The Dark Side of the Ivy League: Prestige & The Cost of Success

[Anonymous]

The school name on the diploma was the golden ticket, but then social engineering diluted the brand. For those without connections it is up to the employer to sort out the wheat from chaff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They aren't great places for a first generation college student. Those kids are completely lost.

But what place is? State flagships like UT Austin (where I was an FGLI student) or UVA are also difficult places for first gen students. Arguably harder than Ivies since there are a LOT more students and you're more likely to get lost in the sauce of 40k undergrads.

[Anonymous]

Do they talk about the Harvard and MIT kids that jump in front of trains around exam time?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not listening to 45minutes of rambling. Is there a thesis?

It’s two wannabe influencers going “wah wah, I’m so privileged!” Give me a break.

+11. I can’t believe OP thinks this merits a post!

[Anonymous]

Studying off old tests is generally considered cheating unless they are in the library or online and available to everyone. So, that's not good advice

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They aren't great places for a first generation college student. Those kids are completely lost.

So true. That list really rang true to my experience from 30 years ago.

Office hours especially, I didn’t feel like I had worked hard enough yet to bother an Ivy League professor with my inane questions so I never went.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Watch the video. They talk about how the fraternities have access to exams, how the connected and influential students already have internships and jobs lined up, they technically don’t even need to be at the college.. they already KNOW they are set. Also mentioned is the professors are not helpful as they are trying to make tenure.. environment is toxic and students are not supportive.

This is life. What did you expect? Your kid was somehow going to be friends with all the rich kids? Get jobs with them?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What net worth is necessary to be considered of privilege on an Ivy campus? Or what are the other markers of these so-called privileged few?

It isn’t net worth per se, but being connected in the right way. It’s likely that you have high net worth if you’re connected, but you can be worth $5-$10 million and just have been lucky in the stock market. The latter doesn’t count because it’s just money - no expertise, no connections, and no pedigree.

Very few kids who are not already at least UMC+ and beyond go to a T20 and come out connected to making millions from that alone. The kids who seem connected were already connected because of their families, not the university they attended

At least 20M NW without counting hard assets (properties/Real Estate). And membership in a lot of clubs. Private school your whole life. It's an entirely different world of connections, and it starts before you step foot on a college campus - everyone already knows who you are when you get to campus if you go to one of these high schools.

Didn't you see the post listing all the private schools that are popular in the freshman classes?

DC (GDS, Sidwell, St. A, Cathedral), NYC (Trinity, Riverdale, Horace Mann, Dalton, Collegiate, Brearley, Spence, Chapin), LA (Harvard Westlake, Brentwood, Marlborough, Crossroads), SF city (Urban, Lick, UHS), SF Bay area (Nueva, College Prep, Head Royce, Menlo, Harker, Castilleja), Chicago (Latin, Parker, North Shore, Lake Forest), Boarding Schools(Lawrenceville, Deerfield, Groton, Choate, Kate, Hotchkiss).
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/195/1297028.page#30995192

[Anonymous]

The real life hack is that, if you are smart, you can actually use these places to get an education rathe rthan just as a stepping stone to make more money. That can help you become a well-rounded, interesting, and ethical person. I appreciate that this is a minority interest these days, but something to bear in mind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The real life hack is that, if you are smart, you can actually use these places to get an education rathe rthan just as a stepping stone to make more money. That can help you become a well-rounded, interesting, and ethical person. I appreciate that this is a minority interest these days, but something to bear in mind.

I agree that for me anyway, that was the point, and well worth my while

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Frats at MIT had old exams in the 60s.
I wish I had gone to office hours, though.

The frats at Dartmouth did in the 90s. Do they still do that? Is that still the source?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The real life hack is that, if you are smart, you can actually use these places to get an education rathe rthan just as a stepping stone to make more money. That can help you become a well-rounded, interesting, and ethical person. I appreciate that this is a minority interest these days, but something to bear in mind.

I agree that for me anyway, that was the point, and well worth my while

This is how you end up with a PhD in Anthropology from Yale and a terrible $50k/year adjunct job at a state school.

Seriously. Who gives a shit about learning? Money is what's most important. Being "well-rounded" or "interesting" is not going to pay your mortgage.

[Anonymous]

It's very straightforward - you have to know what game you are playing. You may not know the players, the methods, or the how-to, but you should at least research the games and understand which one you plan to play with college and beyond.

Just a quick example, one of my kids played the GPA game - they declined a couple top 20 schools who did not offer aid and went to a top 50 with significant merit. My student's stats were well above the average GPA/SAT/ACT. It worked thank goodness. He crushed on GPA, clubs and MCAT and is in med school.

That is one of many games - but it helps to figure out which one you intend to play.

P.S. The terminal degree and profession are the things that stay with you, not the undergrad school if you move on to a grad degree. Just an example of a game feature to be aware of.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What net worth is necessary to be considered of privilege on an Ivy campus? Or what are the other markers of these so-called privileged few?

It isn’t net worth per se, but being connected in the right way. It’s likely that you have high net worth if you’re connected, but you can be worth $5-$10 million and just have been lucky in the stock market. The latter doesn’t count because it’s just money - no expertise, no connections, and no pedigree.

Very few kids who are not already at least UMC+ and beyond go to a T20 and come out connected to making millions from that alone. The kids who seem connected were already connected because of their families, not the university they attended

Not true. Neighbor went from Paterson NJ to Princeton to Big Pharma CEO via military.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The real life hack is that, if you are smart, you can actually use these places to get an education rathe rthan just as a stepping stone to make more money. That can help you become a well-rounded, interesting, and ethical person. I appreciate that this is a minority interest these days, but something to bear in mind.

When you need a college education to become ethical, you’re already not a good enough human being.