Are students outside of the top 20 or so universities more interesting people?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m a HYPS alum as well and have conducted admissions interviews. I think part of the problem is so many of these kids ARE brilliant and interesting but have been told that they must excel at a sport, volunteer, lead a club, start a charity, know what they want to study. Of course kids who are packaged for success as if it’s a formula aren’t always as passionate or interesting because they’ve never felt completely free to just explore and figure out what their interests really are. This isn’t true for every kid but it certainly is for some.

Since this is anonymous, why don't people just say where they went to school? I went to stanford and I have to say my classmates and recent freshmen were all well rounded. California vibe probably helps.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Harvard - Hard to get less interesting than any of these.

'The meme was an image of a head with “I need to get rich” slapped across it.'

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/22/business/gen-z-college-students-jobs.html

Have you been to Harvard? I think they’re moving in a direction to not fill their school with high school clones where you can’t tell one from another. The business school might be a get rich program but there’s a lot more to Harvard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m a HYPS alum as well and have conducted admissions interviews. I think part of the problem is so many of these kids ARE brilliant and interesting but have been told that they must excel at a sport, volunteer, lead a club, start a charity, know what they want to study. Of course kids who are packaged for success as if it’s a formula aren’t always as passionate or interesting because they’ve never felt completely free to just explore and figure out what their interests really are. This isn’t true for every kid but it certainly is for some.

Since this is anonymous, why don't people just say where they went to school? I went to stanford and I have to say my classmates and recent freshmen were all well rounded. California vibe probably helps.

DD graduated from Stanford two years ago and did not have the same experience. Found that many of her classmates were uber-competitive grinder types. Very heavily focused on STEM, and many of her classmates looked down on her for wanting to pursue a career in the arts. I wish she went somewhere like Brown or Wesleyan.

Of course, Stanford is a great school for many students. Just not a good fit for certain folks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would say that my friends who went to top 10 schools are definitely less fun. Not that they are all stick in the muds, but just not as likely to be really silly or let life get a bit messy.

Just learned tonight that a lot of the “top” kids in DC class (senior) are all on anti-depressants. Many many kids. All going to T20, mostly Ivy.
wtf

(And my kid is also going to an Ivy so it’s not that…) what is going on?

I am not surprised. My daughter is also a senior, but hangs out with “losers” like herself who aren’t going to Ivies. Many of them are also on antidepressants. So I think it’s a more general problem with this generation, not a top schools thing.

Or maybe it’s that her friends are depressed because they are not getting in and the top kids are depressed because of what they have to do to get in…

[Anonymous]

I know people who attended Harvard who are a$$holes, and I know people who attended Harvard who are lovely. Same with state schools and the like.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would say that my friends who went to top 10 schools are definitely less fun. Not that they are all stick in the muds, but just not as likely to be really silly or let life get a bit messy.

I agree, and I'm an HYPS alum. My college friends are good people and have a sense of humor, but aren't as spontaneous as some of the friends I made post-grad.

I agree with this too. I think OP is getting at the fact that a lot of people into studies are not as social and fun loving. This is very true. But they are usually more creative. Just not as spontaneous. Many are extraverted and conversational but the conversations are different.

Honestly many of the lower level colleges have kids that are more fun bu4 they all say the same things. I have high school and college friends who weren't into school and their posts even have the same exact wording from friend to friend and post to post. They are fun in that they like to laugh but I wouldn't say creative or more interesting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would say that my friends who went to top 10 schools are definitely less fun. Not that they are all stick in the muds, but just not as likely to be really silly or let life get a bit messy.

I agree, and I'm an HYPS alum. My college friends are good people and have a sense of humor, but aren't as spontaneous as some of the friends I made post-grad.

I agree with this too. I think OP is getting at the fact that a lot of people into studies are not as social and fun loving. This is very true. But they are usually more creative. Just not as spontaneous. Many are extraverted and conversational but the conversations are different.

Honestly many of the lower level colleges have kids that are more fun bu4 they all say the same things. I have high school and college friends who weren't into school and their posts even have the same exact wording from friend to friend and post to post. They are fun in that they like to laugh but I wouldn't say creative or more interesting.

+1000

[Anonymous]

This conversation makes me think of the movie Booksmart, where two high school friends realize at the end of senior year that they haven’t had any fun at all because they’ve worked so hard to get into top colleges. There’s a funny scene where they realize that a bunch of goof-offs who they assume are heading to community college actually have impressive plans of their own, and one of the characters says “we care about school, it’s just not the only thing we care about.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would say that my friends who went to top 10 schools are definitely less fun. Not that they are all stick in the muds, but just not as likely to be really silly or let life get a bit messy.

Just learned tonight that a lot of the “top” kids in DC class (senior) are all on anti-depressants. Many many kids. All going to T20, mostly Ivy.
wtf

(And my kid is also going to an Ivy so it’s not that…) what is going on?

I am not surprised. My daughter is also a senior, but hangs out with “losers” like herself who aren’t going to Ivies. Many of them are also on antidepressants. So I think it’s a more general problem with this generation, not a top schools thing.

Or maybe it’s that her friends are depressed because they are not getting in and the top kids are depressed because of what they have to do to get in…

This is sad for the kids. They haven’t even had the stress of the career workforce yet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m a HYPS alum as well and have conducted admissions interviews. I think part of the problem is so many of these kids ARE brilliant and interesting but have been told that they must excel at a sport, volunteer, lead a club, start a charity, know what they want to study. Of course kids who are packaged for success as if it’s a formula aren’t always as passionate or interesting because they’ve never felt completely free to just explore and figure out what their interests really are. This isn’t true for every kid but it certainly is for some.

Since this is anonymous, why don't people just say where they went to school? I went to stanford and I have to say my classmates and recent freshmen were all well rounded. California vibe probably helps.

DD graduated from Stanford two years ago and did not have the same experience. Found that many of her classmates were uber-competitive grinder types. Very heavily focused on STEM, and many of her classmates looked down on her for wanting to pursue a career in the arts. I wish she went somewhere like Brown or Wesleyan.

Of course, Stanford is a great school for many students. Just not a good fit for certain folks.

Your daughter is likely the exception. Majority like it:

https://tableau.stanford.edu/t/IRDS/views/SeniorSurveyPublicDashboards/SeniorSurveyResults?%3Aembed=y&%3Atoolbar=n

[Anonymous]

There are interesting, curious, kind, fun people. And then there are types like OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m a HYPS alum as well and have conducted admissions interviews. I think part of the problem is so many of these kids ARE brilliant and interesting but have been told that they must excel at a sport, volunteer, lead a club, start a charity, know what they want to study. Of course kids who are packaged for success as if it’s a formula aren’t always as passionate or interesting because they’ve never felt completely free to just explore and figure out what their interests really are. This isn’t true for every kid but it certainly is for some.

Since this is anonymous, why don't people just say where they went to school? I went to stanford and I have to say my classmates and recent freshmen were all well rounded. California vibe probably helps.

DD graduated from Stanford two years ago and did not have the same experience. Found that many of her classmates were uber-competitive grinder types. Very heavily focused on STEM, and many of her classmates looked down on her for wanting to pursue a career in the arts. I wish she went somewhere like Brown or Wesleyan.

Of course, Stanford is a great school for many students. Just not a good fit for certain folks.

Your daughter is likely the exception. Majority like it:

https://tableau.stanford.edu/t/IRDS/views/SeniorSurveyPublicDashboards/SeniorSurveyResults?%3Aembed=y&%3Atoolbar=n

I think this supports that poster's point. If most students are uber-competitive grinder types, then it follows that they would like their school if that's the dominant ethos.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m a HYPS alum as well and have conducted admissions interviews. I think part of the problem is so many of these kids ARE brilliant and interesting but have been told that they must excel at a sport, volunteer, lead a club, start a charity, know what they want to study. Of course kids who are packaged for success as if it’s a formula aren’t always as passionate or interesting because they’ve never felt completely free to just explore and figure out what their interests really are. This isn’t true for every kid but it certainly is for some.

Yes, but don’t you see: these are the conformists who have allowed themselves to be so packaged. By definition, they are not as brilliant and interesting as the non-conformists you never interview.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m a HYPS alum as well and have conducted admissions interviews. I think part of the problem is so many of these kids ARE brilliant and interesting but have been told that they must excel at a sport, volunteer, lead a club, start a charity, know what they want to study. Of course kids who are packaged for success as if it’s a formula aren’t always as passionate or interesting because they’ve never felt completely free to just explore and figure out what their interests really are. This isn’t true for every kid but it certainly is for some.

Since this is anonymous, why don't people just say where they went to school? I went to stanford and I have to say my classmates and recent freshmen were all well rounded. California vibe probably helps.

DD graduated from Stanford two years ago and did not have the same experience. Found that many of her classmates were uber-competitive grinder types. Very heavily focused on STEM, and many of her classmates looked down on her for wanting to pursue a career in the arts. I wish she went somewhere like Brown or Wesleyan.

Of course, Stanford is a great school for many students. Just not a good fit for certain folks.

Your daughter is likely the exception. Majority like it:

https://tableau.stanford.edu/t/IRDS/views/SeniorSurveyPublicDashboards/SeniorSurveyResults?%3Aembed=y&%3Atoolbar=n

Whether they liked it is irrelevant. Question is whether they are interesting people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would say that my friends who went to top 10 schools are definitely less fun. Not that they are all stick in the muds, but just not as likely to be really silly or let life get a bit messy.

Just learned tonight that a lot of the “top” kids in DC class (senior) are all on anti-depressants. Many many kids. All going to T20, mostly Ivy.
wtf

(And my kid is also going to an Ivy so it’s not that…) what is going on?

iPhones/SM. Read “the anxious generation” eye-opening the damage they have done to a generation.