What is the most overrated school popular among the dc metro area crowd?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Virginia native, age 52.

I have YET to meet a UVA graduate who doesn’t somehow drop this fact into an initial meeting within 5-10 minutes. Nearly as reflexive as a handshake and always unsolicited. Reminiscent of Andy from The Office name-dropping Cornell!

Also remember the 80s trend (pre magnet decals) when college students affixed sticker decals across their rear windshields with college name. UVA students intentionally chopped off “…of Virginia” and so displayed only “The University.”

Same. Always fun to watch them get sad when a Stanford or Ivy grad mentions their school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Virginia native, age 52.

I have YET to meet a UVA graduate who doesn’t somehow drop this fact into an initial meeting within 5-10 minutes. Nearly as reflexive as a handshake and always unsolicited. Reminiscent of Andy from The Office name-dropping Cornell!

Also remember the 80s trend (pre magnet decals) when college students affixed sticker decals across their rear windshields with college name. UVA students intentionally chopped off “…of Virginia” and so displayed only “The University.”

Same. Always fun to watch them get sad when a Stanford or Ivy grad mentions their school.

Wdym that’s hilarious. Stanford and Ivy grads as coworkers with a public school. Talk about getting humbled.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Virginia native, age 52.

I have YET to meet a UVA graduate who doesn’t somehow drop this fact into an initial meeting within 5-10 minutes. Nearly as reflexive as a handshake and always unsolicited. Reminiscent of Andy from The Office name-dropping Cornell!

Also remember the 80s trend (pre magnet decals) when college students affixed sticker decals across their rear windshields with college name. UVA students intentionally chopped off “…of Virginia” and so displayed only “The University.”

Same. Always fun to watch them get sad when a Stanford or Ivy grad mentions their school.

Wdym that’s hilarious. Stanford and Ivy grads as coworkers with a public school. Talk about getting humbled.

???are UVA grads delusional?

[Anonymous]

Notre Dame. Notre Dame. Notre Dame. People here are insane about that school and its... fine. I have met many ND grads at work and socially and they run the gamut -- basically the same intellectually and socially as any smallish liberal arts college. They are indistinct from, say, JMU grads or people from state universities. Not a bad school, not a great school. Good alumni network though.

But the way people from around here who either went to ND or whose kids go, you'd think it was an Ivy or impossible to get into. It's especially weird when you're talking about grads of private Catholic high schools, since ND recruits aggressively from such schools and it's an obvious feed. Again, nothing against ND but it's not Yale or Harvard, and people absolutely talk about it like it is. It's embarrassing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Notre Dame. Notre Dame. Notre Dame. People here are insane about that school and its... fine. I have met many ND grads at work and socially and they run the gamut -- basically the same intellectually and socially as any smallish liberal arts college. They are indistinct from, say, JMU grads or people from state universities. Not a bad school, not a great school. Good alumni network though.

But the way people from around here who either went to ND or whose kids go, you'd think it was an Ivy or impossible to get into. It's especially weird when you're talking about grads of private Catholic high schools, since ND recruits aggressively from such schools and it's an obvious feed. Again, nothing against ND but it's not Yale or Harvard, and people absolutely talk about it like it is. It's embarrassing.

+10,000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Notre Dame. Notre Dame. Notre Dame. People here are insane about that school and its... fine. I have met many ND grads at work and socially and they run the gamut -- basically the same intellectually and socially as any smallish liberal arts college. They are indistinct from, say, JMU grads or people from state universities. Not a bad school, not a great school. Good alumni network though.

But the way people from around here who either went to ND or whose kids go, you'd think it was an Ivy or impossible to get into. It's especially weird when you're talking about grads of private Catholic high schools, since ND recruits aggressively from such schools and it's an obvious feed. Again, nothing against ND but it's not Yale or Harvard, and people absolutely talk about it like it is. It's embarrassing.

+10,000

The craziest, cringiest, most embarrassing for her Facebook post I have seen in my life was posted by a mom I know of the "moment" her son got into ND this year. I can't even describe it, but it was all about her--fist-pumping, screaming, while the boy sits in the background looking like he's on another planet. I mean, I know the kid probably worked very hard for that acceptance, but for one, it seemed to be much more her moment than his, and moreover, her excitement just didn't fit with the acceptance. It wasn't Princeton.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Notre Dame. Notre Dame. Notre Dame. People here are insane about that school and its... fine. I have met many ND grads at work and socially and they run the gamut -- basically the same intellectually and socially as any smallish liberal arts college. They are indistinct from, say, JMU grads or people from state universities. Not a bad school, not a great school. Good alumni network though.

But the way people from around here who either went to ND or whose kids go, you'd think it was an Ivy or impossible to get into. It's especially weird when you're talking about grads of private Catholic high schools, since ND recruits aggressively from such schools and it's an obvious feed. Again, nothing against ND but it's not Yale or Harvard, and people absolutely talk about it like it is. It's embarrassing.

+10,000

Oh yeah, this. I was confused by this thread when I saw the title but now it makes sense because the view of ND in the DMV is inexplicable compared to how it is viewed elsewhere.

I’m from the West coast and went to a Catholic HS and ND was considered a safety among the smart kids. It’s a good school, and you needed good grades and test scores to get in. But most people would rather have attended one of the better UC schools than ND. Or, if they wanted to go far away, a similar school in a bigger city (Georgetown or GW were both popular for this reason). People talked openly about it being an easier admit than other liberal arts schools, even Catholic ones, because of the Catholic connection (I can’t remember the exact number but ND has a ridiculously large Catholic student population).

But when I moved to DC for work, I was initially confused about the hype around ND. Now I’ve adjusted, but people should be aware that it’s not thought of this way in other parts of the country (not even Boston!), even among Catholics. I don’t know if there is just an unusual number of ND grads here or what, but it’s definitely overrated in DC compared to elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Virginia native, age 52.

I have YET to meet a UVA graduate who doesn’t somehow drop this fact into an initial meeting within 5-10 minutes. Nearly as reflexive as a handshake and always unsolicited. Reminiscent of Andy from The Office name-dropping Cornell!

Also remember the 80s trend (pre magnet decals) when college students affixed sticker decals across their rear windshields with college name. UVA students intentionally chopped off “…of Virginia” and so displayed only “The University.”

Um, sorry but no. The decals were sold that way. Nobody "intentionally chopped off" anything. I agree that it was ridiculous, and didn't have one on my car for just that reason.

I guess we've never met, because I don't ever mention being a UVA alum unless asked. I don't donate, don't own a single piece of UVA merchandise unless you count my diploma and haven't been back to Charlottesville since I graduated. In fact, it's such a non-issue that one of my own kids forgot I went there when she was talking with her summer swim coach, who is a current UVA student. I can see why VA students are attracted to it; I received a solid education at a good price, and the school had a decent reputation even where I'm from (I was an OOS student) but I didn't particularly love it there and was very happy to see my rising college freshman enroll somewhere else.

[Anonymous]

Hey, I didn’t go there, but I’m very happy that my child got in to UVA and will move in to the dorms soon as a first-year. Other options were sooooooo expensive and it seems that the career placement is similar to that of other selective schools.

I can’t see my kid dropping UVA into every conversation.

I do happen to meet into other new parents and we share our enthusiasm and excitement for our kids. I haven’t met any rabid boosters yet, though. I don’t know if they exist outside of the febrile imaginings here.

[Anonymous]

Duke and UVA

[Anonymous]

Uva

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Virginia native, age 52.

I have YET to meet a UVA graduate who doesn’t somehow drop this fact into an initial meeting within 5-10 minutes. Nearly as reflexive as a handshake and always unsolicited. Reminiscent of Andy from The Office name-dropping Cornell!

Also remember the 80s trend (pre magnet decals) when college students affixed sticker decals across their rear windshields with college name. UVA students intentionally chopped off “…of Virginia” and so displayed only “The University.”

Um, sorry but no. The decals were sold that way. Nobody "intentionally chopped off" anything. I agree that it was ridiculous, and didn't have one on my car for just that reason.

I guess we've never met, because I don't ever mention being a UVA alum unless asked. I don't donate, don't own a single piece of UVA merchandise unless you count my diploma and haven't been back to Charlottesville since I graduated. In fact, it's such a non-issue that one of my own kids forgot I went there when she was talking with her summer swim coach, who is a current UVA student. I can see why VA students are attracted to it; I received a solid education at a good price, and the school had a decent reputation even where I'm from (I was an OOS student) but I didn't particularly love it there and was very happy to see my rising college freshman enroll somewhere else.

This PP and NO the decals were NOT sold this way. Perhaps later on they were made this way. Also UVA students are always so pretentious and love to correct
anyone who says freshman v. first yr, campus v. grounds…

And UVA grad who says we haven’t met; truly you’d be a first and and I’d find your humility refreshing. It seems that UVA graduates always lead with this “impressive” information and it’s actually hilarious how this factoid gets dropped - I swear you could be talking about something unrelated and start a timer…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Notre Dame. Notre Dame. Notre Dame. People here are insane about that school and its... fine. I have met many ND grads at work and socially and they run the gamut -- basically the same intellectually and socially as any smallish liberal arts college. They are indistinct from, say, JMU grads or people from state universities. Not a bad school, not a great school. Good alumni network though.

But the way people from around here who either went to ND or whose kids go, you'd think it was an Ivy or impossible to get into. It's especially weird when you're talking about grads of private Catholic high schools, since ND recruits aggressively from such schools and it's an obvious feed. Again, nothing against ND but it's not Yale or Harvard, and people absolutely talk about it like it is. It's embarrassing.

+10,000

The craziest, cringiest, most embarrassing for her Facebook post I have seen in my life was posted by a mom I know of the "moment" her son got into ND this year. I can't even describe it, but it was all about her--fist-pumping, screaming, while the boy sits in the background looking like he's on another planet. I mean, I know the kid probably worked very hard for that acceptance, but for one, it seemed to be much more her moment than his, and moreover, her excitement just didn't fit with the acceptance. It wasn't Princeton.

Catholic school valedictorians often don't apply to Ivies. ND is their no. 1.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hey, I didn’t go there, but I’m very happy that my child got in to UVA and will move in to the dorms soon as a first-year. Other options were sooooooo expensive and it seems that the career placement is similar to that of other selective schools.

I can’t see my kid dropping UVA into every conversation.

I do happen to meet into other new parents and we share our enthusiasm and excitement for our kids. I haven’t met any rabid boosters yet, though. I don’t know if they exist outside of the febrile imaginings here.

Don’t worry, they will. It brings out the inner douche every time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Notre Dame. Notre Dame. Notre Dame. People here are insane about that school and its... fine. I have met many ND grads at work and socially and they run the gamut -- basically the same intellectually and socially as any smallish liberal arts college. They are indistinct from, say, JMU grads or people from state universities. Not a bad school, not a great school. Good alumni network though.

But the way people from around here who either went to ND or whose kids go, you'd think it was an Ivy or impossible to get into. It's especially weird when you're talking about grads of private Catholic high schools, since ND recruits aggressively from such schools and it's an obvious feed. Again, nothing against ND but it's not Yale or Harvard, and people absolutely talk about it like it is. It's embarrassing.

+10,000

The craziest, cringiest, most embarrassing for her Facebook post I have seen in my life was posted by a mom I know of the "moment" her son got into ND this year. I can't even describe it, but it was all about her--fist-pumping, screaming, while the boy sits in the background looking like he's on another planet. I mean, I know the kid probably worked very hard for that acceptance, but for one, it seemed to be much more her moment than his, and moreover, her excitement just didn't fit with the acceptance. It wasn't Princeton.

Catholic school valedictorians often don't apply to Ivies. ND is their no. 1.

And? This is a meaningless metric in terms of the school’s quality. “Catholic school grads prefer Catholic university with massive Catholic student population.” All this indicates is that many Catholic school grads seek out familiar, comfortable college environments where they will be members of the dominant cultural group. Cool?