Any other Ivy League parents finding this funny?

[Anonymous]

I'd be curious to know where your DC applied and where your DC was admitted as well. If some of the threads on this website are to be believed, it could be that your partnership at a law firm and your Ivy League degree helped seal the deal with the Admissions Committee. Since you claim that your accomplishments weren't such a big deal, I imagine that you deliberately hid such accomplishments when you applied to schools for your DC, so you and your family could just be a "regular Joes/Janes" applicants like the rest of us. Yeah right!

Anonymous wrote:

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]

Translation: Oh you silly peasants, how dare you aspire to a better life for your DCs! While I have taken full advantage of all that my Ivy League degree has to offer (i.e. financial security, lucrative jobs, admission to top tier private schools for my children), I find it ludicrous that you mere mortals would pursue such opportunities for yourselves!

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.

[Anonymous]

I am reading about the "glory days" of the Ivies from many of you. While my hubby and I have 4 Ivy degrees between the 2 of us, we also realize that the Ivies have changed significantly since we attended as we both recruit for our schools and learn much about what is going on there.

Quite frankly, I would prefer that our children NOT attend one because most classes now are not taught by professors. Students have more contact with teaching assistants. The Ivies are putting more emphasis upon publishing and R&D for their professors. My preference is for my kids to attend colleges where they have direct access to those with advanced degrees.

I have to say that I also find it funny that so many posters feel that acceptance to top private schools guarantees Ivy acceptance. Do know that Ivies will take only 1-2 kids from each school - unless it is TJ where typically they take 10 kids? The Ivies take somewhere around 70% of public school students. Your children have a better chance of Ivy acceptance if they don't attend a top private school.

[Anonymous]

PP here. Too early in the morning for me to post in English. Meant to indicate that the typical Ivy's makeup is 70% public school and 30% private.

[Anonymous]

Agree. It's probably more difficult to stand out as a top student in a highly selective private school where virtually everyone is "gifted" or well-connected than in a public school where the make-up is more diverse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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

LOL -- too bad you didn't apply to Stanford; with your wit, you might have had a chance of getting in.

[Anonymous]

Ivies are wasted on most legacies. Maybe they should have a policy where priority goes to kids whose families have never had access rather than those whose families have already been. The newcomers are likely to appreciate and get more out of the experience -- and it'll take some of the pressure off the kids of alumns. Everybody wins. Everybody except the development office, that is -- which is why it'll never happen.

Harvard changed my life; it won't change my DCs'. (Princeton might -- but not for the better, LOL!)

[Anonymous]

"Harvard changed my life; it won't change my DCs'. (Princeton might -- but not for the better, LOL!)"

So true. Just like how the first generation puts in the most effort and becomes successful only to have later generations be lazy and squander the privileges and opportunities so hard fought for by an earlier generation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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."

I agree with this - I have been very successful professionally and my education credentials are not anything to brag about (unless you played for my schools' basketball teams). Ivy degrees make a huge difference when you're landing your first job and to people who don't have enough knowledge about your profession to accurately assess how you perform in your job. Although an ivy degree will always be an asset, there is nothing more pathetic than watching a 45 year old professional who can't cut it in a firm still try to act like he's successful when really he's washing out. It took me a long time to realize this - maybe I have done as well as I have because I felt I had something to prove. Just teach your kids to work hard, treat EVERYONE with respect and find what makes them happy. If they go to sidwell or yale, that's wonderful, but it is NOT going to make their future success and happiness a fait accompli.

[Anonymous]

Re first generation works hard; later generations are lazy and squander privilege.

Not what I meant and not my experience. My parents worked as hard as I did (or harder -- raising four kids while working days and going to night school) to get me to a place where I could go to Harvard. With Harvard came not only a different educational level but a different economic status and a different kind of life (East Coast, urban, and resource-rich). And my DCs grow up in that latter environment -- it's something they already have/were born with -- and not something they can "earn."

I don't think that DCs will squander their opportunities -- I just think that they'll have the same kinds of opportunities I got by virtue of going to Harvard regardless of whether they go to Harvard. In other words, they don't need Harvard -- I did.

[Anonymous]

Regardless of whether there is value in aspiring to an Ivy League college for your child, it's silly to pin those aspirations on pre-school and elementary school acceptance.

[Anonymous]

I grew up in a blue collar family. My father had a 9th grade education. I did very well in school (public) and went to an Ivy. Funny thing is that I look back at my childhood, dinner together as a family at 6:00 and lots of quality time together, and I think it's a better lifestyle than I have now. I have plenty of money, but I struggle for that quality time with my husband and kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'll step up and say, yes, I want my child to be able to go to Yale (if he or she wants). I went there and was blissfully happy. I had a blast and got a terrific education that prepared me for great jobs and a great grad school. In my opinion, Yale is all that and I don't knock anyone who wants that for their child and does whatever they can to help their wish materialize. Princeton also seems pretty awesome. Can't say that much about Harvard (probably an ingrained bias .

That said, I know plenty of friends who went to great state schools (UVA, Michigan) and have done equally well and had a terrific experience, but let's not pretend that places like Yale or Princeton aren't pretty special. They are.

There. Flame away, folks.

Having gone to a private school in NYC Yale did not seem so radically special. And ugh, was it boring. Can you say Toads?
However, New Haven is lot more interesting now and of course fun should not be your primary motivator. It is definitely true that you can go anywhere in the world and get in the door most places with a Yale degree.

[Anonymous]

Same here. That said, my blue collar brother's family doesn't have the same quality time we had growing up. The economy has changed and things like job stability, affordable homeownership, and high-quality public schools have been lost in many places.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ivies are wasted on most legacies. Maybe they should have a policy where priority goes to kids whose families have never had access rather than those whose families have already been. The newcomers are likely to appreciate and get more out of the experience -- and it'll take some of the pressure off the kids of alumns. Everybody wins. Everybody except the development office, that is -- which is why it'll never happen.

Harvard changed my life; it won't change my DCs'. (Princeton might -- but not for the better, LOL!)

Legacy admissions contribute to alumni loyalty and gratitude and have been shown to be causally related to alumni giving. Alumni giving makes financial aid possible, so that colleges can give the same opportunities to economically disadvantaged applicants as are enjoyed by paying applicants.