What are the top colleges in “real America?”
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Anonymous
ha well then i stand corrected LOL |
wah wah wah
Anonymous
Yes, you do. |
Anonymous
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Anonymous
probably not bethesda. |
Anonymous
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Real America is a personal and perceived ideation. OP, are you making the college choice or is your DC? Let's assume 17-18 year olds are choosing their colleges. They're criteria is based on their short life experiences. If they want to escape from a small competitive high school, maybe they want a large state uni. If they're POC, diversity is important. And, so on.
My DC only applied to urban schools. He attended public k-12, so he applied to all privates, except one. Others were cut when he dug deeper into his major/minor. This is pretty funny, he cut one school because someone with a high enough title moderated an info session and couldn't pronounce entrepreneurship (3x). He wasn't judging her mispronounciation. He judged the school for falsely hyping up advertising. He rated student's friendliness from chatting with them in Reddit. He did apply to a Jesuit school, and likely won't commit because in his words, too many vineyard vines finance bros. Weird, because he's making bank in the market. Diversity is important to him, and he's white. So many other factors at play. Many kids will choose the most prestigious school they get into. Some kids will choose based on how liberal or conservative a school/state is. Some won't go south, others won't go north. Some don't want to deal with rural or urban, shitty food or pressure cookers. A lot of 2021 couldn't visit in person. They applied sight unseen based on their perception of colleges. No college encompasses everything for any kid. |
Anonymous
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Having family from all over the place, including ex-inlaws from rural Kentucky and extended family in rural Wisconsin, my impression is that for most middle class people (and especially working class people), college is a lot more regional than in big cities. Everyone all over the country knows Harvard, Yale, and Stanford are really prestigious schools. But after that, it's less clear. Mostly top students want to go to their state flagship or the best close private school. There is less awareness of small liberal arts colleges that are not regional, and to the degree private colleges outside of Harvard, Yale, and Stanford are known it usually has to do with sports (Syracuse, Duke, etc.)
In Kentucky this is usually UK, but some kids want to go to University of Lousville. A few students end up at solid LACs in Kentucky like Centre that give a lot of merit aid to top tier students. In the Chicago area (where I grew up), a lot of interest is in Big Ten schools, especially University of Illinois. A lot of people are interested in Northwestern. In Tennessee everyone wants to go to UTK. A few people want to go to Vanderbilt. A handful are interested in SLACs like Sewanee or Rhodes. In Texas, most students want to go to UT Austin or maybe Texas A&M. There are a few people considering Rice and Baylor. A lot of smart kids from Texas want to go to Rice. In CA, the UC System rules. Smart kids go to UCs. etc. |
Anonymous
If we are being reductive: yes. People are generally less aware of schools that are outside of their region unless sports factor in. I would hazard a guess a lot of middle/working class relatives are not even really that familiar with Princeton. Harvard and Yale, yes. Yale maybe partially because of Gilmore Girls. |
Anonymous
This. I'm from a suburb outside Boston and this was prevalent. It's an exposure issue and local schools are favored wherever you live. |
Anonymous
Yup, “real America” is code for average to slightly above average student from a household with a median income. Basically, middle-class family aspiring to take the next step. Students plan to get a “real job” when they graduate, like one in accounting or engineering. That’s opposed to Wall Street finance, Big Name consulting, or FANG software development. Where do these kids go to school? The previous posters have it right: they go to better schools near home. Probably the most prestigious is their state’s primary public college, something like Ohio State. And yes, kids who make it there feel like the education they received from their large public - and hard work/grit - is going to provide them a good living for their traditional family. |
Anonymous
I posted the last comment. I would differentiate for states with an outstanding public option, like Michigan, CA, VA, etc. In those states, it is prestigious to gain admission to UofM, Berkeley, UVA, etc. “Real Americans “ in those states go to lower ranked state schools. |
Anonymous
Yep. That's how it's been since the "beginning" and will continue to be so for a while. It will end when the country's population density reaches that of the "homeland".. Europe, and increasingly Asia. |
Anonymous
Nah, 50% Northern Triangle 50% Anacostia |