Reply to Ever leave the DMV and see successful people who aren't this T20 college obsessed and wonder?

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Reply to "Ever leave the DMV and see successful people who aren't this T20 college obsessed and wonder?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP, I grew up on one of the nicest South Jersey shore towns, probably very close to where you are spending the summer, and I still have family there.  I know exactly the kind of people you see around you, and here’s the thing:  your sample is skewed.  There are rich people everywhere and who send their kids to every school, and what you’re seeing are the rich people from Philly who went to and are sending their kids to Big Five schools.  Not everyone who goes to those schools ends up as rich as the ones you are seeing.  Not everyone from Philly has a house at the shore either.

There are plenty of rich people in the DC area who didn’t go to top 20 colleges either.

[/quote]

I grew up near there and there were parents obsessed with T20 schools back in the 80s. Granted it was much easier to get it back then, but it was a given that some kids were going to attend certain schools. We had a bunch head to Ivy League schools.

Many of my NY/Boston friends have an even more intense attitude to college.

The DC area is just like other affluent areas around the US. 
[/quote]

I’m the poster who is calling the OP out on this, and I agree with you.  I just wanted to add that, while there are plenty of big Catholic families in the Philly area who are not obsessed with the Ivies, it’s only because they don’t have to be.  They’re rich and connected and their kids are going to be fine going to a Big Five school.  They will be taken care of.

Beach houses in towns like Avalon and Stone Harbor go for $2 million to $10 million plus.  They’re much more expensive than the Delaware and Maryland beaches.  People own them as second homes, and many are not rented out.  These are seriously rich people.

So much for OP’s “regular world.”[/quote]

OP here.  I'm not in Avalon or Stone Harbor but am in OCNJ.  Sure, there is money here but you are taking "Jersey Shore" and immediately assuming I mean the wealthiest shores towns in NJ.

Also, i said it above but will reiterate, some of these families I am speaking of come from money but most do not.  Some are Catholic but some are not. 
Believe what you wish.  I am not creating a narrative out of thin air to stir the pot. 
There are many kids who achieve first-generation success (as measured by a high level job, high quality of life) without having attended one of the top 50 universities.  
I know this runs contrary to the DCUM narrative.  But it should make us all feel BETTER!  Not worse.  Our kids (if they work hard) will be OKAY regardless of where they attend college.  I know most of us know this (in theory) but the stress to 
achieve admission at one school or another is high around the DMV.  At the Big3 (which I mentioned because its my world here and a unique world at that) it can be stifling.

[/quote]

This is fascinating to me that you didn't kind of already know all of this.   That you really thought the only way to "a good life" was Big3/Top 20.  [b]I grew up in a second-tier working class city and stumbled my way into an Ivy somehow with zero foresight or planning or involvement from my parents.[/b]  I have a good career.  My spouse went to an okay (at best) college and is wildly successful.  So many people where I grew up lead very happy and productive lives and are incredibly connected to their extended family and communities.  I am in touch with a wide network of people from my Ivy 30 years later and plenty of people are really just average.  It's not some golden ticket to "the good life".  I think getting a college degree as a baseline is pretty important to get access to a lot of types of jobs starting out.  After that?  So many other variables at play.  It's really not worth gunning for with intensity.
[/quote]

I'm the same as you, though my career is pretty lame (Fed lawyer).  What did your spouse do, sales?

People I grew up with largely stayed in my working class/rural state, and none of them are renting houses in OCNJ FFS[/quote]

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