How to say you went to Harvard (elite school, HYPS, etc)

[Anonymous]

There's the old saying about having gone to school "near Boston" which is often dismissed as a false arrogance but if you say the name, it sounds snobbish. If it comes up, what do you consider the right way to approach it?

[Anonymous]

My dh did a one year grad program. I say we were in the Boston area for his school, or just that we lived in Massachusetts. I don’t think you can say you went to Harvard without sounding like you’re bragging.

[Anonymous]

There is nothing snobbier than answering the question with “Cambridge”.

Just say “Harvard”, or wherever. Answer a direct question with a direct answer. And then don’t act like an elitist F$&*.

[Anonymous]

Nobody asks after you're about 24 or 25.

[Anonymous]

If someone asks directly where you went to school you say "Harvard." If they don't, you don't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nobody asks after you're about 24 or 25.

True. But people who went to Harvard find a way to work it into the conversation anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There's the old saying about having gone to school "near Boston" which is often dismissed as a false arrogance but if you say the name, it sounds snobbish. If it comes up, what do you consider the right way to approach it?

If it comes up, you say where you went to school. If you feel the need to bring it up often, and you're more than 2 years out of school, you're the problem.

And "(elite school, HYPS, etc)" isn't the issue. Nobody I've ever met who went to Yale had these tortured "but how do I say my school name in front of the proles without causing resentment??!?" problems. This is something specific and peculiar to Harvard - you're all telling each other no one can handle you "dropping the H bomb" in conversation and you're all falling for it. It's not that serious.

[Anonymous]

My DD is a student at Cambridge and everyone thinks she's being coy about saying she goes to Harvard. The first couple of times it happened I was so confused.

[Anonymous]

I just say that I went to graduate school at MIT and then move on. Who cares?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's the old saying about having gone to school "near Boston" which is often dismissed as a false arrogance but if you say the name, it sounds snobbish. If it comes up, what do you consider the right way to approach it?

If it comes up, you say where you went to school. If you feel the need to bring it up often, and you're more than 2 years out of school, you're the problem.

And "(elite school, HYPS, etc)" isn't the issue. Nobody I've ever met who went to Yale had these tortured "but how do I say my school name in front of the proles without causing resentment??!?" problems. This is something specific and peculiar to Harvard - you're all telling each other no one can handle you "dropping the H bomb" in conversation and you're all falling for it. It's not that serious.

+1 Harvard Law Grad. It is specific to Harvard, and it is often accompanied by assumptions made about you--snobby, and/or super-smart, etc.

[Anonymous]

I have yet to meet a Harvard grad who did not use the phrase "when I was at Hah-vahd" at least weekly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nobody asks after you're about 24 or 25.

Lawyers do! I’m 48 and am still asked.

[Anonymous]

Not all majors at Harvard are equal. So one can say, I went to lower Harvard or higher Harvard - similar to "lower Ivy" or "Higher Ivy" which is very common on DCUM forums.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nobody asks after you're about 24 or 25.

True. But people who went to Harvard find a way to work it into the conversation anyway.

Omg, I just attended a wedding where half the attendees were Harvard grads. As me how I know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's the old saying about having gone to school "near Boston" which is often dismissed as a false arrogance but if you say the name, it sounds snobbish. If it comes up, what do you consider the right way to approach it?

If it comes up, you say where you went to school. If you feel the need to bring it up often, and you're more than 2 years out of school, you're the problem.

And "(elite school, HYPS, etc)" isn't the issue. Nobody I've ever met who went to Yale had these tortured "but how do I say my school name in front of the proles without causing resentment??!?" problems. This is something specific and peculiar to Harvard - you're all telling each other no one can handle you "dropping the H bomb" in conversation and you're all falling for it. It's not that serious.

+1 Harvard Law Grad. It is specific to Harvard, and it is often accompanied by assumptions made about you--snobby, and/or super-smart, etc.

+2. Another Harvard Law grad. I’m also in my 40s and still get asked. I used to beat around the bush. Now I drop the H bomb and let the assumptions fall where they may.