Selingo WSJ Essay

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These articles focus on career “success” and not money “success”.

The insurance policy is that the graduates have rich friends and/or marry someone rich. How many parents on this board earned their 1% vs married their 1%? I am semi-successful professsionally from a meh-private college; my money comes from my husband’s family, not my career.

If the 1% make up a lot of the graduates, these kids are already in the 1%. They don’t need to go to college to make those friends. They already knew them in HS.

They no longer do, and the schools with the most are no longer the Ivy+.
The top 1% were about 17-18% of undergrads at ivy+ in an article using 2013 data! It was published in 2017 and again in 2021 but used data from the graduating class of 2013. The Ivys faced a lot of negative press from it and made changes, especially since 2020.

WashU, Colby, W&L, SMU had higher portions of undergrads in the top1% than ivys at the time: upwards of 24%. WashU is now much lower because they faced backlash in the round after the ivy backlash for the same thing. Pell grand, FGLI, %on need based aid, need-blind admissions are all pushed and broadcast loudly as goals by the top schools: WashU is right on the cusp of the T15ish group and has made, IMO, positive changes to prioritize socioeconomic equity in admissions.
Since the 2013 data, top colleges especially ivys have redoubled efforts to admit more pell grant kids, expand aid and promote equity. The ivys are MUCH LESS 1% (and less top 5%) heavy than they were 10 years ago yet still proportionally lead to higher likelihood of garnering jobs at MMB, top tech, or acceptance to top law, top med. Schools with the highest proportion of the 1% are not ivys and do not have results at the ivy level.

Hence outcomes these days are less about the proportion of 1% and more a factor of certain companies targeting top schools for efficiency purposes as well as the students of these top schools skew heavily toward the highest intelligence based on proportions: it is no surprise they have the highest LSAT and MCAT distributions. However a very top kid from a T50ish who had the stats and got admission or at least WL to a T15 can likely end up in a similar place, minus maybe a handful or two of companies that target name brands.

So the 1% are overrepresented. There are a lot more of them there than you would expect or find. But if the cohort is poorer and less connected, coupled with the less fun environment there's not much reason for the 1% to go to those schools. What's in it for them?

It's why schools like Wake and Tulane are growing more popular.

For the Pell group, sure, it's great from a social mobility perspective for those kids in the long term, but it makes for a horribly bifurcated social life and cliquey campus life (have any of you stepped on these campuses lately? it's a case of the haves (goyard totes, VCA, Cartier bracelets, Fendi baguettes, GG shoes on the girls) and have-nots) - Vanderbilt, anyone?
The groups are formed in the first week. With Greek life's growing importance (even off campus at schools like Duke), your Pell grant kid is NOT moving into that social circle in college. Ever. Its not happened. Yes, they'll form their own circle, but let's not pretend this experiment is kumbaya and everyone is friends together.
It is absolutely not like that.
People need a giant wake-up call.

Oh come on. Wake and Tulane are not being picked by the 1% who actually had a kid also get into an ivy.

We know a private HS kid who ED to Wake, who absolutely could have gotten into private T20....wanted fun, social, and non-bot/nerdy vibe that wasn't a large flagship. Very few real options.

Are you in a public-school immigrant bubble? If so, that would explain your disbelief. It's way more common than you think.

Offspring of (Asian) immigrant here. Private school. Not fair to put everyone in the same box. I could have been competitive for the Ivies 30+ years ago but liked the SLAC’s more and ultimately chose a WASP. My kid also had a (admittedly much slimmer) shot at the so-called lower Ivies 30 years later, but didn’t apply to any Ivies. The Ivies are great but not the only game in town.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These articles focus on career “success” and not money “success”.

The insurance policy is that the graduates have rich friends and/or marry someone rich. How many parents on this board earned their 1% vs married their 1%? I am semi-successful professsionally from a meh-private college; my money comes from my husband’s family, not my career.

Both former low-income, heavily aided students who met at an ivy, went to med school at a different but top school, and earn top2%. Most of our adult friends are in medicine or law. About half came from no money and did not marry into significant (top-5%)money. We are younger than the ave college parents, just turned 50, college '97. Our friends are all similar. In fact the smartest two from '97 are a top lawyer and a research MD-phD.about 40% of my ivy was on need-based aid when I attended now it is 55%. parents on dcum who went to college in the 80s have a very different understanding of college compared to people from the late 90s. The legacy friends in my adult involved alum group are predominantly new to the top incomes, and were not legacies ourselves. My ivy absolutely changed my trajectory and it continues to do the same for a larger and larger portion of the undergraduate population.

People gravitate towards people like themselves.
I am going to take a guess that you didn't know anyone of generational wealth in college or grad school - because you don't know how to recognize it. While your ivy opened doors for your generation, the next generation will have a very hard time getting into an ivy because there is no pity party for children of ivy grads.
Many 1st gens that graduate into high salary figures think they have reached an UMC level of wealth but if it's not generational, the children will be wage slaves too trying to maintain the same lifestyle and similarly without any cushion.
Wealth has cushion, those kids can choose careers like art curator or non-profit work because they just need to get by. They don't need to save.

Nailed it.

We are not super wealthy but we have generational wealth (say $20-$25M NW and 1% salary). Kids are high achieving and will do well but there is a safety net for them that most just don’t have because they will never need to save for college expenses or housing down payments. Trusts will cover those things.

How is that generational wealth? imo generational wealth is over $50M NW.

PP: I’m a bit over 50. Barring calamity we will easily cross the number that you suggested well before retirement age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These articles focus on career “success” and not money “success”.

The insurance policy is that the graduates have rich friends and/or marry someone rich. How many parents on this board earned their 1% vs married their 1%? I am semi-successful professsionally from a meh-private college; my money comes from my husband’s family, not my career.

If the 1% make up a lot of the graduates, these kids are already in the 1%. They don’t need to go to college to make those friends. They already knew them in HS.

They no longer do, and the schools with the most are no longer the Ivy+.
The top 1% were about 17-18% of undergrads at ivy+ in an article using 2013 data! It was published in 2017 and again in 2021 but used data from the graduating class of 2013. The Ivys faced a lot of negative press from it and made changes, especially since 2020.

WashU, Colby, W&L, SMU had higher portions of undergrads in the top1% than ivys at the time: upwards of 24%. WashU is now much lower because they faced backlash in the round after the ivy backlash for the same thing. Pell grand, FGLI, %on need based aid, need-blind admissions are all pushed and broadcast loudly as goals by the top schools: WashU is right on the cusp of the T15ish group and has made, IMO, positive changes to prioritize socioeconomic equity in admissions.
Since the 2013 data, top colleges especially ivys have redoubled efforts to admit more pell grant kids, expand aid and promote equity. The ivys are MUCH LESS 1% (and less top 5%) heavy than they were 10 years ago yet still proportionally lead to higher likelihood of garnering jobs at MMB, top tech, or acceptance to top law, top med. Schools with the highest proportion of the 1% are not ivys and do not have results at the ivy level.

Hence outcomes these days are less about the proportion of 1% and more a factor of certain companies targeting top schools for efficiency purposes as well as the students of these top schools skew heavily toward the highest intelligence based on proportions: it is no surprise they have the highest LSAT and MCAT distributions. However a very top kid from a T50ish who had the stats and got admission or at least WL to a T15 can likely end up in a similar place, minus maybe a handful or two of companies that target name brands.

So the 1% are overrepresented. There are a lot more of them there than you would expect or find. But if the cohort is poorer and less connected, coupled with the less fun environment there's not much reason for the 1% to go to those schools. What's in it for them?

It's why schools like Wake and Tulane are growing more popular.

For the Pell group, sure, it's great from a social mobility perspective for those kids in the long term, but it makes for a horribly bifurcated social life and cliquey campus life (have any of you stepped on these campuses lately? it's a case of the haves (goyard totes, VCA, Cartier bracelets, Fendi baguettes, GG shoes on the girls) and have-nots) - Vanderbilt, anyone?
The groups are formed in the first week. With Greek life's growing importance (even off campus at schools like Duke), your Pell grant kid is NOT moving into that social circle in college. Ever. Its not happened. Yes, they'll form their own circle, but let's not pretend this experiment is kumbaya and everyone is friends together.
It is absolutely not like that.
People need a giant wake-up call.

Oh come on. Wake and Tulane are not being picked by the 1% who actually had a kid also get into an ivy.

We know a private HS kid who ED to Wake, who absolutely could have gotten into private T20....wanted fun, social, and non-bot/nerdy vibe that wasn't a large flagship. Very few real options.

Are you in a public-school immigrant bubble? If so, that would explain your disbelief. It's way more common than you think.

Offspring of (Asian) immigrant here. Private school. Not fair to put everyone in the same box. I could have been competitive for the Ivies 30+ years ago but liked the SLAC’s more and ultimately chose a WASP. My kid also had a (admittedly much slimmer) shot at the so-called lower Ivies 30 years later, but didn’t apply to any Ivies. The Ivies are great but not the only game in town.

+100

You also received a superior education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These articles focus on career “success” and not money “success”.

The insurance policy is that the graduates have rich friends and/or marry someone rich. How many parents on this board earned their 1% vs married their 1%? I am semi-successful professsionally from a meh-private college; my money comes from my husband’s family, not my career.

Both former low-income, heavily aided students who met at an ivy, went to med school at a different but top school, and earn top2%. Most of our adult friends are in medicine or law. About half came from no money and did not marry into significant (top-5%)money. We are younger than the ave college parents, just turned 50, college '97. Our friends are all similar. In fact the smartest two from '97 are a top lawyer and a research MD-phD.about 40% of my ivy was on need-based aid when I attended now it is 55%. parents on dcum who went to college in the 80s have a very different understanding of college compared to people from the late 90s. The legacy friends in my adult involved alum group are predominantly new to the top incomes, and were not legacies ourselves. My ivy absolutely changed my trajectory and it continues to do the same for a larger and larger portion of the undergraduate population.

People gravitate towards people like themselves.
I am going to take a guess that you didn't know anyone of generational wealth in college or grad school - because you don't know how to recognize it. While your ivy opened doors for your generation, the next generation will have a very hard time getting into an ivy because there is no pity party for children of ivy grads.
Many 1st gens that graduate into high salary figures think they have reached an UMC level of wealth but if it's not generational, the children will be wage slaves too trying to maintain the same lifestyle and similarly without any cushion.
Wealth has cushion, those kids can choose careers like art curator or non-profit work because they just need to get by. They don't need to save.

Nailed it.

We are not super wealthy but we have generational wealth (say $20-$25M NW and 1% salary). Kids are high achieving and will do well but there is a safety net for them that most just don’t have because they will never need to save for college expenses or housing down payments. Trusts will cover those things.

How is that generational wealth? imo generational wealth is over $50M NW.

If $25m left to your heirs is not generational wealth then you raised your kids to be morons with money.

[Anonymous]

it's not so much generational wealth in my experience but generational connections. My son attends a top boys school and many classmates have no need to go to Princeton over Wake Forest because the connections in banking or consulting await.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:it's not so much generational wealth in my experience but generational connections. My son attends a top boys school and many classmates have no need to go to Princeton over Wake Forest because the connections in banking or consulting await.

100% this.
I see this in my own community. No one is "fighting" at Ivy to join the banking/pe clubs....they don't need it. Its also all the public HS kids who kill each other for this.

From our HS, the kids have all lined up summer internships from connections without it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These articles focus on career “success” and not money “success”.

The insurance policy is that the graduates have rich friends and/or marry someone rich. How many parents on this board earned their 1% vs married their 1%? I am semi-successful professsionally from a meh-private college; my money comes from my husband’s family, not my career.

Both former low-income, heavily aided students who met at an ivy, went to med school at a different but top school, and earn top2%. Most of our adult friends are in medicine or law. About half came from no money and did not marry into significant (top-5%)money. We are younger than the ave college parents, just turned 50, college '97. Our friends are all similar. In fact the smartest two from '97 are a top lawyer and a research MD-phD.about 40% of my ivy was on need-based aid when I attended now it is 55%. parents on dcum who went to college in the 80s have a very different understanding of college compared to people from the late 90s. The legacy friends in my adult involved alum group are predominantly new to the top incomes, and were not legacies ourselves. My ivy absolutely changed my trajectory and it continues to do the same for a larger and larger portion of the undergraduate population.

People gravitate towards people like themselves.
I am going to take a guess that you didn't know anyone of generational wealth in college or grad school - because you don't know how to recognize it. While your ivy opened doors for your generation, the next generation will have a very hard time getting into an ivy because there is no pity party for children of ivy grads.
Many 1st gens that graduate into high salary figures think they have reached an UMC level of wealth but if it's not generational, the children will be wage slaves too trying to maintain the same lifestyle and similarly without any cushion.
Wealth has cushion, those kids can choose careers like art curator or non-profit work because they just need to get by. They don't need to save.

Nailed it.

We are not super wealthy but we have generational wealth (say $20-$25M NW and 1% salary). Kids are high achieving and will do well but there is a safety net for them that most just don’t have because they will never need to save for college expenses or housing down payments. Trusts will cover those things.

How is that generational wealth? imo generational wealth is over $50M NW.

PP: I’m a bit over 50. Barring calamity we will easily cross the number that you suggested well before retirement age.

How does $25M become over 50M before retirement? When are you retiring?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These articles focus on career “success” and not money “success”.

The insurance policy is that the graduates have rich friends and/or marry someone rich. How many parents on this board earned their 1% vs married their 1%? I am semi-successful professsionally from a meh-private college; my money comes from my husband’s family, not my career.

Both former low-income, heavily aided students who met at an ivy, went to med school at a different but top school, and earn top2%. Most of our adult friends are in medicine or law. About half came from no money and did not marry into significant (top-5%)money. We are younger than the ave college parents, just turned 50, college '97. Our friends are all similar. In fact the smartest two from '97 are a top lawyer and a research MD-phD.about 40% of my ivy was on need-based aid when I attended now it is 55%. parents on dcum who went to college in the 80s have a very different understanding of college compared to people from the late 90s. The legacy friends in my adult involved alum group are predominantly new to the top incomes, and were not legacies ourselves. My ivy absolutely changed my trajectory and it continues to do the same for a larger and larger portion of the undergraduate population.

People gravitate towards people like themselves.
I am going to take a guess that you didn't know anyone of generational wealth in college or grad school - because you don't know how to recognize it. While your ivy opened doors for your generation, the next generation will have a very hard time getting into an ivy because there is no pity party for children of ivy grads.
Many 1st gens that graduate into high salary figures think they have reached an UMC level of wealth but if it's not generational, the children will be wage slaves too trying to maintain the same lifestyle and similarly without any cushion.
Wealth has cushion, those kids can choose careers like art curator or non-profit work because they just need to get by. They don't need to save.

Nailed it.

We are not super wealthy but we have generational wealth (say $20-$25M NW and 1% salary). Kids are high achieving and will do well but there is a safety net for them that most just don’t have because they will never need to save for college expenses or housing down payments. Trusts will cover those things.

How is that generational wealth? imo generational wealth is over $50M NW.

PP: I’m a bit over 50. Barring calamity we will easily cross the number that you suggested well before retirement age.

How does $25M become over 50M before retirement? When are you retiring?

PP: No idea when I will retire but it won't be soon, I love my job. We have NW as mentioned above, zero debt. We live well within our means, I make solidly north of $1m year and spend a relatively small portion of it. Normal market returns and $50M isn't a hard target for our family. There is much truth to the saying 'the first million is hard' but the next isn't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:it's not so much generational wealth in my experience but generational connections. My son attends a top boys school and many classmates have no need to go to Princeton over Wake Forest because the connections in banking or consulting await.

100% this.
I see this in my own community. No one is "fighting" at Ivy to join the banking/pe clubs....they don't need it. Its also all the public HS kids who kill each other for this.

From our HS, the kids have all lined up summer internships from connections without it.

So are you a parent making stuff up or are you kid hanging around on DCUM? Because there is no way you know this as a parent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These articles focus on career “success” and not money “success”.

The insurance policy is that the graduates have rich friends and/or marry someone rich. How many parents on this board earned their 1% vs married their 1%? I am semi-successful professsionally from a meh-private college; my money comes from my husband’s family, not my career.

Both former low-income, heavily aided students who met at an ivy, went to med school at a different but top school, and earn top2%. Most of our adult friends are in medicine or law. About half came from no money and did not marry into significant (top-5%)money. We are younger than the ave college parents, just turned 50, college '97. Our friends are all similar. In fact the smartest two from '97 are a top lawyer and a research MD-phD.about 40% of my ivy was on need-based aid when I attended now it is 55%. parents on dcum who went to college in the 80s have a very different understanding of college compared to people from the late 90s. The legacy friends in my adult involved alum group are predominantly new to the top incomes, and were not legacies ourselves. My ivy absolutely changed my trajectory and it continues to do the same for a larger and larger portion of the undergraduate population.

People gravitate towards people like themselves.
I am going to take a guess that you didn't know anyone of generational wealth in college or grad school - because you don't know how to recognize it. While your ivy opened doors for your generation, the next generation will have a very hard time getting into an ivy because there is no pity party for children of ivy grads.
Many 1st gens that graduate into high salary figures think they have reached an UMC level of wealth but if it's not generational, the children will be wage slaves too trying to maintain the same lifestyle and similarly without any cushion.
Wealth has cushion, those kids can choose careers like art curator or non-profit work because they just need to get by. They don't need to save.

Nailed it.

We are not super wealthy but we have generational wealth (say $20-$25M NW and 1% salary). Kids are high achieving and will do well but there is a safety net for them that most just don’t have because they will never need to save for college expenses or housing down payments. Trusts will cover those things.

How is that generational wealth? imo generational wealth is over $50M NW.

PP: I’m a bit over 50. Barring calamity we will easily cross the number that you suggested well before retirement age.

How does $25M become over 50M before retirement? When are you retiring?

Even if you contributed nothing else to it, you could get from $25M to $50M in 10 years with about a 7% annual return. It isn’t a stretch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These articles focus on career “success” and not money “success”.

The insurance policy is that the graduates have rich friends and/or marry someone rich. How many parents on this board earned their 1% vs married their 1%? I am semi-successful professsionally from a meh-private college; my money comes from my husband’s family, not my career.

Both former low-income, heavily aided students who met at an ivy, went to med school at a different but top school, and earn top2%. Most of our adult friends are in medicine or law. About half came from no money and did not marry into significant (top-5%)money. We are younger than the ave college parents, just turned 50, college '97. Our friends are all similar. In fact the smartest two from '97 are a top lawyer and a research MD-phD.about 40% of my ivy was on need-based aid when I attended now it is 55%. parents on dcum who went to college in the 80s have a very different understanding of college compared to people from the late 90s. The legacy friends in my adult involved alum group are predominantly new to the top incomes, and were not legacies ourselves. My ivy absolutely changed my trajectory and it continues to do the same for a larger and larger portion of the undergraduate population.

People gravitate towards people like themselves.
I am going to take a guess that you didn't know anyone of generational wealth in college or grad school - because you don't know how to recognize it. While your ivy opened doors for your generation, the next generation will have a very hard time getting into an ivy because there is no pity party for children of ivy grads.
Many 1st gens that graduate into high salary figures think they have reached an UMC level of wealth but if it's not generational, the children will be wage slaves too trying to maintain the same lifestyle and similarly without any cushion.
Wealth has cushion, those kids can choose careers like art curator or non-profit work because they just need to get by. They don't need to save.

Nailed it.

We are not super wealthy but we have generational wealth (say $20-$25M NW and 1% salary). Kids are high achieving and will do well but there is a safety net for them that most just don’t have because they will never need to save for college expenses or housing down payments. Trusts will cover those things.

Nailed what? Yes you are rich. No it is not necessary to have $20 mil to lead a good life. No, your money does not guarantee your children will be happy and productive, much less your grandchildren. Nor does it prove that a kid going to UVA will never get to the same level you are at.

+++

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The essay kind of talks out two sides. Says the elite schools don’t matter in the end, but then also says graduates of elite schools are 60% more likely to end up at elite jobs (think he used Goldman as an example) and secure higher salaries out of undergrad.

Also, it shows a chart that says out of a Microsoft pool of entry level employees, 3500 out of around 12,000 come from colleges with 20% or less acceptance rates. It’s the largest group though that leaves 8500 employees coming from less selective schools.

Again, the issue with this is that there are only like 25 colleges (most of which are relatively small) that fit this criteria while there are thousands that fit the other criteria of higher acceptance rates.

My takeaway was that at Microsoft it definitely pays to come from a sub-20% acceptance college.

I also don’t get looking at Fortune 50 companies as a good measure. Outside of tech, you just won’t see many top school grads wanting to work at Exxon or CVS or a good 30 of the F50 companies.

I think you missed the point. The point is that “elite” jobs are not the only possible career path (the example of regional employees recruiting from regional schools); and that not going to an elite school does not completely bar you from an “elite” job. IOW - the panic is not justified unless you are deadset on maximizing your child’s changes of working at Goldmans (which is a pretty pathetic way to parent but you do you).

I also think the vignette about the job at Illumination was great. mainly because she ended up with an absolute dream job (designing rides at Universal, OMG!!) that is SO much more fun and better than all the miserable money you get working at McKinsey. Which one among us would rather our kid end up a management consultant than designing 3D rides? I hope not many. And also because it shows that while many smart kids to to Ivys there IS a cultural or values issue - privileged kids think they don’t need to do the grunt work or think it is not part of the path to success. I have absolutely seen this at my Ivy law school where it seemed like people literally could not conceive of any path other than BigLaw.

No…I got the point, but such point gets lost when the author points out very distinct advantages of elite schools.

You can’t say it doesn’t matter…and then point out ways it does matter.

BTW, it’s no surprise that Ivy kids are massively over represented in Hollywood in terms of writers, producers, management, etc…but all successful folks in entertainment know you have to put in the work no matter what.

Bingo

[Anonymous]

you can look at the private schools in nyc and their instagram w college destinations. full of yale and Princeton etc. why settle for k-12 when you can do k-16?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.wsj.com/us-news/education/the-elite-college-myth-268c4371?st=zZtGi8&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

Excerpt from his new book. His basic point is that career paths are more affected by personal ties, such as what region you come from, than the brand of the school. He claims that Ivy-plus outcomes are no different than highly ranked public universities such as Texas, UCLA and Ohio State (although I wouldn't put Ohio in that list, LOL) for most fields.

The problem, of course, is that in the DMV, desirable career paths are affected by the brand of the school, hence the worrying and lamentations on this board.

Which careers?

law

NP. Different game entirely, because the law school matters, not the undergrad.

You have to get in first. Ceterus paribus, a student from a T20 type undergrad is more likely to be admitted to a T14 law school than one who is from a no name undergrad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These articles focus on career “success” and not money “success”.

The insurance policy is that the graduates have rich friends and/or marry someone rich. How many parents on this board earned their 1% vs married their 1%? I am semi-successful professsionally from a meh-private college; my money comes from my husband’s family, not my career.

Both former low-income, heavily aided students who met at an ivy, went to med school at a different but top school, and earn top2%. Most of our adult friends are in medicine or law. About half came from no money and did not marry into significant (top-5%)money. We are younger than the ave college parents, just turned 50, college '97. Our friends are all similar. In fact the smartest two from '97 are a top lawyer and a research MD-phD.about 40% of my ivy was on need-based aid when I attended now it is 55%. parents on dcum who went to college in the 80s have a very different understanding of college compared to people from the late 90s. The legacy friends in my adult involved alum group are predominantly new to the top incomes, and were not legacies ourselves. My ivy absolutely changed my trajectory and it continues to do the same for a larger and larger portion of the undergraduate population.

People gravitate towards people like themselves.
I am going to take a guess that you didn't know anyone of generational wealth in college or grad school - because you don't know how to recognize it. While your ivy opened doors for your generation, the next generation will have a very hard time getting into an ivy because there is no pity party for children of ivy grads.
Many 1st gens that graduate into high salary figures think they have reached an UMC level of wealth but if it's not generational, the children will be wage slaves too trying to maintain the same lifestyle and similarly without any cushion.
Wealth has cushion, those kids can choose careers like art curator or non-profit work because they just need to get by. They don't need to save.

Nailed it.

We are not super wealthy but we have generational wealth (say $20-$25M NW and 1% salary). Kids are high achieving and will do well but there is a safety net for them that most just don’t have because they will never need to save for college expenses or housing down payments. Trusts will cover those things.

You have a net worth of $20-25M & make over $750K per year and don't think you're super wealthy. This site is full of delusional lunatics.