Why are ivies and other elite NE schools out, southern schools in?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As someone looking to have a great college experience, what do you prefer?

this environment at the ivies

or this

Neither. The bottom videos are a nightmare of eating disorders, spray tans, and excessive reliance on men to do everything and drive all the decisions in your life. The top is just annoying.
I guess this is the conservative dream, though, which is pretty sad.

Sorry you wouldn’t get a bid.

This is such a lame comment and is exhibit A for why people look down on sorority girls. It’s so sad that you are a grown woman saying this - it makes you sound like a vapid mean girl. Not to mention we all know admission to a sorority doesn’t make you cool. Every campus has a few sororities filled with very undesirable girls that no one wants to party with. Sound familiar to you? Signed Sorority Rho Chi

My rising high school senior says most kids want balance—neither an Ivy like Columbia with constant protests nor an Alabama known for its sororities who live for TikTok dances and outfit showcases. Both extremes are annoying.

I know this is hard for you miserable old farts to admit but those cute "bimbo" and "mean girl" sorority girls are just... having fun and are super skilled at social media and content creation. Southern sororities are full of smart and sweet well-groomed overachievers who will become business executives, bankers, accountants, engineers, lawyers, doctors, dentists, RNs and teachers. They are outgoing Type A overachievers who study hard and play hard. And frankly, they usually don't "play" anywhere near as you dweebs expect.

No need to sell it. Most become teachers, and marry really young so they don’t have to work too hard.

It’s great for them, but a lot of people would be miserable in their position. It isn’t envious unless that’s your sort of thing, and you value that lifestyle.

Cite a source that most sorority girls at Southern flagships and selective privates become teachers. You're just an envious striver talking out of your ass. But it's funny how you mock teachers yet omit the fact that the average T20 girlie just segues to a worthless adult day care career; e.g. consultant, fed, and tech and financial sector email job nonsense.

how about pharma sales rep?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As someone looking to have a great college experience, what do you prefer?

this environment at the ivies

or this

This pretty much distills it. And the fact that all of the top 30 are like 90% international, Indian, Asian, and Jewish students and faculty. If you’re a normal smart devout Christian kid, it’s perfectly natural to lack interest in such an environment.

Yikes. You're not giving off a very Jesus-y vibe.

It is stunning how few white Christian kids there are at the T15 if not the T30. Diversity is good but at the T15 you’re not just a tiny marginalized minority, the campus ethos is often harshly anti-white Christian. To Christian kids who value faith, Christian culture, and seek to marry a fellow Christian, being around a lot of Christian peers is obviously the ideal.

Anyone attacking or talking down on white Christian kids for preferring to be around more of their peers (at say Southern colleges and universities, with the added benefit of great weather) is akin to attacking Black kids who seek HBCUs. It’s a free country and college is very expensive, parents should send their kids to colleges they’ll be happy at. There’s more to life than being some ruthless scheming grind who has to get into a top medical school or work for some consulting firm or figure out how to scam investors. I went to an undergrad like that 30 years ago and it was miserable. My ambitious high school friends who went to so-called “party colleges” are all very successful and live great lives.

OK, just to be clear, the devout Christians look like the rush video girls. What do the ruthless scheming grinds look like?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As someone looking to have a great college experience, what do you prefer?

this environment at the ivies

or this

Neither. The bottom videos are a nightmare of eating disorders, spray tans, and excessive reliance on men to do everything and drive all the decisions in your life. The top is just annoying.
I guess this is the conservative dream, though, which is pretty sad.

Sorry you wouldn’t get a bid.

This is such a lame comment and is exhibit A for why people look down on sorority girls. It’s so sad that you are a grown woman saying this - it makes you sound like a vapid mean girl. Not to mention we all know admission to a sorority doesn’t make you cool. Every campus has a few sororities filled with very undesirable girls that no one wants to party with. Sound familiar to you? Signed Sorority Rho Chi

My rising high school senior says most kids want balance—neither an Ivy like Columbia with constant protests nor an Alabama known for its sororities who live for TikTok dances and outfit showcases. Both extremes are annoying.

I know this is hard for you miserable old farts to admit but those cute "bimbo" and "mean girl" sorority girls are just... having fun and are super skilled at social media and content creation. Southern sororities are full of smart and sweet well-groomed overachievers who will become business executives, bankers, accountants, engineers, lawyers, doctors, dentists, RNs and teachers. They are outgoing Type A overachievers who study hard and play hard. And frankly, they usually don't "play" anywhere near as you dweebs expect.

No need to sell it. Most become teachers, and marry really young so they don’t have to work too hard.

It’s great for them, but a lot of people would be miserable in their position. It isn’t envious unless that’s your sort of thing, and you value that lifestyle.

Cite a source that most sorority girls at Southern flagships and selective privates become teachers. You're just an envious striver talking out of your ass. But it's funny how you mock teachers yet omit the fact that the average T20 girlie just segues to a worthless adult day care career; e.g. consultant, fed, and tech and financial sector email job nonsense.

I’m not citing a thing on this forum post till someone clocks OP for making up a point that has no logic to it. You don’t even have a source for all the random careers you spammed in your post prior to this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Am I the only one that feels embarassed to be American watching those sorority videos? It’s so damn cringey.

No, you’re not. As a southern woman, I’m mortified. And I’m embarrassed for any men who find this to be the feminine ideal.

That being said, I think that schools in All regions have a lot to recommend them. I’m not worried that Harvard or other ivies will have any trouble filling their classes any time soon. And if people find a southern school they prefer, great. I just don’t think I’ve seen lots of numerical evidence that this shift is happening.

+1 to the bolded. I have no idea why either side of this "debate" feels as strongly as they do about other people's choices. I'm a Southerner, and when it came time for me to go to school I left the South. Obviously a lot of people find that type of school "fun," but I don't and it was nice to get away from the heat for a while. I wasn't miserable and depressed going to college up north. It didn't help me more than any other college would have in my career, but that wasn't the reason I picked a college. If someone else thinks Bama looks like fun, that's fine. They're not my people, really, but I hope they'll do well in life and be happy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As someone looking to have a great college experience, what do you prefer?

this environment at the ivies

or this

This pretty much distills it. And the fact that all of the top 30 are like 90% international, Indian, Asian, and Jewish students and faculty. If you’re a normal smart devout Christian kid, it’s perfectly natural to lack interest in such an environment.

Yikes. You're not giving off a very Jesus-y vibe.

It is stunning how few white Christian kids there are at the T15 if not the T30. Diversity is good but at the T15 you’re not just a tiny marginalized minority, the campus ethos is often harshly anti-white Christian. To Christian kids who value faith, Christian culture, and seek to marry a fellow Christian, being around a lot of Christian peers is obviously the ideal.

Anyone attacking or talking down on white Christian kids for preferring to be around more of their peers (at say Southern colleges and universities, with the added benefit of great weather) is akin to attacking Black kids who seek HBCUs. It’s a free country and college is very expensive, parents should send their kids to colleges they’ll be happy at. There’s more to life than being some ruthless scheming grind who has to get into a top medical school or work for some consulting firm or figure out how to scam investors. I went to an undergrad like that 30 years ago and it was miserable. My ambitious high school friends who went to so-called “party colleges” are all very successful and live great lives.

How few are there?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m reading the recent biography on Gwyneth and she didn’t get accepted anywhere, even coming from Spence. In mean girl fashion, she lashed out at a Barnard-accepted classmate - sneering that it was a fake Ivy.

Interestingly her husband was able to get his kids admitted to Ivies (Cornell, Yale) but she couldn’t buy Apple’s way into one.

I can’t speak for Apple Martin but normal kids do not give a flying f*** about Ivies, let alone Cornell (lol). Who the heck wants to go to college in the middle in nowhere upstate New York?

Obsessing over the Ivies (any Ivy) is such an insecure striver thing, often first or second gen immigrants, and a TJ magnet school thing. In retrospect most parents will later admit how stupid and pointless the whole obsession and admissions rat race was.

These smart fun UMC and rich kids honing in on a semi-selective happy school in the South are wise beyond their years. They’re voting with their feet. They are totally disinterested in associating with the ethos the super selective northern colleges have cultivated.

The entire narrative is completely flawed. Nobody is voting with their feet even if they aren't able to get into a super selective northern college.

UConn received 62000 applications last year...50% more than Alabama and an increase of nearly 40% over the two years ago
UMass received 50,000 applications...the same as Texas A&M and more than 1/2 of all SEC schools
NYU had 126,000 applications...more than any SEC school

The nominal number of northern kids attending these SEC schools is actually pretty small, even if their growth rates are high. From a WSJ 2024 article:

At the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, total freshmen from the Northeast jumped to nearly 600 in a class of about 6,800, up from around 50 in 2002. At the University of Mississippi, in Oxford, they increased from 11 to more than 200 in a class of about 4,500 in 2022. At the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, 11% of students came from the Northeast in 2022, compared with less than 1% two decades prior.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As someone looking to have a great college experience, what do you prefer?

this environment at the ivies

or this

Neither. The bottom videos are a nightmare of eating disorders, spray tans, and excessive reliance on men to do everything and drive all the decisions in your life. The top is just annoying.
I guess this is the conservative dream, though, which is pretty sad.

Sorry you wouldn’t get a bid.

This is such a lame comment and is exhibit A for why people look down on sorority girls. It’s so sad that you are a grown woman saying this - it makes you sound like a vapid mean girl. Not to mention we all know admission to a sorority doesn’t make you cool. Every campus has a few sororities filled with very undesirable girls that no one wants to party with. Sound familiar to you? Signed Sorority Rho Chi

My rising high school senior says most kids want balance—neither an Ivy like Columbia with constant protests nor an Alabama known for its sororities who live for TikTok dances and outfit showcases. Both extremes are annoying.

I know this is hard for you miserable old farts to admit but those cute "bimbo" and "mean girl" sorority girls are just... having fun and are super skilled at social media and content creation. Southern sororities are full of smart and sweet well-groomed overachievers who will become business executives, bankers, accountants, engineers, lawyers, doctors, dentists, RNs and teachers. They are outgoing Type A overachievers who study hard and play hard. And frankly, they usually don't "play" anywhere near as you dweebs expect.

I don't know why you're selling me on the sorority girls. I'm just telling you what my kid says and what her friends are saying. And these are popular HS kids- athletic, smart, friendly and do want to go Greek in college. They just want schools that have balance where they can get a great education and have a great student life without having to act cringey and be a pick-me on TikTok. There are plenty of schools like these so not an issue at all.

[Anonymous]

I was in a sorority, there wasn’t much high level thinking going on. Life revolved around planning outfits, parties, and which sorority and fraternities were on the up or down gossip. It was a blast and I’m still close to my sorority sisters. Having said that, my own kid is at an Ivy and I am so envious of the college experience they are having. The level of speakers, opportunities and incredible lecturers. Makes me sad I didn’t take advantage of college for what it’s supposed to be about. I’d love a do-over with a different experience.

[Anonymous]

The southern TikTok is huge because it’s baffling to most. I understand that is the absolute dream for some, but you can’t be surprised 95% of people are horrified by it and watch in shock and horror.

[Anonymous]

I just moved back stateside from UK, it really highlights how weird our college system is in regards to sports and Greek life. It’s so hard to even explain to people how things work here and it looks insane from the outside.

[Anonymous]

It's just a feature of the increased competition for admission. Applicants from CA, NY, MA, out number those from other states by a large margin so they face long odds applying to the Ivies. Counselors started pointing out they'd get a geographic diversity bump if they applied to Southern schools. That raised the ranking of some of those schools and its probably good for society that students go to different regions and branch out for college.

[Anonymous]

This seems like a normal adult lifestyle. Much preferred to living in a packed house and smiling with an obnoxious group of women.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As someone looking to have a great college experience, what do you prefer?

this environment at the ivies

or this

Neither. The bottom videos are a nightmare of eating disorders, spray tans, and excessive reliance on men to do everything and drive all the decisions in your life. The top is just annoying.
I guess this is the conservative dream, though, which is pretty sad.

Sorry you wouldn’t get a bid.

This is such a lame comment and is exhibit A for why people look down on sorority girls. It’s so sad that you are a grown woman saying this - it makes you sound like a vapid mean girl. Not to mention we all know admission to a sorority doesn’t make you cool. Every campus has a few sororities filled with very undesirable girls that no one wants to party with. Sound familiar to you? Signed Sorority Rho Chi

My rising high school senior says most kids want balance—neither an Ivy like Columbia with constant protests nor an Alabama known for its sororities who live for TikTok dances and outfit showcases. Both extremes are annoying.

I know this is hard for you miserable old farts to admit but those cute "bimbo" and "mean girl" sorority girls are just... having fun and are super skilled at social media and content creation. Southern sororities are full of smart and sweet well-groomed overachievers who will become business executives, bankers, accountants, engineers, lawyers, doctors, dentists, RNs and teachers. They are outgoing Type A overachievers who study hard and play hard. And frankly, they usually don't "play" anywhere near as you dweebs expect.

No need to sell it. Most become teachers, and marry really young so they don’t have to work too hard.

It’s great for them, but a lot of people would be miserable in their position. It isn’t envious unless that’s your sort of thing, and you value that lifestyle.

Show a citation— ANY citation, any source — that has comprehensive data on job placement for sorority houses in the southern US.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As someone looking to have a great college experience, what do you prefer?

this environment at the ivies

or this

Neither. The bottom videos are a nightmare of eating disorders, spray tans, and excessive reliance on men to do everything and drive all the decisions in your life. The top is just annoying.
I guess this is the conservative dream, though, which is pretty sad.

Sorry you wouldn’t get a bid.

This is such a lame comment and is exhibit A for why people look down on sorority girls. It’s so sad that you are a grown woman saying this - it makes you sound like a vapid mean girl. Not to mention we all know admission to a sorority doesn’t make you cool. Every campus has a few sororities filled with very undesirable girls that no one wants to party with. Sound familiar to you? Signed Sorority Rho Chi

My rising high school senior says most kids want balance—neither an Ivy like Columbia with constant protests nor an Alabama known for its sororities who live for TikTok dances and outfit showcases. Both extremes are annoying.

I know this is hard for you miserable old farts to admit but those cute "bimbo" and "mean girl" sorority girls are just... having fun and are super skilled at social media and content creation. Southern sororities are full of smart and sweet well-groomed overachievers who will become business executives, bankers, accountants, engineers, lawyers, doctors, dentists, RNs and teachers. They are outgoing Type A overachievers who study hard and play hard. And frankly, they usually don't "play" anywhere near as you dweebs expect.

No need to sell it. Most become teachers, and marry really young so they don’t have to work too hard.

It’s great for them, but a lot of people would be miserable in their position. It isn’t envious unless that’s your sort of thing, and you value that lifestyle.

Show a citation— ANY citation, any source — that has comprehensive data on job placement for sorority houses in the southern US.

I would hope our scientists and social theorists have better things to do.

[Anonymous]

Just like we are all different, every kid is different, and every school and school experience is different. I don't know why people feel the need to come on an anonymous website and bash a set of schools or belittle people who choose schools they deem "inferior" or less than schools they either attended or feel their kids should attend.

I've lived in a lot of places throughout my life and each has its pluses and minuses. I'd go back to come in a heartbeat, and I'd never go back to others. That doesn't mean that people that choose those places are dumb, stuck up, more smart than me or aren't nice. They are just different, and isn't kind of makes the world go round?

I guarantee the person sitting at the desk next to you or in the house across the street didn't have the same experience as you. I don't know many college-educated people that can't read and write, whether they went to University of Washington, a UNC satellite campus or a Community College. They might be checking you in at the Doctor's Office, they might be a military spouse, they might be highly successful - and who are we to define someone else's idea of success, especially based on a decision they made at the age of 17 or 18?

I'd rather know, associate and work with pleasant people, not people who sit and pre-judge me for where I grew up, where I went to college or the diploma that hangs on my wall.