People who went to crummy colleges go overboard with grad/prof college bragging?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anyone else notice this? I thought your alma mater, the place you made the most memories, had the most fun, deepest connection to is undergrad? Gal in my spin class is always wearing cute Georgetown shirts and has a Georgetown sticker on her Jeep. Come to find out she went to Florida State, only did a one year grad program at GU. My husband's bff from college got an MBA from Duke's business school and his theater/sports TV room is decked out in Duke Blue Devils everything - no sign of anything from his undergrad. Seems desperate. Are they embarrassed about where they went to college?

I went to a "crappy" undergrad program and a very "prestigious" graduate program. All of my gear and loyalties lie with my undergraduate program. I would agree that people who do this are probably suffering from an inferiority complex. I don't think most people with this kind of educational background act this way however. It's just that the ones that do are very noticeable.

[Anonymous]

My husband’s “memories” and connection to a school are definitely deeper for his PhD program (flagship state school) than undergrad (Ivy).

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I have a friend who went to UMD undergrad and was a huge Terps fan. Then he went into a 2 year grad program and completely switched his allegiance to Georgetown. He wore a ton of Hoyas gear and got season tickets to basketball games. It was a status move for him completely. He didn't even want to be a fan of both--only Georgetown because he thought it would help him network with a more prestigious crowd if he did.

Hilarious. You think he lives in fear of people asking where he really went to college, thus teasing out non-peer background?

He wants to be known as a "Georgetown Guy" rather than "UMD Guy". I don't think he lives in fear of it, he just wants people to associate him with Georgetown. He just dismisses his former ties to UMD, although he was all in on that before Georgetown was in the picture.

I forgot to mention that he has stayed at the same company he interned with when he was in college 20 years ago, but hasn't moved up all that much in the ranks. So it's not like his Georgetown connections have helped him become upwardly mobile.

You don't sound like a very good "friend".

Maybe I'm not but he's fake and I learned his true colors when he acted like a completely different person once he latched onto Georgetown the way he did. So we're cordial and friendly, but no longer very close friends. He showed a few signs here and there that he was a social climber and somewhat fake, but the Georgetown stuff was kind of the straw that broke the camel's back. He pulled the same elitism when it was time to buy a house and would only consider certain zip codes because of how it would look from a social perspective. Just not the kind of person I want to be close with. To each his own.

You sound jealous of his Georgetown connection. Let. It. Go.

[Anonymous]

I think it just depends where people get more involved in the campus culture, have a bunch of friends, etc..

If you go to a school like Duke at any point, which has an all-consuming basketball fan culture, you could totally get drawn into it while getting an MA since it's fun. If you went to BFE college for undergrad whose crowning athletic achievement is underwater basket-weaving, you might not have ever participated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I got an MBA and it really shaped me. I'm more likely to wear a shirt from there than my undergrad, even though both were top schools. You're over-thinking.

Just being observant. The mental gymnastics people perform to rationalize why they're obsessed with projecting [higher] status is fascinating, to me.

What's fascinating to me is the notion that anyone can know what other people's motives and feelings are.

Huh.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I have a friend who went to UMD undergrad and was a huge Terps fan. Then he went into a 2 year grad program and completely switched his allegiance to Georgetown. He wore a ton of Hoyas gear and got season tickets to basketball games. It was a status move for him completely. He didn't even want to be a fan of both--only Georgetown because he thought it would help him network with a more prestigious crowd if he did.

Hilarious. You think he lives in fear of people asking where he really went to college, thus teasing out non-peer background?

He wants to be known as a "Georgetown Guy" rather than "UMD Guy". I don't think he lives in fear of it, he just wants people to associate him with Georgetown. He just dismisses his former ties to UMD, although he was all in on that before Georgetown was in the picture.

I forgot to mention that he has stayed at the same company he interned with when he was in college 20 years ago, but hasn't moved up all that much in the ranks. So it's not like his Georgetown connections have helped him become upwardly mobile.

You don't sound like a very good "friend".

Maybe I'm not but he's fake and I learned his true colors when he acted like a completely different person once he latched onto Georgetown the way he did. So we're cordial and friendly, but no longer very close friends. He showed a few signs here and there that he was a social climber and somewhat fake, but the Georgetown stuff was kind of the straw that broke the camel's back. He pulled the same elitism when it was time to buy a house and would only consider certain zip codes because of how it would look from a social perspective. Just not the kind of person I want to be close with. To each his own.

You sound jealous of his Georgetown connection. Let. It. Go.

No, I'm just identifying with OP's thread. I work in a field where a Georgetown connection wouldn't do anything for me. FWIW, I also went to UMD for undergrad and then a much more prestigious school in name for a grad program. I just don't like fake people. I'll stop posting about it here if it makes you feel better.

[Anonymous]

They applied to and attended the school- they have absolutely every right to wear their spirit wear, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Errrrr.... they're supporting a school they like.

+1
And that they went to and received a degree from. I don't see the problem. OP, you sound very insecure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is the dumbest thing. You know what also happens? People who never went to college get attached to the sports of one and decorate their basements and wear the gear constantly. Does that mean they're insecure that they didn't go to college and are trying to make it look like they did?

Probably not. They probably just like the team, had an uncle who went/played there, or any number of 700 million reasons, none of which make a damn bit of difference to anyone else's life but their own.

THIS. My son wears gear from a school out west that he'll never actually attend, but he reveres their football team. Same reason anyone wears gear with certain team names - they're fans. Not sure why this is complicated, but DCUM never disappoints.

[Anonymous]

It depends on where they most identified and enjoyed. Can certainly see that if someone lives in the DC area, its much easier to get Georgetown merchandise and go to meetups and reunions.

My DH identifies more with his grad school than undergrad. In undergrad he had to live at home and had very little fun; in grad school he had a great bunch of friends and lived in an area he liked better.

The fact that your Georgetown friend lives here instead of Florida may mean she likes it better.

[Anonymous]

I would think you were pretty insecure for noticing...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The number of folks in n Arlington who appear to be 30 to 85 who wear college gear while out is mind boggling. Stunted development.

Um... they could be supporting their kids' or grandkids' schools. Ever considered that? I wear sweatshirts from my son's college all the time. Because I like it and I'm proud of him. Go figure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So here’s the deal. In the DC area, which worships top colleges, it takes balls of steel to wear gear from, say George Mason, American, JMU, Maryland, etc.

You must be joking. Or you're incredibly out of touch. Probably the latter. Everyone I know wears gear from these colleges, as well as other well-known VA schools. You know... because we live here and we're proud of these universities.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Personally I had more fun in grad school than undergrad. But I don't wear "gear" from either institution. Being all excited about your alma mater(s) is really 20-something. No more than 5 years after you graduate, you should be over it and nobody gives a shit where you went to school anyway.

Lol! I once dated a 50-something year old guy who had gone to Cornell thirty years prior and talked about it *constantly*.

I know a 40-something woman who went to Davidson and also talks about it constantly. She was so put out when I first met her and told her I wasn't sure where Davidson was.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So here’s the deal. In the DC area, which worships top colleges, it takes balls of steel to wear gear from, say George Mason, American, JMU, Maryland, etc.

DP. But I see people wearing this all the time. And while not top schools, they're still good schools! And I would never judge, they should wear it.

College graduates have already done more than the vast majority of Americans who don't seek any form of college education after high school.
70% of Americans do not have an undergraduate degree; 90% don't have a graduate degree. I think Census bureau data said something around <2% have post-graduate/doctoral.

I swear, DCUM user demographics are as evidential of reality as a unicorn is of utopia.

+1,000