Ivy Strivers have explaining to do

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It will blow your mind Op- but many did not “strive”.

My kid didn’t think about college until summer of Junior year. Put a list together in the Fall-from T1-T40/50.

He was accepted to a T-10, an Ivy, lots of T20s RD unhooked. Never would have thought he’d be at an Ivy.

He always did the things he liked to do—lots of his sport, some community service, summer job, etc. Never had a special project or go to any of those pay to play academic summer programs. He is a great writer and had a perfect academic record and very high scores- without tutors or a paid essay coach/counselor.

You should check yourself because referring to kids as “Ivy strivers” makes you sound like a nut. It’s even nuttier you are so upset but that you have to post random salary stuff. Go to work or go for a run. It will be okay.

Just another Jedi mind trick to get other kids to do less prep and lessen the competition.

Nobody believes someone without a hook got into " T-10, an Ivy, lots of T20s RD unhooked" without any prep.

Different poster.

We prioritized 8 hours of sleep, adequate free time, and time with family/friends. Never really thought of college until start of Junior year. Zero prep for SAT, zero tutors, average essays, wildly overrepresented profile with no hooks, yet got into one HYPSM and multiple T20s and two with merit aid. Many of child's friends who are similar got into T20s.

A key indicator is this: if a child can get a nearly full SAT or ACT score without any prep, it is highly likely they would get into a T20.

If a child has to take SAT/ACT multiple times and need tutors, they likely have a very low chance of T20 admission.

^ same- except kid is a really great writer and I thought his essays were amazing. No help- or coach. I looked over to edit/second pair of eyes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It will blow your mind Op- but many did not “strive”.

My kid didn’t think about college until summer of Junior year. Put a list together in the Fall-from T1-T40/50.

He was accepted to a T-10, an Ivy, lots of T20s RD unhooked. Never would have thought he’d be at an Ivy.

He always did the things he liked to do—lots of his sport, some community service, summer job, etc. Never had a special project or go to any of those pay to play academic summer programs. He is a great writer and had a perfect academic record and very high scores- without tutors or a paid essay coach/counselor.

You should check yourself because referring to kids as “Ivy strivers” makes you sound like a nut. It’s even nuttier you are so upset but that you have to post random salary stuff. Go to work or go for a run. It will be okay.

Just another Jedi mind trick to get other kids to do less prep and lessen the competition.

Nobody believes someone without a hook got into " T-10, an Ivy, lots of T20s RD unhooked" without any prep.

Different poster.

We prioritized 8 hours of sleep, adequate free time, and time with family/friends. Never really thought of college until start of Junior year. Zero prep for SAT, zero tutors, average essays, wildly overrepresented profile with no hooks, yet got into one HYPSM and multiple T20s and two with merit aid. Many of child's friends who are similar got into T20s.

A key indicator is this: if a child can get a nearly full SAT or ACT score without any prep, it is highly likely they would get into a T20.

If a child has to take SAT/ACT multiple times and need tutors, they likely have a very low chance of T20 admission.

Congrats! My kid has a similar profile but didn't get into any T20s. He is happy to be attending big state school with merit. There are enough kids in his public high school who have really amazing ECs along with rigor, test scores and grades who are getting into the T20s. This just helps inform us about what to expect for our younger child.

[Anonymous]

Poor OP. He can start all the threads in the world on this silly forum and he’s still going to have a chip on his shoulder for the rest of his life.

[Anonymous]

It’s all about choice of major and choice of first job.

Kids who have family wealth are not necessarily prioritizing salary. Not for their first job, and maybe not ever. Why? Because they don’t have to!

Their first job may be with a non-profit - or some other lower-paying job - where they’ll get great experience that will help shape their career path or help them get into a top grad school.

Not everyone wants to go into IB, consulting, or other high-paying jobs right out of college. And if you don’t need the money, why on earth would you do something you don’t want to do???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Poor OP. He can start all the threads in the world on this silly forum and he’s still going to have a chip on his shoulder for the rest of his life.

Seriously! If I have to read one more post on 'strivers' or what the satirical Preppy Handbook or Vogue fashion magazine from the early 1900s thinks of colleges I just might explode.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"Prestige" means I can graduate from Princeton, fck around making $0/year, and I still get to sh!t on an Emory grad making six figures. That's what prestige is.

Whoever wrote this - amazing!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"Prestige" means I can graduate from Princeton, fck around making $0/year, and I still get to sh!t on an Emory grad making six figures. That's what prestige is.

Whoever wrote this - amazing!

If you truly think, having a Princeton degree with nothing to show for it is somehow a positive? You truly are blinded by "prestige". People like you have country club attitude but can't afford the county club.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"Prestige" means I can graduate from Princeton, fck around making $0/year, and I still get to sh!t on an Emory grad making six figures. That's what prestige is.

Whoever wrote this - amazing!

If you truly think, having a Princeton degree with nothing to show for it is somehow a positive? You truly are blinded by "prestige". People like you have country club attitude but can't afford the county club.

But maybe they can (family money or connections). You’ll never know, nursing your resentment and looking in from the outside as you always will be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"Prestige" means I can graduate from Princeton, fck around making $0/year, and I still get to sh!t on an Emory grad making six figures. That's what prestige is.

Whoever wrote this - amazing!

If you truly think, having a Princeton degree with nothing to show for it is somehow a positive? You truly are blinded by "prestige". People like you have country club attitude but can't afford the county club.

But maybe they can (family money or connections). You’ll never know, nursing your resentment and looking in from the outside as you always will be.

The only "in" you're in is the social security line.
I agree with OP, this shows a ton about what's really going on and frankly the elite schools have all converged into "Top" schools where you can't differentiate outcomes. 15% of Cornell grads are engineers. Cornell should have a higher salary than it does, especially compared to an Emory that doesn't have engineering. Yall are upset the veneer is being tarnished. Full pay at an Ivy is useless, if the others are giving any sort of merit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"Prestige" means I can graduate from Princeton, fck around making $0/year, and I still get to sh!t on an Emory grad making six figures. That's what prestige is.

Whoever wrote this - amazing!

If you truly think, having a Princeton degree with nothing to show for it is somehow a positive? You truly are blinded by "prestige". People like you have country club attitude but can't afford the county club.

But maybe they can (family money or connections). You’ll never know, nursing your resentment and looking in from the outside as you always will be.

The only "in" you're in is the social security line.
I agree with OP, this shows a ton about what's really going on and frankly the elite schools have all converged into "Top" schools where you can't differentiate outcomes. 15% of Cornell grads are engineers. Cornell should have a higher salary than it does, especially compared to an Emory that doesn't have engineering. Yall are upset the veneer is being tarnished. Full pay at an Ivy is useless, if the others are giving any sort of merit.

“Frankly”? LOL.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"Prestige" means I can graduate from Princeton, fck around making $0/year, and I still get to sh!t on an Emory grad making six figures. That's what prestige is.

Whoever wrote this - amazing!

If you truly think, having a Princeton degree with nothing to show for it is somehow a positive? You truly are blinded by "prestige". People like you have country club attitude but can't afford the county club.

But maybe they can (family money or connections). You’ll never know, nursing your resentment and looking in from the outside as you always will be.

The only "in" you're in is the social security line.
I agree with OP, this shows a ton about what's really going on and frankly the elite schools have all converged into "Top" schools where you can't differentiate outcomes. 15% of Cornell grads are engineers. Cornell should have a higher salary than it does, especially compared to an Emory that doesn't have engineering. Yall are upset the veneer is being tarnished. Full pay at an Ivy is useless, if the others are giving any sort of merit.

“Frankly”? LOL.

Yes frankly, Vandy grads weren't on the street 20-30 years ago doing IB. Very different landscape today.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What the hell is going on with Princeton?

They go onto additional school. The 10-year salaries, etc are different

+1. Ivy grads make more over time. 2-years out tells you nothing.

Some of the links the OP was posting show job outcomes 6 months after graduation. Elite college kids go to grad school at a higher rate than other kids where they're earning nothing or maybe a minimum wage grad TA stipend. But I guess that's not prestigious in the OP's brain.

All these reports only look at the kids who actually went out and decided to work a job. They are not averaged across all graduates.

They don't count anyone that decided to pursue a graduate degree (and no, their TA stipend is not counted), nor do they count grads that are generally unemployed (which is why it's important to look at salary data and %age of graduates employed 6 months after graduation).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP doesn't know what the word "prestige" means.

An electrical lineman might make $250k a year, and it's a cool job. But it is not "prestigious".

True. A plumber could make more than an Ivy grad if that Ivy grad works for a non profit.

My weekly poker group includes graduates of Harvard and Dartmouth, a couple state U grads, and 3 tradesmen. The three tradesmen are the top *earners, with a state-school engineer in middle and the Ivy grads bringing up the rear. This is probably a unique group and all do well enough, but illustrates your point.

*ranking ignores the state school grad who lives off the earnings of his wedding present. Must be nice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"Prestige" means I can graduate from Princeton, fck around making $0/year, and I still get to sh!t on an Emory grad making six figures. That's what prestige is.

Whoever wrote this - amazing!

If you truly think, having a Princeton degree with nothing to show for it is somehow a positive? You truly are blinded by "prestige". People like you have country club attitude but can't afford the county club.

^New money has entered the chat. I'm sorry, you're just not our sort.

[Anonymous]

I really don't think there is any notable difference between students at Vanderbilt, Duke, Rice, and Northwestern with students at Cornell, Dartmouth, Brown, and Penn. Smart and accomplished students don't fixate on the Ivy brand these days like their parents seem to do.