Would you say that students at CMU, JHU, Northwestern, Duke, or UChicago tend to be more down-to-earth and hardworking?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can DCUM get over itself? Your kid isn’t too good for Harvard just because you’re obsessed with grandstanding over grade inflation. It’s gonna be a rude awakening when you discover employers don’t give a crap and aren’t obsessed with the grades of these elite institutions.

You sound salty. Chill—it’s fine. No one’s hiring anyway. Actually, scratch that—everyone’s firing.

Salty, because I address the elephant in the room that most people’s children work very very hard at any of the top schools and don’t create threads asking moms to choose the Top school that’s rigorous enough for my precious DC, because I’m too good for grade inflation?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can DCUM get over itself? Your kid isn’t too good for Harvard just because you’re obsessed with grandstanding over grade inflation. It’s gonna be a rude awakening when you discover employers don’t give a crap and aren’t obsessed with the grades of these elite institutions.

You sound salty. Chill—it’s fine. No one’s hiring anyway. Actually, scratch that—everyone’s firing.

Salty, because I address the elephant in the room that most people’s children work very very hard at any of the top schools and don’t create threads asking moms to choose the Top school that’s rigorous enough for my precious DC, because I’m too good for grade inflation?

Sure, that doesn’t mean their parents can’t help guide them on which schools might be worth considering. It is not elephant in the room. It is called taking good care of their children and watching out the right fit for them

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can DCUM get over itself? Your kid isn’t too good for Harvard just because you’re obsessed with grandstanding over grade inflation. It’s gonna be a rude awakening when you discover employers don’t give a crap and aren’t obsessed with the grades of these elite institutions.

You sound salty. Chill—it’s fine. No one’s hiring anyway. Actually, scratch that—everyone’s firing.

Salty, because I address the elephant in the room that most people’s children work very very hard at any of the top schools and don’t create threads asking moms to choose the Top school that’s rigorous enough for my precious DC, because I’m too good for grade inflation?

Why are you so angry?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Work hard play hard: Penn, Duke, Dartmouth

I’m exploring non-Ivy options because of all the grade inflation and the constant chatter about it — not to mention the reputation for wealthy, overly polished students at the Ivies. I think the ideal balance would be a school with genuinely intellectual and hardworking students, but not ones who are overly nerdy.

Exactly. I love the Catholic and Jesuit schools for that reason - and not the highest ranked ones (BC, GT, ND). Go down a few levels to find humbler kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think a lower percentage of private school kids would be a good sign. But any of these “elite” schools are going to have a swath of monied and entitled kids. We toured a couple regional universities and it was striking how much more earnest, down to earth, and cost-conscious the kids seemed.

Exactly! I mentioned lower ranked Jesuit schools. Many are also considered regional schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Work hard play hard: Penn, Duke, Dartmouth

I’m exploring non-Ivy options because of all the grade inflation and the constant chatter about it — not to mention the reputation for wealthy, overly polished students at the Ivies. I think the ideal balance would be a school with genuinely intellectual and hardworking students, but not ones who are overly nerdy.

Exactly. I love the Catholic and Jesuit schools for that reason - and not the highest ranked ones (BC, GT, ND). Go down a few levels to find humbler kids.

I find it hard to take wealth comments seriously when we mention some of the wealthiest (both institutional and student body) colleges in the world.

This thread definitely has some strange intentions.

[Anonymous]

Median family income Duke (69% from the top 20%): $186,700
Median Family Income UChicago: $134,000 (58% from the top 20%)
Median family income Carnegie Mellon: $154,000 (66% from the top 20%)
Median family income Northwestern: $171,200 (66% from the top 20%)

…sounds pretty spoiled.

[Anonymous]

Notre Dame must get tired of being called Jesuit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Work hard play hard: Penn, Duke, Dartmouth

Work hard play hard is NOT CMU, JHU, or Chicago…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another thread in which people generalize huge groups of students. OP, every school has a bunch of different “types.”

I was thinking the same thing. When you take out the wealthiest 10-20% of kids (including those who “flaunt” their wealth), you’re left with A LOT of people.

For example, Duke has 6,500 undergrads. Let’s say even 1,500 of them are ridiculously rich kids who (a) flaunt their money; and (b) spend their weekends partying in fields and at off-campus frats. That’s fine. What can you tell us about the other 5,000 kids??

Same for these other schools.

I get there are some obvious stereotypes - often subsets or cliques of kids that are showy and highly visible. But how about the rest of the kids, who number in the thousands and are actually the majority?

[Anonymous]

down-to-earth is not Duke

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:down-to-earth is not Duke

Some of the kindest, most humble, down-to-earth people I know went to Duke, and I know a few kids there now who also fit that description. Yes, Duke has its fair share of d-bag kids, but there are plenty of others as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m hoping to send my kid to a pragmatic school with equally ambitious peers — a place where students work hard and play hard (not just coast on grade inflation). Would you say these schools fit that kind of profile better?

There are no schools that are great. There are only great students. Great students are everywhere. Great students are made not by schools but by their families -
- have the money to educate your children and do not neglect and abuse them
- have functional, intact, loving and safe families. don't have more kids than you can give full attention to
- prioritize education of your children
- be very well informed about all the process, curriculum so that you are a source of guidance for your children
- always make sure that your kid has the support of a team of people that can take care of their mental, academic, physical, emotional, social well being. Make sure that they have balanced lifestyle.
- have tangible and achievable goals for them.

I was very attentive to the curriculum of the schools to which my DS applied, it played a big role in the school he selected (not just the major but the classes) and I still pay attention to it at his school. As noted by the poster, this knowledge helps you provide good guidance.

[Anonymous]

Dont think any school where the COA is over $90k is "down to earth".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another thread in which people generalize huge groups of students. OP, every school has a bunch of different “types.”

I was thinking the same thing. When you take out the wealthiest 10-20% of kids (including those who “flaunt” their wealth), you’re left with A LOT of people.

For example, Duke has 6,500 undergrads. Let’s say even 1,500 of them are ridiculously rich kids who (a) flaunt their money; and (b) spend their weekends partying in fields and at off-campus frats. That’s fine. What can you tell us about the other 5,000 kids??

Same for these other schools.

I get there are some obvious stereotypes - often subsets or cliques of kids that are showy and highly visible. But how about the rest of the kids, who number in the thousands and are actually the majority?

Having 1500 uber rich kids on campus is so different from having 150 uber rich kids. Completely, completely, different vibes. What are you talking about?