Are Ivy League Schools Becoming More or Less Popular?

[Anonymous]

I went to MIT 30 years ago and took a couple classes at Harvard. I didn't think the Harvard kids were especially impressive. I think MIT admission rate was in the 35% range, so not especially impressive although IME more self selecting for a mathy brain, not just a rich-ish brain.

In the 30 years since that time, I've met a million smart people and the idea that the smartest people are from HYP is laughable. Maybe you work in an industry that doesn't attract smart people

[Anonymous]

Another let’s put down the Ivies thread and make ourselves feel better that our kids got rejected and/or don’t stand a chance.

If these schools don’t matter/are going down in popularity, why do ridiculous threads like this one pop up at least once a week?!?! People usually don’t spend their time tearing down institutions that are becoming less popular, just the opposite.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went to MIT 30 years ago and took a couple classes at Harvard. I didn't think the Harvard kids were especially impressive. I think MIT admission rate was in the 35% range, so not especially impressive although IME more self selecting for a mathy brain, not just a rich-ish brain.

In the 30 years since that time, I've met a million smart people and the idea that the smartest people are from HYP is laughable. Maybe you work in an industry that doesn't attract smart people

You sound like a stem type who doesn’t even have the capability to differentiate a smart non-stem person from a very smart one.

Just look at the famous alumni of HYP versus other schools. It speaks for itself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another let’s put down the Ivies thread and make ourselves feel better that our kids got rejected and/or don’t stand a chance.

If these schools don’t matter/are going down in popularity, why do ridiculous threads like this one pop up at least once a week?!?! People usually don’t spend their time tearing down institutions that are becoming less popular, just the opposite.

Ivies have gotten a lot of attention in popular culture for years. People have an interest in what's happening at those schools, whether it's positive or negative, and most of the trends are positive when it comes to inclusiveness and negative when it comes to academic excellence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another let’s put down the Ivies thread and make ourselves feel better that our kids got rejected and/or don’t stand a chance.

If these schools don’t matter/are going down in popularity, why do ridiculous threads like this one pop up at least once a week?!?! People usually don’t spend their time tearing down institutions that are becoming less popular, just the opposite.

I think the idea is not to crap on the ivies but point out that they have lost a lot of their relative edge. They still attract “the best” but the gap has shrunk. The difference between a kid at Harvard today versus say Colgate is like the difference between Harvard and Penn thirty years ago.

I think now that people realize it’s almost an impossible dream unless a lot of things come together (perfect academics with hooks in the context of some carefully curated package), our collective mental energy and imagination shifts towards more plausible options that offer the things people historically wanted out of Ivy League schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to MIT 30 years ago and took a couple classes at Harvard. I didn't think the Harvard kids were especially impressive. I think MIT admission rate was in the 35% range, so not especially impressive although IME more self selecting for a mathy brain, not just a rich-ish brain.

In the 30 years since that time, I've met a million smart people and the idea that the smartest people are from HYP is laughable. Maybe you work in an industry that doesn't attract smart people

You sound like a stem type who doesn’t even have the capability to differentiate a smart non-stem person from a very smart one.

Just look at the famous alumni of HYP versus other schools. It speaks for itself.

I work in the larger tech industry, sure. Because I was born in 1970 and tech was the most exciting thing happening in America in the second half of the 20th century. Same way I moved to the Seattle right after graduation and then to Silicon Valley 10 years later. The idea that people who chased exploration, ingenuity, adventure and - sure - fixture lack some kind of social skills is laughable. If anything, we look at the smartish kids who said, "not sure what I want to do, law school, I guess" and think .. what a way to live your life! And those are the people I see now in the DC universe. Smartest? NFW.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to MIT 30 years ago and took a couple classes at Harvard. I didn't think the Harvard kids were especially impressive. I think MIT admission rate was in the 35% range, so not especially impressive although IME more self selecting for a mathy brain, not just a rich-ish brain.

In the 30 years since that time, I've met a million smart people and the idea that the smartest people are from HYP is laughable. Maybe you work in an industry that doesn't attract smart people

You sound like a stem type who doesn’t even have the capability to differentiate a smart non-stem person from a very smart one.

Just look at the famous alumni of HYP versus other schools. It speaks for itself.

I work in the larger tech industry, sure. Because I was born in 1970 and tech was the most exciting thing happening in America in the second half of the 20th century. Same way I moved to the Seattle right after graduation and then to Silicon Valley 10 years later. The idea that people who chased exploration, ingenuity, adventure and - sure - fixture lack some kind of social skills is laughable. If anything, we look at the smartish kids who said, "not sure what I want to do, law school, I guess" and think .. what a way to live your life! And those are the people I see now in the DC universe. Smartest? NFW.

I’m suggesting as a stem type you probably can’t really perceive the gradients of non-stem intelligence. Like an engineer looking at a Picasso and comparing it to finger painting.

But even within tech, who has prevailed? Zuck. Gates. Bezos. All the Stanford guys.

[Anonymous]

Why attend Penn where you have so many neurotic people from Long Island, tri state or Florida when you can attend CU boulder where there is fresh mountain air, healthy sporty attractive students in an effortless manner, ski, chillaxing etc?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why attend Penn where you have so many neurotic people from Long Island, tri state or Florida when you can attend CU boulder where there is fresh mountain air, healthy sporty attractive students in an effortless manner, ski, chillaxing etc?

Tell me you’re an anti-Semite without saying you’re an anti-Semite.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ivy grads are still thought of as smart, but they have also earned a reputation of being unable to exist side by side with people who don’t have similar views. Whether or not they actually are unable to work with a variety of people is irrelevant. That’s the image they portray with their protests, trigger alarms, & safe spaces. Think I’m exaggerating? Halloween is approaching—it’s only a matter of time until an Ivy campus has a collective meltdown because someone wore sombrero to a party.

Some employers don’t mind that. Others don’t want to hire someone who they think might faint or whip out a bullhorn if a co-worker mentions they are in favor of something like voters should be American citizens with an ID card.

Plenty of conservatives at HYP. SLAC grads are more likely to be the ones who can’t handle a mainstream non-leftist opinion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ivy grads are still thought of as smart, but they have also earned a reputation of being unable to exist side by side with people who don’t have similar views. Whether or not they actually are unable to work with a variety of people is irrelevant. That’s the image they portray with their protests, trigger alarms, & safe spaces. Think I’m exaggerating? Halloween is approaching—it’s only a matter of time until an Ivy campus has a collective meltdown because someone wore sombrero to a party.

Some employers don’t mind that. Others don’t want to hire someone who they think might faint or whip out a bullhorn if a co-worker mentions they are in favor of something like voters should be American citizens with an ID card.

Plenty of conservatives at HYP. SLAC grads are more likely to be the ones who can’t handle a mainstream non-leftist opinion.

Probably varies quite a lot by SLAC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why attend Penn where you have so many neurotic people from Long Island, tri state or Florida when you can attend CU boulder where there is fresh mountain air, healthy sporty attractive students in an effortless manner, ski, chillaxing etc?

Tell me you’re an anti-Semite without saying you’re an anti-Semite.

I didn’t know trump was Jewish. Everything i wrote described trump (penn alum) and trump types.

You are the antisemite for jumping to conclusions

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why attend Penn where you have so many neurotic people from Long Island, tri state or Florida when you can attend CU boulder where there is fresh mountain air, healthy sporty attractive students in an effortless manner, ski, chillaxing etc?

Tell me you’re an anti-Semite without saying you’re an anti-Semite.

I didn’t know trump was Jewish. Everything i wrote described trump (penn alum) and trump types.

You are the antisemite for jumping to conclusions

Who mentioned Trump?

You said neurotic, Long Island, Tri-state and Florida. Gee what can that mean? And you picked the most Jewish Ivy.

Then you contrasted it with a Coors commercial by randomly comparing it to Boulder, evoking images of healthy Aryans at play in the mountains.

We may be neurotic and non-sporty but we ain’t stupid!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why attend Penn where you have so many neurotic people from Long Island, tri state or Florida when you can attend CU boulder where there is fresh mountain air, healthy sporty attractive students in an effortless manner, ski, chillaxing etc?

And honestly are you making the case that the Ivy League and even Penn (notwithstanding the fact that he went to Wharton) is Trumpy? Penn, which houses the Biden Center?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to MIT 30 years ago and took a couple classes at Harvard. I didn't think the Harvard kids were especially impressive. I think MIT admission rate was in the 35% range, so not especially impressive although IME more self selecting for a mathy brain, not just a rich-ish brain.

In the 30 years since that time, I've met a million smart people and the idea that the smartest people are from HYP is laughable. Maybe you work in an industry that doesn't attract smart people

You sound like a stem type who doesn’t even have the capability to differentiate a smart non-stem person from a very smart one.

Just look at the famous alumni of HYP versus other schools. It speaks for itself.

I work in the larger tech industry, sure. Because I was born in 1970 and tech was the most exciting thing happening in America in the second half of the 20th century. Same way I moved to the Seattle right after graduation and then to Silicon Valley 10 years later. The idea that people who chased exploration, ingenuity, adventure and - sure - fixture lack some kind of social skills is laughable. If anything, we look at the smartish kids who said, "not sure what I want to do, law school, I guess" and think .. what a way to live your life! And those are the people I see now in the DC universe. Smartest? NFW.

I’m suggesting as a stem type you probably can’t really perceive the gradients of non-stem intelligence. Like an engineer looking at a Picasso and comparing it to finger painting.

But even within tech, who has prevailed? Zuck. Gates. Bezos. All the Stanford guys.

Your knowledge base sounds extremely limited