Agreed. Now everyone's going to come up with the saddest disadvantaged stories they can think of. Not sure why people want to be defined by this. Frankly, not sure why anyone still wants to go to an Ivy League.
That is the million dollar question. These "Elite" institutions are not the best anymore. The public needs to stop buying into an idea of what they once were.
I have experience teaching at universities considered “common public schools” and a couple of east coast elites and this comment is spot on. I was going to write a long comment saying so - but @Chris sums it up perfectly. Go find a good affordable school that will allow you to be challenged and learn - stay away from schools full of people who are full of themselves.
It’s all about the contacts you are going to get there. Networking - to be good at it is making the difference. But it totally depends on one’s personality - to profit from being member of a club one has to be clubbable in the first place.
Einstein was quite sociable and no hermit. And he hadn’t to be clubbable of course. He was a fricking genius.
Anyway. The scientist and the IT nerd are less dependent on schmoozing and back-scratching than the poor schmuck who want to make their way in the humanities or succeed in law or financial services.
Probably not. But quite likely he wouldn’t even think of applying. He would want to be at CalTec or MIT or he might set his eyes at NYU - Courant Institute. Harvard is never that much a preferred choice for STEM talent.
I was really puzzled by this. Hasn’t it always been a victimhood Olympics? Or at least for the last thirty years? I remember essays in the late nineties were always about how you “overcame adversity”. My son is applying now and nothing has changed.
What is it with these stupid essays anyway ? Anyone can make any old story ?
I am so grateful that we don’t have this nonsense in Australia. You need the grades to get into university, and nobody takes any notice of where you went to high school.
Unless you are indigenous (3%population) in which case you’ll get a scholarship, but probable flunk out because your weren’t actually prepared.
Yeah. I think the best essays are about how easy someone has had it. It's really important to forget where one has come from and to dismiss any adversity/challenges that have been overcome. Builds character.
Your “victimhood Olympics” question was an excellent one and he danced around a non-answer.
Agreed. Now everyone's going to come up with the saddest disadvantaged stories they can think of. Not sure why people want to be defined by this. Frankly, not sure why anyone still wants to go to an Ivy League.
That is the million dollar question. These "Elite" institutions are not the best anymore. The public needs to stop buying into an idea of what they once were.
I have experience teaching at universities considered “common public schools” and a couple of east coast elites and this comment is spot on. I was going to write a long comment saying so - but @Chris sums it up perfectly. Go find a good affordable school that will allow you to be challenged and learn - stay away from schools full of people who are full of themselves.
It’s all about the contacts you are going to get there. Networking - to be good at it is making the difference. But it totally depends on one’s personality - to profit from being member of a club one has to be clubbable in the first place.
Hmmm. How clubbable was Einstein?
Einstein was quite sociable and no hermit. And he hadn’t to be clubbable of course. He was a fricking genius.
Anyway. The scientist and the IT nerd are less dependent on schmoozing and back-scratching than the poor schmuck who want to make their way in the humanities or succeed in law or financial services.
On the one hand, I knew that Einstein was a poor choice for the particular point raised, but I was lazy. But. Could he get into Harvard today?
Probably not. But quite likely he wouldn’t even think of applying. He would want to be at CalTec or MIT or he might set his eyes at NYU - Courant Institute. Harvard is never that much a preferred choice for STEM talent.
Well, probably bc it's entre into the upper levels of government and business.
I was really puzzled by this. Hasn’t it always been a victimhood Olympics? Or at least for the last thirty years? I remember essays in the late nineties were always about how you “overcame adversity”. My son is applying now and nothing has changed.
What is it with these stupid essays anyway ? Anyone can make any old story ?
I am so grateful that we don’t have this nonsense in Australia. You need the grades to get into university, and nobody takes any notice of where you went to high school.
Unless you are indigenous (3%population) in which case you’ll get a scholarship, but probable flunk out because your weren’t actually prepared.
Yeah. I think the best essays are about how easy someone has had it. It's really important to forget where one has come from and to dismiss any adversity/challenges that have been overcome. Builds character.