defend the indefensible: THE IVY LEAGUE

Nellie McKay is written off - http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2007/08/nellie_mckay_calls_columbias_p.html

She should go back to being a redhead.

I presume it is possible to learn something at an ivy league school such as might, in part, justify the huge expense in time, money and effort. Learning is good. Therefore the ivy league is defensible on the grounds that they are capable of facilitating something good.

which is completely outweighed by rich white kids learning nothing and assuming shell positions that drain our nation of its competitiveness in a global marketplace. and the fact that the rest just get burdened with debt and/or wind up working for some ridiculous freegan hippie junk parade like the media or congress.

(splutters) But...but...hey! That's not a very good defense at all!

Man, I love that Nellie McKay. More people need to use insults like "goofus" or (as I say) "jerkface" or "hilarious-head."

My single-mom family was in the lower economic bracket (qualified for large blocks of free cheese in the early eighties and got free school lunch, etc.) but my brother went to Harvard and my sister went to Yale. My mom always impressed on us that we had to get good grades to get scholarships to good schools. She moved us from DC to Montana when my older siblings were starting junior high specifically because the chances of getting into good Northeastern schools improved coming from bumfuck (and also cuz she was a hippie who wanted to garden topless in the mountains amongst the bears and rednecks). I'm sure being from Montana helped me get into Wesleyan. We all got full rides (but lots of debt upon graduation). Thank god for need-blind admissions! Got me the hell out of Montana!

Now they're both raking it in, buy the whey.

maria you consistently amaze me with your posts. you are awesome.

i got into wesleyan, too -- but i was too stupid to get a scholarship sufficient to pay the lion's share of expenses there & my parents refused to make up the difference ;__;

actually, i only ;__;'d way back then -- now, i know that my parents were right to hold the line.

he moved us from DC to Montana when my older siblings were starting junior high specifically because the chances of getting into good Northeastern schools improved coming from bumfuck (and also cuz she was a hippie who wanted to garden topless in the mountains amongst the bears and rednecks). I'm sure being from Montana helped me get into Wesleyan. We all got full rides (but lots of debt upon graduation).

My friend's Dad did the exact same thing, except from Jersey to Wyoming. Also, he made sure that they had no net income (they ran a B&B). I went to school with one of 'em (smallest Ivy), and the other one went to Princeton. Princeton, fwiw, forgives ALL LOANS, and she basically graduated paying about $10k total for her education.

not entirely sure why I capitalized "dad" there.

My friend's Dad did the exact same thing, except from Jersey to Wyoming. Also, he made sure that they had no net income (they ran a B&B)

this is totally what i am doing. oh wait, i'm not having any kids. well, i'll do it anyway.

thanks, stence! i'm blushing.

My friend's Dad did the exact same thing, except from Jersey to Wyoming. Also, he made sure that they had no net income (they ran a B&B). I went to school with one of 'em (smallest Ivy), and the other one went to Princeton.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Hogue

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oops, that was from the nellie mckay article
also "kookily eclectic"

it's true that Jersey=D.C. and Wyoming=Montana, although I think I got the better deal.

no need to blush just keep on' postin'!

it's like... reverse economic racism!

j/k

But there's another side to that: I was told to my face in an admissions interview that if I didn't get into that school it would be because I did not have an alumni relation. On the one hand, this might not have happened if my grades/math SAT/I dunno something had been a little better. On the other hand, it still kinda sucks to be told that.

BUT I am still one of those lucky people who is going to school for about a tenth of what the actual cost is. Being poor is awesome sometimes!

omg hilarious-head xp so good

I was told to my face in an admissions interview that if I didn't get into that school it would be because I did not have an alumni relation.

i have a legacy at princeton going back 3+ generations on both sides of my family (if youve ever met anyone who went to princeton youll know that this is not bragging) and they rejected the shit out of me. the sense i got was mostly just that they didnt care about pleasing my parents or grandparents because none of them ever donated any $$.

so, the legacy thing only works if your relatives are pledging ca$h

it's amazing the lengths that parents go to to get their kids into fancy schools! moving across the country, etc. my boss has kids going into 6th and 7th grade and endlessesly obsesses over which middle and high schools to send them to (the application processes sound very college-like) and already has contacted private college guidance counsellors.

this is the kind of shit that makes me never want to have kids.

esp if u live in a particular town, it gets evil. junior year is scary shit. u don't wanna run into a mom whose daughter just got rejected from Cornell.

i remember hunting the mailman down in his mail vehicle on my block in anticipation of my letters. when he handed me to fat ones, i just started screaming. was in the best friend's beemer. oh LONG ISLAND I MISS YOU MUCH

this is the kind of shit that makes me never want to have kids.

we moved to Montana and attended PUBLIC schools. It's not like every waking hour was focused on the pursuit of college. Shit, we were the only students in the whole high school who went east to college and had to inform our guidance counselors about the schools. I was one of two kids in my class to take the SATs and had to travel 60 miles to do them. Didn't occur to me to have another try at them. I'm sure that if I'd said I didn't want to go to college at all, my mom would have accepted it. For her, it was about giving kids from a low-income family good chances. Good college does really improve your life. I agree that it's possible to get an excellent educatin at less expensive colleges and I agree that parents often go overboard about it. Nonetheless, trying really hard to give your kids good chances is not something to be unconditionally scorned.

ha ha i got an educatin

oh i'm not scorning it, the entire process just kind of terrifies me.

but so do many other things about child-rearing.
i think it is just perhaps best that i never reproduce.

cuz of the money alone surely

i only had to go about five minutes away to take the sat, and once was enough for me.

I would like to spawn in bozeman, I think

Livingston is much prettier, and just over the pass.

Bozeman's pop. is like 45k right now and is expected to hit 100k+ in about 15 years. Bozeangels, LOL.

Seriously, it's beautiful here, but the development is atrocious. Mixed what?

Yeah, I should just go found my own town in WY
who wants to move in?

Ooh, actually, just move to Lander, WY!

I'm kind of fascinated by the idea of ILX all picking up and founding a remote western settlement. Probable collapse within in 3 weeks though.

Can we rename Lander to Villa Del Tomboto y/n

move to idaho, start a polygamous commune, spawn hundreds of children and send them all to ivy league schools!

I think you will hacve to take that up with Lander, TOMBOT

Ilx Barre

Etna, Wyo., is a wonderful town of pop. 300 or so. You could work doing cryptology shit for the Freedom Arms Gun Company hq, located in that town. There's also a crazy bison preserve there. It's in a beautiful valley and you can buy "illegal fireworks" such as firecrackers & bottle rockets all year round. Plus cigs (ie Camels) are on avg. $3/pack. GO FOR IT.

a strong temptation