeton.

There are people - many, many people - who look down on anything that’s not Princeton or maybe Yale. Harvard, among these folks, is widely known to accept “anyone” if they score highly enough, whereas Princeton and Yale look at overall “pedigree”. Like, Harvard is obviously for dorks and losers, not well rounded children from elite families. Stanford is in California and no one cares about California, and literally no other school is worth mentioning. Like, they are all the same. Ordinary schools for ordinary people. None - none! - are elite.

This is dumb, of course, and I absolutely hate my ILs and the circles they run in. But it puts into perspective that what is regarded as “elite” really depends ENTIRELY on your audience. I mean, there are women in this family who married Harvard grads and you should see how they’re treated - like interlopers who just barely managed to get an invitation to the ball. There’s one cousin who went to U Penn, but everyone kind of knew she was a loser, so we just are polite and don’t bring it up. I mean, all of this is so dumb, but I swear to god I’m not exaggerating in the slightest.

So you can argue on dcum about what is and isn’t elite, but to the people who see themselves as elite, I can guarantee you - you aren’t. I’m not. Almost no one is.

Hahaha my family of Harvard, Stanford, Yale and MIT alums would laugh at how stupid yours comes across as.

The top twelve-or-so universities in the country are gold standard. Including all Ivy League schools. Please don’t embarrass yourself or your family any further.

Further goes on to show how insecure modern-day Princeton grads really are when they're being surpassed by schools like Stanford and MIT in prestige and renown. It really should be hymsp or hsymp lol

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As dumb as this thread is, I’ll share a little anecdote:

My husband’s family has a couple generations of Princeton grads, including his mother (one of the first women admits) and his father. My husband went to Yale - and rejected his Princeton admission - and it caused a huge uproar in his family, even among aunts and uncles. He was the rebel kid.

I went to Dartmouth and met DH right after undergrad. When I met his parents it was clear that I *barely* passed the “is she elite enough to marry my son” test. Like, they acted at times like I went to community college. I actually never applied to Princeton (I applied to Harvard and was rejected) and my ILs have used that at introductions at parties - “she went to Dartmouth, but the poor thing didn’t know to apply to Princeton, so we’ll never know if she would have been admitted!” I mean, heaven forbid someone in their circle thinks their son married someone who *didnt* get into Princeton.

There are people - many, many people - who look down on anything that’s not Princeton or maybe Yale. Harvard, among these folks, is widely known to accept “anyone” if they score highly enough, whereas Princeton and Yale look at overall “pedigree”. Like, Harvard is obviously for dorks and losers, not well rounded children from elite families. Stanford is in California and no one cares about California, and literally no other school is worth mentioning. Like, they are all the same. Ordinary schools for ordinary people. None - none! - are elite.

This is dumb, of course, and I absolutely hate my ILs and the circles they run in. But it puts into perspective that what is regarded as “elite” really depends ENTIRELY on your audience. I mean, there are women in this family who married Harvard grads and you should see how they’re treated - like interlopers who just barely managed to get an invitation to the ball. There’s one cousin who went to U Penn, but everyone kind of knew she was a loser, so we just are polite and don’t bring it up. I mean, all of this is so dumb, but I swear to god I’m not exaggerating in the slightest.

So you can argue on dcum about what is and isn’t elite, but to the people who see themselves as elite, I can guarantee you - you aren’t. I’m not. Almost no one is.

Hahaha my family of Harvard, Stanford, Yale and MIT alums would laugh at how stupid yours comes across as.

The top twelve-or-so universities in the country are gold standard. Including all Ivy League schools. Please don’t embarrass yourself or your family any further.

Further goes on to show how insecure modern-day Princeton grads really are when they're being surpassed by schools like Stanford and MIT in prestige and renown. It really should be hymsp or hsymp lol

I come from a generation of Yale grads on one side, and my other side is filled with grads from MIT, Stanford, Northwestern, and Cambridge. The idea of there being some strange cut-off or threshold for eliteness/prestige within an already rarefied group of universities is very bizarre to me. Is this really something that Princeton grads agonize over?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm Gen X New Yorker, but moved to DC in my 20s, and my mental list is like:

1. Harvard
2. Yale
3. Stanford
4. Columbia
5. Princeton
6. MIT
7. Penn
8. Chicago
9. Cornell
10. Northwestern
11. Duke
12. Dartmouth
13. Brown
14. Johns Hopkins
15. Berkeley
16. Williams/Amherst

No sane person placed Columbia at #4

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm Gen X New Yorker, but moved to DC in my 20s, and my mental list is like:

1. Harvard
2. Yale
3. Stanford
4. Columbia
5. Princeton
6. MIT
7. Penn
8. Chicago
9. Cornell
10. Northwestern
11. Duke
12. Dartmouth
13. Brown
14. Johns Hopkins
15. Berkeley
16. Williams/Amherst

No sane person placed Columbia at #4

Columbia could be anywhere from #4-#6 for a variety of reasons.
Superior to MIT in social sciences/humanities and Yale in STEM.
Grad school wise >= Princeton for the latter's lack of professional schools.
Plus PP said she's from New York, which explains it all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As dumb as this thread is, I’ll share a little anecdote:

My husband’s family has a couple generations of Princeton grads, including his mother (one of the first women admits) and his father. My husband went to Yale - and rejected his Princeton admission - and it caused a huge uproar in his family, even among aunts and uncles. He was the rebel kid.

I went to Dartmouth and met DH right after undergrad. When I met his parents it was clear that I *barely* passed the “is she elite enough to marry my son” test. Like, they acted at times like I went to community college. I actually never applied to Princeton (I applied to Harvard and was rejected) and my ILs have used that at introductions at parties - “she went to Dartmouth, but the poor thing didn’t know to apply to Princeton, so we’ll never know if she would have been admitted!” I mean, heaven forbid someone in their circle thinks their son married someone who *didnt* get into Princeton.

There are people - many, many people - who look down on anything that’s not Princeton or maybe Yale. Harvard, among these folks, is widely known to accept “anyone” if they score highly enough, whereas Princeton and Yale look at overall “pedigree”. Like, Harvard is obviously for dorks and losers, not well rounded children from elite families. Stanford is in California and no one cares about California, and literally no other school is worth mentioning. Like, they are all the same. Ordinary schools for ordinary people. None - none! - are elite.

This is dumb, of course, and I absolutely hate my ILs and the circles they run in. But it puts into perspective that what is regarded as “elite” really depends ENTIRELY on your audience. I mean, there are women in this family who married Harvard grads and you should see how they’re treated - like interlopers who just barely managed to get an invitation to the ball. There’s one cousin who went to U Penn, but everyone kind of knew she was a loser, so we just are polite and don’t bring it up. I mean, all of this is so dumb, but I swear to god I’m not exaggerating in the slightest.

So you can argue on dcum about what is and isn’t elite, but to the people who see themselves as elite, I can guarantee you - you aren’t. I’m not. Almost no one is.

Hahaha my family of Harvard, Stanford, Yale and MIT alums would laugh at how stupid yours comes across as.

The top twelve-or-so universities in the country are gold standard. Including all Ivy League schools. Please don’t embarrass yourself or your family any further.

Further goes on to show how insecure modern-day Princeton grads really are when they're being surpassed by schools like Stanford and MIT in prestige and renown. It really should be hymsp or hsymp lol

I come from a generation of Yale grads on one side, and my other side is filled with grads from MIT, Stanford, Northwestern, and Cambridge. The idea of there being some strange cut-off or threshold for eliteness/prestige within an already rarefied group of universities is very bizarre to me. Is this really something that Princeton grads agonize over?

Apparently!

[Anonymous]

I have experience working in Europe and Asia for many years. Global prestige tends to be quite different than national prestige, since there is less emphasis on prestige conferred by a school's association with certain demographic groups that used to be considered as "elite." The schools that are recognized the most often are:

Harvard
Stanford
MIT
Berkeley
Columbia
Yale

I think this makes sense because these 6 schools are the strongest research universities, and also have the best graduate schools in the US.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have experience working in Europe and Asia for many years. Global prestige tends to be quite different than national prestige, since there is less emphasis on prestige conferred by a school's association with certain demographic groups that used to be considered as "elite." The schools that are recognized the most often are:

Harvard
Stanford
MIT
Berkeley
Columbia
Yale

I think this makes sense because these 6 schools are the strongest research universities, and also have the best graduate schools in the US.

Growing up in Asia Pacific and this is generally true in the Asian American communities here in DMV as well. Would add Princeton to the list but outside of the US is almost unheard of unless in academic circles.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm Gen X New Yorker, but moved to DC in my 20s, and my mental list is like:

1. Harvard
2. Yale
3. Stanford
4. Columbia
5. Princeton
6. MIT
7. Penn
8. Chicago
9. Cornell
10. Northwestern
11. Duke
12. Dartmouth
13. Brown
14. Johns Hopkins
15. Berkeley
16. Williams/Amherst

No sane person placed Columbia at #4

No sane person places Stanford at #3. It’s a sports school that offers full rides to athletes. Stanford then pours money into athletes to make sure they graduate. That’s $$$ taken away from pure academic programs. It would have to be below elite academic schools, somewhere below Chicago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm Gen X New Yorker, but moved to DC in my 20s, and my mental list is like:

1. Harvard
2. Yale
3. Stanford
4. Columbia
5. Princeton
6. MIT
7. Penn
8. Chicago
9. Cornell
10. Northwestern
11. Duke
12. Dartmouth
13. Brown
14. Johns Hopkins
15. Berkeley
16. Williams/Amherst

No sane person placed Columbia at #4

Columbia could be anywhere from #4-#6 for a variety of reasons.
Superior to MIT in social sciences/humanities and Yale in STEM.
Grad school wise >= Princeton for the latter's lack of professional schools.
Plus PP said she's from New York, which explains it all.

More like #6-9. But there is a gap after HYPSM, if anything bc of the resources difference of these institutions

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm Gen X New Yorker, but moved to DC in my 20s, and my mental list is like:

1. Harvard
2. Yale
3. Stanford
4. Columbia
5. Princeton
6. MIT
7. Penn
8. Chicago
9. Cornell
10. Northwestern
11. Duke
12. Dartmouth
13. Brown
14. Johns Hopkins
15. Berkeley
16. Williams/Amherst

No sane person placed Columbia at #4

Columbia could be anywhere from #4-#6 for a variety of reasons.
Superior to MIT in social sciences/humanities and Yale in STEM.
Grad school wise >= Princeton for the latter's lack of professional schools.
Plus PP said she's from New York, which explains it all.

More like #6-9. But there is a gap after HYPSM, if anything bc of the resources difference of these institutions

I think it’s quite impressive that Columbia is accomplishing more than Yale and Princeton, despite having a much smaller endowment. Doing more with less isn’t something that should be frowned upon in my opinion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As dumb as this thread is, I’ll share a little anecdote:

My husband’s family has a couple generations of Princeton grads, including his mother (one of the first women admits) and his father. My husband went to Yale - and rejected his Princeton admission - and it caused a huge uproar in his family, even among aunts and uncles. He was the rebel kid.

I went to Dartmouth and met DH right after undergrad. When I met his parents it was clear that I *barely* passed the “is she elite enough to marry my son” test. Like, they acted at times like I went to community college. I actually never applied to Princeton (I applied to Harvard and was rejected) and my ILs have used that at introductions at parties - “she went to Dartmouth, but the poor thing didn’t know to apply to Princeton, so we’ll never know if she would have been admitted!” I mean, heaven forbid someone in their circle thinks their son married someone who *didnt* get into Princeton.

There are people - many, many people - who look down on anything that’s not Princeton or maybe Yale. Harvard, among these folks, is widely known to accept “anyone” if they score highly enough, whereas Princeton and Yale look at overall “pedigree”. Like, Harvard is obviously for dorks and losers, not well rounded children from elite families. Stanford is in California and no one cares about California, and literally no other school is worth mentioning. Like, they are all the same. Ordinary schools for ordinary people. None - none! - are elite.

This is dumb, of course, and I absolutely hate my ILs and the circles they run in. But it puts into perspective that what is regarded as “elite” really depends ENTIRELY on your audience. I mean, there are women in this family who married Harvard grads and you should see how they’re treated - like interlopers who just barely managed to get an invitation to the ball. There’s one cousin who went to U Penn, but everyone kind of knew she was a loser, so we just are polite and don’t bring it up. I mean, all of this is so dumb, but I swear to god I’m not exaggerating in the slightest.

So you can argue on dcum about what is and isn’t elite, but to the people who see themselves as elite, I can guarantee you - you aren’t. I’m not. Almost no one is.

Hahaha my family of Harvard, Stanford, Yale and MIT alums would laugh at how stupid yours comes across as.

The top twelve-or-so universities in the country are gold standard. Including all Ivy League schools. Please don’t embarrass yourself or your family any further.

Further goes on to show how insecure modern-day Princeton grads really are when they're being surpassed by schools like Stanford and MIT in prestige and renown. It really should be hymsp or hsymp lol

I come from a generation of Yale grads on one side, and my other side is filled with grads from MIT, Stanford, Northwestern, and Cambridge. The idea of there being some strange cut-off or threshold for eliteness/prestige within an already rarefied group of universities is very bizarre to me. Is this really something that Princeton grads agonize over?

Apparently!

You sound like simps by giving any credence to PP’s “anecdote.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm Gen X New Yorker, but moved to DC in my 20s, and my mental list is like:

1. Harvard
2. Yale
3. Stanford
4. Columbia
5. Princeton
6. MIT
7. Penn
8. Chicago
9. Cornell
10. Northwestern
11. Duke
12. Dartmouth
13. Brown
14. Johns Hopkins
15. Berkeley
16. Williams/Amherst

More like:

1. Harvard
2. Yale
3. Stanford
4. MIT
5. Princeton
6. Columbia
7. Penn
8. Chicago
9. Duke
10. Caltech
11. Northwestern
12. Dartmouth
13. Brown
14. Johns Hopkins
15. Berkeley
16. Williams/Amherst

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm Gen X New Yorker, but moved to DC in my 20s, and my mental list is like:

1. Harvard
2. Yale
3. Stanford
4. Columbia
5. Princeton
6. MIT
7. Penn
8. Chicago
9. Cornell
10. Northwestern
11. Duke
12. Dartmouth
13. Brown
14. Johns Hopkins
15. Berkeley
16. Williams/Amherst

More like:

1. Harvard
2. Yale
3. Stanford
4. MIT
5. Princeton
6. Columbia
7. Penn
8. Chicago
9. Duke
10. Caltech
11. Northwestern
12. Dartmouth
13. Brown
14. Johns Hopkins
15. Berkeley
16. Williams/Amherst

Caltech is cool and great but it has relatively little social prestige, and is so small and niche so as basically to be an arm of the JPL.