Quote:
Originally Posted by under a mountain
Not to bne that guy.... but
If the below schools were not involved what does this have to do with LI?
Private:
Webb Institute in Nassau County (Glen Cove |
Because *most* Long Island parents care very much about education.
I live in Ohio now, and it was strange to me that even as late as Fall in senior year, many of my daughter's friends had not yet thought about college.
Long Island has always been a bit college obsessed, which is not necessarily a bad thing.
A bad thing is bribing one's way into college. I personally have lost a lot of respect for Ivies in the past 15 years, when my kids, my friend's kids, and sibling's kids all applied to college.
A disproportionate number of Ivy League students are legacies, who have a family history with the school.
For people who are "old money", that does not always mean that they come from a super smart family. It might mean that their family was here in 17th century or before and chose one of the few existing colleges in the country. They were generally all for white, Protestant men. (Women's colleges came in the 19th C)
In the 1960s and 70s, many boys at the elite East Woods School wrote the names of an Ivy League school on the outer pages of their school books. When my sister asked a few school mates why they had "Dartmouth", "Yale" "Harvard" or "Princeton" written on the pages opposite the binding, she was told "because that's my family's school" or "because my father went there, and I will too".
My parents were pretty amazed. They already knew.
The Bush's are a Yale family, for example. Although, one of the Bush twins attended UT Austin.
Ivy Leagues also have a disproportionate number of child stars. Is Brooke Shields a genius? Princeton? Really? Most professional children have had a spotty education at best.
The same can be said for "A" list celebrities - are ALL their kids geniuses?
The celebrities in question were not exactly "A" list. I am a huge fan of William H. Macy, but his name hardly a household word.
What I think is that this is a clumsy and reprehensible attempt to do what the socially elite have been doing for ever - automatic acceptance at their family's college.
What is sad, is that there are so many academically challenging, well regarded colleges and universities that are well known to academics, employers and graduate schools that parents - including these celebrities and many suburban parents, have never heard of, but have as much clout where it counts - and where the education is superb.
People don't think outside of the box - The Box being not only Ivies, but "Famous" colleges with name recognition. Sometimes the name recognition is deserved. Many times it isn't.
Colleges with famous sports teams, universities that bear the name of a large, desirable city, or region - are also in this group.
People need to start sending their kids to colleges that are a good fit for their child - NOT a college that will impress your next door neighbors.
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