Tuesday's Most Active Threads

Yesterday I finally locked the transgender athletes thread that has been the most active thread for several days. Even so, it tied for the top spot yesterday. The other top thread was titled, "Met Gala 2023" and posted in the "Beauty and Fashion" forum. As you can surmise, the thread was about the Met Gala. There is not a lot for me to say about this thread. I know very little about the event and have no opinions about it. The thread itself is mostly a series of pictures showing exotically dressed celebrities with posters raving about how good they look. I have not read much of this thread but it seems that those responding appreciated everything they saw. The one notable exception that I came across was Brittany Mahomes, a former professional soccer player and founder of the Kansas City Current professional women's soccer team. The fitness entrepreneur, who is married to NFL Quarterback Patrick Mahomes, was criticized both personally and for her choice of dress. But most of those mentioned in the thread received postitive reviews. If this sort of thing interests you, there are 18 pages for your viewing pleasure.

The next most active thread was posted in the "College and University Discussion" forum. Titled, "Selective schools with decent merit", I'm fairly certain that I've previously discussed a very similar thread. I had to check the date of this thread to confirm that it was not an old thread that had been revived. At any rate, the original poster is helping a high school junior identify colleges to which to apply. The original poster explains that they don't expect to receive need-based financial aid and the student has already identified an affordable "safety" school, but is looking for "reach" colleges that provide merit aid. There is some confusion about exactly what the original poster is asking. Some understand the meaning of "reach" to be schools for which the student's stats are low. In that scenario, merit aid would not likely be forthcoming. However, another poster suggests, and the original poster confirms, that the term is being used to refer to schools that are competitive even for kids with high stats and for which almost all applicants face significant odds against being accepted. There are pages of suggestions that are mostly based on posters' personal experiences. However, many of the posts veer off into related, but not exactly on-topic, issues. There are debates about which schools that are suggested are actually "reach" schools and which are or are not "safety" schools. There is discussion about strategies for applying to college and posts about the cost of attending various universities. Having just ended one admissions season, it appears that we are already entering another. So, I guess I'll continue to be writing about threads such as this pretty regularly.

Third was a thread titled, "If you could live anywhere, where would you raise children?" and posted in the "General Parenting Discussion" forum. I am not completely convinced this is the proper forum for this thread and I received more than one report suggesting that it should be moved. But, I was not sure what forum might be most appropriate so I left it alone. The original poster explains that her family has substantial financial means and currently live in an affluent area with highly-regarded public schools. Nevertheless, the original poster is not satisfied with the public school and is considering private schools. The options under consideration are not convenient to their current home, so the original poster is considering moving and asks where others would chose to live that is great for raising children. Had this discussion been limited to the metropolitan DC area, I would have moved the thread to the real estate forum. But, the original poster stipulated that suggestions could be for anywhere. This is a subjective question given that nobody agrees on what type of place is best for raising a family. People have different values, often vastly different. As such, an extraordinary mix of recommendations are provided. Everything from Manhattan on one end to small college towns on the other and lots of places in between. Some posters recommend locations outside the United States where they believe children are more valued and there is more support for families. While there are a lot of responses, many of them appearing to have had significant thought put into them, I am not sure this is really a helpful thread overall because the question is just too broad. The poster would be better off being more specific so that others know what she prioritizes and considers family-friendly.

The final thread at which I'll look today was originally posted in the "College and University Discussion" forum. But, after reading it this morning, I moved it to the "Jobs and Careers" forum. Titled, "People getting crap jobs from HYPS?", the original poster describes a soon-to-be graduate of a HYPS (Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford) school who has accepted a job as a kayak instructor despite soon having a mathematics degree. The original poster insists that the young man is not wealthy. The original poster seems to believe this is the best job that individual was able to get. In contrast, many of those who reply suggest that he just wants to do something fun and that this might not seem like a bad job to a 22-year-old. Others explain that he may not have done internships, conducted research, or achieved a very high GPA and, therefore, is not all that hot of a commodity. Some question whether mathematics is even that marketable of a field. But the general sentiment seems to be that the high pressure environments of elite schools can often lead to graduates wanting to take a year or two to relax and enjoy themselves before rejoining the rat race. With no debt (as far as anyone knows), he will get buy just fine and will still have the same credentials when he is ready to look for something different. There are quite a few anecdotes from posters who knew of others doing similar things and having everything work out eventually. In contrast, there are posters who argue that the early 20s are a time of great importance for getting ahead and, as such, this is a lost opportunity.