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Ivy League Aspirations Unleashed (NYT Q&A with Harvard's DofA)
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Anonymous
| So that's why everyone hates this town.......... |
Anonymous
| I think too many people are worried about what other people think. If I had been well-off and smart enough to go to an Ivy -- I'd have been thrilled. I don't begrudge those who were fortunate enough to go there. My husband & I have managed to do well regardless. We're thrilled our child was smarter than both of us and managed to get in. If she didn't get in --- we weren't going to lose any sleep over it since we both went to "no-name" schools. |
Anonymous
|
Previous Poster -- my husband and I felt the same way. We didn't exactly go to 'no name' schools but they weren't Ivies either. Our children didn't get into Ivies -- they tried but it didn't work. We didn't sweat it and neither did they. Importantly though -- they helped celebrate with the kids who did get in as it was a healthy competition at Sidwell where every kid seems really smart.
One mom I know has a hard-fast rule for Ivy admittance -- she really believes if the family gets rid of cable tv and has dinner together every night -- they'll get in. I don't know! We did have cable so I can't say. |
Anonymous
| My daughter was accepted into an Ivy and didn't go. We couldn't figure it out. She went to a much lower ranked school. We think she was afraid of the competition at the Ivies or maybe her boyfriend talked her out of it because he didn't get in. Has anyone had this problem with smart daughter and less smart boyfriend? |
Anonymous
| PP -- Princeton's former President, Bill Bowen, just wrote a book called "Crossing the Finish Line" --he did write a lot about the "undermatched schools" for girls and minorities. It looks as though it's a common problem |
Anonymous
|
I can't recommend a women's college highly enough. I give full credit to one for allowing me to develop to my best potential. It allowed me to define my own life by my own standards.
I took a year at Harvard and found out I was the only woman in the class speaking up. After a couple weeks, a male student came up to me and mentioned that he thought I a student at (Seven Sister college name). I was stunned to hear him say this. He then said, "The women who always participate in class always turn out to be Seven Sisters." |
Anonymous
| There is no direct path to the Ivies, of course. But, to maximize your child's chances -- make sure they take the SAT as many times as possible (the rules changed just this year so that only the highest scores need to be reported). Take the best prep course you can afford (we love the Princeton Review). Get the best grades possible; do original ECs; get great recs. from the teachers (make sure to have your child ask the teacher if they're able to write a great one -- if not -- find someone else -- you wouldn't believe how many kids just have mediocre recs.). Write really great essays. Visit the college and go to all of the activities planned -- you can get to know the decision-makers. |
Anonymous
My post did not indicate otherwise .. so not sure where you are going with this. Anyhow, a lot of people who did not go to an Ivy are or will be successful. But, in the vast majority of cases, I think most people understand that that might require more work, and doing positionally better in college than an Ivy student. Put plainly: coming in the middle of your class at Yale (like many people I know) got them as far as certain others who came out on the top at say, Michigan.
Not sure where you saw/heard this "new thinking" --- I have not heard anything like this. Source? In any case, it misses the point, which is that getting into Yale law is (like with a job) itself easier if you have been to a better-known, more competitive school (yes: that would include an Ivy). |
Anonymous
| Agree with PP. This "new thinking" thing sounds like wishful thinking to me... |
Anonymous
| Whoever wrote of this "new thinking" must not really be in the DC area. Employers just don't think like that here. |
Anonymous
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13:01 Source? Think about it. Everything is changing because of the Great Recession. Moving forward people are going to be more likely to understand why a student would go to UNC Chapel Hill and then Harvard Law if they can get in-state tuition at UNC.
Do you really think that a prospective employee is going to be that much less likely to get an offer over another candidate who went to Yale or Princeton undergraduate and then Harvard Law, unless the interviewer also went to Yale or Princeton? If this is not true, if employers do not consider non-Ivy candidates equally in the aggregate, in the labor market as opposed to a tony law firm, you are copping to massive employer bias. |
Anonymous
| As the former President of Princeton (Bill Bowen) says...people should go to the best schools that will take them. Employers aren't prone to pity parties! |
Anonymous
| PP=Agree - in a tough economy employers can particularly choose whomever they want -- they will pick the ones with the best credentials - why wouldn't they. I think 15:46 is operating in Pollyanna-land! |
Anonymous
I went to Princeton..... and I was miserable. My dad had also said "go to the best school you get into." Not good advice, in my opinion. |
Anonymous
Okay... but you don't know that you would not have been miserable elsewhere either. It's counterfactual. Undergrad years are tough for many (myself included). Only some portion of that has to do with the University per se. The specific people shoved into your life -- roommates, classmates, boyfriends, girlfriends-- may or may not work out. |