Why top tier* is important:

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My sister went to GWU, is a Senior Vice President in a top tier company. 2 Harvard, 1 Duke and 1 Yale graduate report to her, success is a combination of things.

Your sister is probably hot (?) and has traded on flirtation, affirmative action and possibly handies to rise the ranks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: As a graduate of a good state flagship U who has kid that landed in one of those "elite" universities, I will tell you that I never realized the extent of the differences between the two until seeing the experience of my DC. I loved my college experience and it got me eventually into the professional school and career I hoped for, but the comparison is like apples and oranges - the people, opportunities, the education, the confidence quietly instilled. I never understood it before. I almost wish I didn't understand it now. For 40 years I argued against any meaningful positive differences, but I just didn't know.

Nailed it. Merely a tour and info session of an elite during the school year will wake you up. It's night and day, and it's very obvious.

Tours are marketing. Yes, schools asking you for $60k a year have better marketing than state schools. They also have much nicer sheets at the Ritz Carlton than the Hilton. I'm it saying there aren't real differences but please beware of falling for marketing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Huh. I went to Binghamton. I'm happily married to someone who went to a state school in their state. I've NEVER apologized for where I went to school and never would. I've never had a hard time getting a job. I've never felt I have to PROVE how smart I am.

This seems like a load of crap.

All due respect, you have no idea what an elite college is like. As Rumsfeld would put it, the elite college experience is a known unknown to you.

All due respect, you have no idea what an state school is like. The state school experience (aka not being coddled) is an known unknown to you. (you actually have to earn an A)

In high school I dual enrolled at a top 50 flagship U and the kids were largely idiots. Half the time they were asleep and the prof carried the conversation. Most didn't read the material and tried to bullshit. There were kids that did read the material but were so dumb their comprehension was middle school. I have no idea how so many of those kids were actually in college. I cringed at least 5 times every lecture because they were all so stupid. I took five courses total at this U.

At a very well known Ivy, I knew someone who was getting a D in class, and the university let this person drop out a few weeks before the end of the session. They let this person take the class over 2x to get a passing grade. They do this so that the average GPA of the school doesn't get affected.

In a state Univ. (and probably some other privates) if you are getting a D in class, they won't let you drop out a couple of weeks before the semester (or quarter) ends. You just get stuck with a D, and they don't let you retake the class to get a better grade.

After I heard about this incident from my "friend", I lost some respect for that Ivy.

Yes, elites are so easy because kids that aced 15 APs in high school aren't capable of getting A's anymore in college?

Versus the average state school kid who got 2s 3s and 4s of the few APs they took.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My sister went to GWU, is a Senior Vice President in a top tier company. 2 Harvard, 1 Duke and 1 Yale graduate report to her, success is a combination of things.

Your sister is probably hot (?) and has traded on flirtation, affirmative action and possibly handies to rise the ranks.

Wow - what a sad little thing you are be to be so threatened by strong women. Bet you're voting for Trump, huh?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: As a graduate of a good state flagship U who has kid that landed in one of those "elite" universities, I will tell you that I never realized the extent of the differences between the two until seeing the experience of my DC. I loved my college experience and it got me eventually into the professional school and career I hoped for, but the comparison is like apples and oranges - the people, opportunities, the education, the confidence quietly instilled. I never understood it before. I almost wish I didn't understand it now. For 40 years I argued against any meaningful positive differences, but I just didn't know.

Nailed it. Merely a tour and info session of an elite during the school year will wake you up. It's night and day, and it's very obvious.

Tours are marketing. Yes, schools asking you for $60k a year have better marketing than state schools. They also have much nicer sheets at the Ritz Carlton than the Hilton. I'm it saying there aren't real differences but please beware of falling for marketing.

You can tell the candle power of the guide, the vibe of the current students around you, just everything. It's hard to explain and you'll never get it or appreciate it unless you have actually been on an elite campus. Also, admissions events are sort of a clusterf-ck at state schools; elites have their game TIGHT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: As a graduate of a good state flagship U who has kid that landed in one of those "elite" universities, I will tell you that I never realized the extent of the differences between the two until seeing the experience of my DC. I loved my college experience and it got me eventually into the professional school and career I hoped for, but the comparison is like apples and oranges - the people, opportunities, the education, the confidence quietly instilled. I never understood it before. I almost wish I didn't understand it now. For 40 years I argued against any meaningful positive differences, but I just didn't know.

Nailed it. Merely a tour and info session of an elite during the school year will wake you up. It's night and day, and it's very obvious.

Tours are marketing. Yes, schools asking you for $60k a year have better marketing than state schools. They also have much nicer sheets at the Ritz Carlton than the Hilton. I'm it saying there aren't real differences but please beware of falling for marketing.

You can tell the candle power of the guide, the vibe of the current students around you, just everything. It's hard to explain and you'll never get it or appreciate it unless you have actually been on an elite campus. Also, admissions events are sort of a clusterf-ck at state schools; elites have their game TIGHT.

Perhaps you misunderstand. I went to a top-3 liberal arts college. These institutions are not mystical secrets; many of us have been there and then returned to the regular world and -- astonishingly -- still find things of value in public institutions and "regular" people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Huh. I went to Binghamton. I'm happily married to someone who went to a state school in their state. I've NEVER apologized for where I went to school and never would. I've never had a hard time getting a job. I've never felt I have to PROVE how smart I am.

This seems like a load of crap.

All due respect, you have no idea what an elite college is like. As Rumsfeld would put it, the elite college experience is a known unknown to you.

All due respect, you have no idea what an state school is like. The state school experience (aka not being coddled) is an known unknown to you. (you actually have to earn an A)

In high school I dual enrolled at a top 50 flagship U and the kids were largely idiots. Half the time they were asleep and the prof carried the conversation. Most didn't read the material and tried to bullshit. There were kids that did read the material but were so dumb their comprehension was middle school. I have no idea how so many of those kids were actually in college. I cringed at least 5 times every lecture because they were all so stupid. I took five courses total at this U.

At a very well known Ivy, I knew someone who was getting a D in class, and the university let this person drop out a few weeks before the end of the session. They let this person take the class over 2x to get a passing grade. They do this so that the average GPA of the school doesn't get affected.

In a state Univ. (and probably some other privates) if you are getting a D in class, they won't let you drop out a couple of weeks before the semester (or quarter) ends. You just get stuck with a D, and they don't let you retake the class to get a better grade.

After I heard about this incident from my "friend", I lost some respect for that Ivy.

Yes, elites are so easy because kids that aced 15 APs in high school aren't capable of getting A's anymore in college?

Versus the average state school kid who got 2s 3s and 4s of the few APs they took.

+1

Sorry, the idiot ratio is much higher at state schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: As a graduate of a good state flagship U who has kid that landed in one of those "elite" universities, I will tell you that I never realized the extent of the differences between the two until seeing the experience of my DC. I loved my college experience and it got me eventually into the professional school and career I hoped for, but the comparison is like apples and oranges - the people, opportunities, the education, the confidence quietly instilled. I never understood it before. I almost wish I didn't understand it now. For 40 years I argued against any meaningful positive differences, but I just didn't know.

Nailed it. Merely a tour and info session of an elite during the school year will wake you up. It's night and day, and it's very obvious.

Tours are marketing. Yes, schools asking you for $60k a year have better marketing than state schools. They also have much nicer sheets at the Ritz Carlton than the Hilton. I'm it saying there aren't real differences but please beware of falling for marketing.

You can tell the candle power of the guide, the vibe of the current students around you, just everything. It's hard to explain and you'll never get it or appreciate it unless you have actually been on an elite campus. Also, admissions events are sort of a clusterf-ck at state schools; elites have their game TIGHT.

They really don't. The tours and info sessions at Penn and Cornell were among the worst we attended. Like herding cattle. There were 1000 people at the Cornell info session and it was boring. And the campus was kind of dingy and depressing. We liked Dartmouth's program. UVA and Michigan had some of the better sessions and vibes and they are public. The SLACs tend to do the best job of presenting themselves and that was true for top 5 to 40th.

[Anonymous]

We toured Duke and UVA back to back one weekend and it was like being on different planets. We toured Yale last summer and it was magical.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My sister went to GWU, is a Senior Vice President in a top tier company. 2 Harvard, 1 Duke and 1 Yale graduate report to her, success is a combination of things.

Your sister is probably hot (?) and has traded on flirtation, affirmative action and possibly handies to rise the ranks.

Nope!Sorry to disappoint,not really hot, no flirtation, no affirmative action. She is whip smart though, get your head out of your ass, somethings can't be measured by tests/schools e.g ability to work your butt off, ability to read people and work around personality issues, being politically astute in tough corporate climate.

Karl Rove never even completed his graduate degree, I am no fan of him but I am sure there are plenty of Ivy people standing in line to kiss his feet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My sister went to GWU, is a Senior Vice President in a top tier company. 2 Harvard, 1 Duke and 1 Yale graduate report to her, success is a combination of things.

Your sister is probably hot (?) and has traded on flirtation, affirmative action and possibly handies to rise the ranks.

Nope!Sorry to disappoint,not really hot, no flirtation, no affirmative action. She is whip smart though, get your head out of your ass, somethings can't be measured by tests/schools e.g ability to work your butt off, ability to read people and work around personality issues, being politically astute in tough corporate climate.

Karl Rove never even completed his graduate degree, I am no fan of him but I am sure there are plenty of Ivy people standing in line to kiss his feet.

What's her marital status? Any kids?

[Anonymous]

Another one who attended a lesser Flagship U. Feel free to continue to underestimate me.

[Anonymous]

I understand all these reasons.

But they are not the RIGHT reasons to choose a university.

So it's sad, isn't it, that we do things to keep up appearances when really a majority of people would have been happier elsewhere?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Huh. I went to Binghamton. I'm happily married to someone who went to a state school in their state. I've NEVER apologized for where I went to school and never would. I've never had a hard time getting a job. I've never felt I have to PROVE how smart I am.

This seems like a load of crap.

All due respect, you have no idea what an elite college is like. As Rumsfeld would put it, the elite college experience is a known unknown to you.

All due respect, you have no idea what an state school is like. The state school experience (aka not being coddled) is an known unknown to you. (you actually have to earn an A)

In high school I dual enrolled at a top 50 flagship U and the kids were largely idiots. Half the time they were asleep and the prof carried the conversation. Most didn't read the material and tried to bullshit. There were kids that did read the material but were so dumb their comprehension was middle school. I have no idea how so many of those kids were actually in college. I cringed at least 5 times every lecture because they were all so stupid. I took five courses total at this U.

At a very well known Ivy, I knew someone who was getting a D in class, and the university let this person drop out a few weeks before the end of the session. They let this person take the class over 2x to get a passing grade. They do this so that the average GPA of the school doesn't get affected.

In a state Univ. (and probably some other privates) if you are getting a D in class, they won't let you drop out a couple of weeks before the semester (or quarter) ends. You just get stuck with a D, and they don't let you retake the class to get a better grade.

After I heard about this incident from my "friend", I lost some respect for that Ivy.

Yes, elites are so easy because kids that aced 15 APs in high school aren't capable of getting A's anymore in college?

Versus the average state school kid who got 2s 3s and 4s of the few APs they took.

Wow. You missed the point entirely. It was about students at elites being coddled. I bolded the phrase above in the PP that I was responding to to make it easier for you to follow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, I don't buy the not having to prove how smart you are. I have met many idiots who went to top tier schools, and many brilliant people that didn't. I suspect most of us have similar experiences.

+1

When I was a new law grad, I watched my boss destroy a Harvard law grad in a county court in the middle of nowhere USA. She flew in for the hearing, thinking it was a slam dunk and people in flyover country are idiots. didn't have good facts. She didn't have good law. She didn't have home field advantage. Her client was an asshole. Afterwards, she was in the bathroom sobbing "But I went to HARVARD!"