You meet a black Ivy League grad - what are you secretly thinking to yourself?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe you do, but the ones I have met are very smart and very driven. What on earth would make me think they need help?

On the other hand, I have met some white grads and couldn't help but think their parents got them in. But that's not because they are white, but because they are untalented, unmotivated, and are unimpressive at work. I have to assume they were like that in high school, too.

I suggest you stop looking at skin color and take a look at the horsepower of these people you are judging.

Did you start thinking about the family legacy stuff about four or five years ago when an Ivy League grad-cum-president left us with a legacy of two unwinnable wars because he preferred hunches to facts?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm thinking, I wonder how many times a week they mention what school they went to. Or, it must be tough to have to try to prove yourself all the time. A lot of black ivy league grads seem to constantly try to remind themselves and others of either their education, or wealth/perceived wealth.

Then you must not live in my 'hood because the Ivy Leaguers here take themselves way too seriously.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think, "Oh lord, pretty soon I am going to have to hear some stupid shit about this guy/gal from some other white person who assumes I agree with their f-ed up attitudes because of the color of my skin."

Yes, if I had a dime for every time a fellow white person who thought I was a fellow traveler of his/her racism, then my kids' tuition would be paid through their quadruple MBA/JD/MD/EDD. And they don't mind saying it to you, but god forbid you call'em on it. Then you're the b*tch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What do I secretly think to myself? "Girl you look good!" To my mirror. Every morning.

Ha! I love that.

[Anonymous]

First of all, one of my former boyfriends was a black ivy grad (Stanford).

The Pac-10 would be astonished to discover that Standord has defected.

[Anonymous]

Yup. Affirmative action.

[Anonymous]

I'd be thinking the same thing I think when I meet a white Ivy League grad - I wonder if I would have gotten in if I'd applied to an Ivy other than Brown? (I got rejected from Brown. It was my only rejection, and my only Ivy application.)

I have a black friend who went to Harvard. He's one of the smartest guys I know, and very interesting and personable. I assumed he got into Harvard by being smart and interesting. If color did help him, so what?

[Anonymous]

Let's not forget that athletes are the biggest affirmative action cases on every ivy league campus! (and before you jump to vonclusions I'm actually a two-sport athlete at an ivy) The reality is there's ssoooo much that factors into the admissions process. One father actually complained to the admissions office that his son had the same grades as a black student from his high school but the Black student was accepted and the white student was not. In the midst of complaining and trying to file a lawsuit... An admissions officer came out and showed the father all of the grammatical errors in his son's personal statement.

Also, to add a personal anecdote... My boyfriend is white and I'm Jamaican. We literally had the same SAT score (exactly), similar class ranks and GPAs. We both got in... My bf was always quick to say that my minority status helped me out and that I was more likely to get in bc I was a minority... But he (like most people) forgot 3 things.... Firstly, he's a minority at such an elite university bc he, like me, went to public school. secondly,vwe were both top recruits for our perspective sports.... And, if it really came down to it I'd probably get accepted over him... And no, not because I'm a racial minority... But bc I'm the sixth person in my family to go to this institution.

The reality is that no one fits into these neat liitoe categories and that everyone is a great applicant but the person reading your application felt that you had an xfactor. And you'll never be able to pin it down on one thing.

[Anonymous]

My first thought is: he/she must be smart.
Re affirmative action: my best friend went to Harvard dental school. She used to say that she was the token white girl. It can go both ways.

[Anonymous]

My first thought is: smart person.

Second thought is: I hope I didn't leave the stove on.

OP must be from the 'burbs. Seriously? People still really think about crap like this?

[Anonymous]

NP here: I'm from the 'burbs... so no picking on the 'burb-ers here, kay?

Honestly, I have only known 3 AA ivy grads. All three have been incredibly smart, professional, pleasant people -- who amazingly survived their own smarts and their pretentious schools without become dickheads. When I hear that ANYONE is an Ivy grad, my first thought is: Wow, he/she must be smart. I hope he/she isn't also a stuck up asshole. I don't actually think about affirmative action off the bat. On occasion, I have seen/known graduates from schools that don't seem quite up to par with the school's reputation -- such that I think "how the heck did that person graduate from Georgetown Law? (or Stanford, or Columbia, etc.)" I must admit, that when the dumbass person happens to be a minority, my second thought is sometimes: "Ahhh... affirmative action." I'm sad to say.

But ultimately I tend to judge people by their level of dickheadedness. Not their race.

[Anonymous]

I think: "Wow, the summer associates get younger every year."

[Anonymous]

I think, "That's hot".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The first thing I think of when I meet a White Person that graduated from an Ivy (other than one of the big 3) is, "I bet they're either a legacy or their daddy knows the Dean." Why else would anyone want to go to Dartmouth or Brown?

Sincerely,

Black Princeton Grad '01

Awesome!

[Anonymous]

I think: "Is he single?"