Youth is beautiful

I remember 30 years ago at an Ivy thinking how attractive (and thin) the student body was, except for finals week when the contacts came out and people reduced their beauty/shaving routines and it was a whole different campus.

I'm not going to comment on today versus 20 or 30 years ago. But I will say that when I was at my Ivy I also had the opportunity to travel to several large northeastern state universities/regional public universities for specific events and it struck me how different the students looked. People at the state schools were a lot heavier and not as groomed. Not everyone, of course! But there was certainly a quota of overweight and slobby students as well as generally unhealthy looking students that you rarely saw at the Ivy.

The Ivies are dominated by the educated upper middle classes from professional families as well as affluent families and the American upper middle and upper classes are, as a group, healthy and well-groomed. Part of it has to do with money and access to nicer clothes, part of it has to do with education promoting healthier lifestyles and a large part of it clearly has to do with peer pressure within the upper classes of America.

You see this difference in schools as well. Compare the student body at the DC private schools or elite public high schools with regular public high schools in the outer suburbs or PG county or especially in rural areas, you will see a big difference in how the kids look and dress.

Anonymous wrote:From my observation Princeton, Penn, Brown have the most attractive students. Harvard has the least attractive ones. Maybe it is correlated with the fact that Haravrd students are the brainiest.

So the attractive ones are what, stupid?

Whatever do you mean?

They reek of future wealth that they glow with utter attractiveness?

Most likely they are status seeking focused and run their entire life as such. Attractive? In the eyes of beholders.

Anonymous wrote:I'm fairly certain this reflects nothing more than you getting old.

Almost all 20-somethings are pretty good looking.

Yes!

I'm fairly certain this reflects nothing more than you getting old.

Almost all 20-somethings are pretty good looking.

Anonymous wrote:No, youth has a beauty in and of itself that one doesn’t notice until one is no longer young.

So very true. I look back at pictures from my college years and I can't believe I ever thought I was unattractive.

Anonymous wrote:-- dorms became pretty luxurious, nobody slumming it in a shitty room anymore

-- campus food is amazing

-- rich kid genetics via trophy wife

-- being in shape is trendy. lululemon, nike running, yoga

-- kids understand nutrition; eat pretty decent, avoid empty calories & greasy food, stay hydrated with water bottles

-- social media and iPhones mean you always have to be on point

-- elites have moved towards pre-professional, so kids are always dressed pretty neat, like they're ready for an impromptu internship interview

-- rich kids can afford nice hair and fashionable clothes

This - all true, and more.

Rich kids can afford drugs.

Let need for emotional eating.

No, youth has a beauty in and of itself that one doesn’t notice until one is no longer young.

-- dorms became pretty luxurious, nobody slumming it in a shitty room anymore

-- campus food is amazing

-- rich kid genetics via trophy wife

-- being in shape is trendy. lululemon, nike running, yoga

-- kids understand nutrition; eat pretty decent, avoid empty calories & greasy food, stay hydrated with water bottles

-- social media and iPhones mean you always have to be on point

-- elites have moved towards pre-professional, so kids are always dressed pretty neat, like they're ready for an impromptu internship interview

-- rich kids can afford nice hair and fashionable clothes

Anonymous wrote:Yes, of course OP. Money can buy a lot of things that help with good looks

Yes, a schleppy rich guy can land a skinny wife who will likely pop out skinny kids.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Smart rich kids don't eat fast food. They're all into organic everything and tea and smoothies. Middle class kids don't have the same dietary sophistication.

let me guess...you didn't actually go to school with smart rich kids?

I attended upper-middle class schools my entire life, two degrees from top 20 colleges, and work in education with first-gen students. Kids I work with eat junk all. day. long. Addicted to gas station candy, juice, chips, soda, and fast food. They turn their nose up at anything healthy. My staffers will shadow them through one of our amazing cafeterias and they exclusively reach for junk, refuse to even try healthy suggestions.

In comparison, wealthier kids are all carrying around water bottles, if they grab carbs it's a wheat bagel, they know to at least make an attempt to balance their meals with fruits and veggies. Wealthier gals are always jogging, or signing up for yoga classes, etc.

Better nutrition, healthier look.

Anonymous wrote:Rich/upper-middle-class kids are generally better looking than lower-middle-class/poor kids. It's not fair, but the more fortunate kids benefit from better nutrition, more exercise, genetics, good parental modeling, better healthcare, better clothes, etc.

Many LMC/poor kids subsist mostly on microwaved dinners and junk food, and rely on video games for entertainment (as opposed to organized sports/activities).

You wouldn't think that looking at the women at graduation exercises in dresses at my SLAC. They are so much more heavy than my generation.