<p>Actually Whitman might be good too.</p>
<p>driver, you've heard of "crunchy?" Well "Preppy" is the opposite...</p>
<p>But basically anywhere that is reasonably selective & academically well regarded and costs $40K per year will attract well to do kids and at least <em>some</em> of them will be of the popped-collar variety.</p>
<p>Coming from a small, private college prep high school near San Francisco, CA, I would define "preppy" as boys in nice slacks, leather shoes, cable knit sweaters over collared shirts and girls in nice pants or long skirts in collared shirts and cardigans. Well, maybe that's a bit extreme. Preppy is one of those words that has a varied definition. I'll be a sophomore at Middlebury College, which certainly has its preppy element (I believe that most institutions do), but it also has its artsy, counter-culture and glitzy elements. But frankly, most people at Midd don't have time to be any of these things because we're all bundled up half of the time (Midd's in Vermont). Granted, I am a sincere advocate for L. L. Bean flannel-lined jeans, but that's only because I think they're a necessity. I think most of my fellow Middkids would agree with me that we all choose comfort over style. But even the "preppy" kids (myself included) know how to glam themselves up to party. I did look at Reed when I was applying, and perhaps from a certain point of view Midd is preppier than Reed, but I think that most Midd kids are too busy to even think about it.</p>
<p>Actually, SB I've never heard of crunchy schools. ??? That's a totally new one on me.</p>
<p>"Crunchy" refers to granola = hippie, natural, bohemian</p>
<p>As I said though all rich kids have some prep to them and all preps have (via their idealism and youth) some crunch as well...</p>
<p>I make a fruit smoothie every morning, with soy protein powder and ground flax seed. I certainly hope that doesn't make me crunchy. OMG</p>
<p>But are you wearing birkenstocks?</p>
<p>No, biker boots. Whew.</p>
<ol>
<li>Schools</li>
</ol>
<p>These colleges and universities were ranked among "the preppiest" by the Official Preppy Handbook in 1980.</p>
<p>Amherst College
Colby College
Colorado College
Georgetown University
Hamilton College
Princeton University
St. Lawrence University
Sweet Briar College
Trinity College
University of Virginia
Williams College </p>
<ol>
<li>Definition
Preppy is a chiefly American adjective traditionally used to describe the characteristics of White, Anglo-Saxon, patrician Protestants (usually with some personal or familial connection to New England, even if only historic) who attend or attended major private, secondary university-preparatory schools. These characteristics include particular subcultural speech, vocabulary, accent, dress, mannerisms, etiquette, and general way of being. </li>
</ol>
<p>In 1980, Lisa Birnbach wrote the Official Preppy Handbook, a tongue-in-cheek "guide" to what she termed "prepdom." The term "preppy" is similar in formation to hippie or yuppie, and had great currency in the 1970s and 1980s. Many Americans first heard the term in the 1970 Arthur Hiller film Love Story.</p>
<ol>
<li>Slang usage
In recent years, young people have begun to use the term "preppy" as slang to describe those who appear clean-cut or seem slightly better off financially than others in a given middle class environment. Used in this manner, "preppy" is applied entirely contrary to the term's mainstream meaning stated above, as the slang version most often describes 'nouveau', publicly-educated people absorbed in the middle class hypermaterialism of modern pop culture for cheap goods sold at disproportionately high prices. </li>
</ol>
<p>As such, teenagers often apply this slang label to popular clothing brands not characteristic of "prepdom" as indicated above, including Abercrombie and Fitch, Hollister Co., Polo Ralph Lauren and American Eagle Outfitters.</p>
<ol>
<li>Usage on College Confidential
Tends to be used liberally as a slight pejorative, especially in one of Mini's favorite entitlement rankings. :)</li>
</ol>
<p>xiggi- take out teh part about american eagle, hollister, and abercrombie and you are correct. However, I admire your knowledge of the preppy handbook, which is one of the best books written. In my dorm at school 12 out of 30 kids have it, pretty good stats. Despite the fact that it is tongue in cheek and debatable whether it makes fun of preppies, it is a very entertaining guide and shockingly true about me, my boarding school friends, my parents, and my parents friends. What makes it equally great is that even though it was written in 1980 it still rings true.</p>
<p>My question, as an aging and over the hill hipster, is....what's the fun or point of going to a non "preppy" school where everyone is exactly like you, thinks and feels the same things socially and politically as you and dresses the same non conventional way? Where's the debate? The juice?</p>
<p>Why not go to a preppy school and have some fun shaking them up? Openning their eyes? Challenging or converting them. And while you're at it, getting all the cool straight girls or guys who want to walk (just a little bit) on the wild side.</p>
<p>Back when I was in school, the whole rest of the world was preppy: half the fun of being non preppy was being different.</p>
<p>For what it's worth, here is an "entitlement" index, a combined measure of 1) the percentage of students who attended private schools for high school (the first number); and 2) the percentage of students who receive no need-based aid (the second number). Note that it is a year old. The top 10 LACS on the "entitlement" index below. Not meant perjoratively, just descriptively - you can ascribe whatever characteristics to it you want. (For the record, I attended number seven, and fit neither criteria.)</p>
<ol>
<li> Davidson 52/67 119</li>
<li> Washington and Lee 40/73 113</li>
<li> Trinity 57/53 119</li>
<li> Bates 48/60 108</li>
<li> Middlebury 45/60 105</li>
<li> Kenyon 46/59 105</li>
<li> Williams 46/58 104</li>
<li> Univ. of the South 48/55 103</li>
<li> Connecticut 48/54 102</li>
<li>Colby 40/60 100</li>
</ol>
<p>Driver raises an interesting point: whether eschewing all the conventional badges of preppiness makes you any less a preppy? Andover is one of Wesleyan's top feeder schools; Wesleyan's lacrosse team narrowly missed beating Williams' team at the post-season playoffs; Wesleyan's Psi U Chapter is one of the oldest in the country. Wesleyan clearly has students who come from wealthy backgrounds (how can they not, with tuition what it is?) The difference is that many of these same people prefer t-shirts and jeans to polo shirts and khakis and are some of the most vocal advocates of economic policies that would probably be against their own families interests. At Wesleyan, preppies are just one species of student among many others, including musicians, jocks, aesthetes, queers, working-class heroes, nerds, and various racial and ethnic groupings--who all somehow manage to get along with each other. They certainly do not "rule the roost" the way they do at some places.</p>
<p>Was it REALLY that long ago (25 years) that Lisa Birnbaum wrote "The Preppy Handbook"? And the definition hasn't changed? Is it still khaki pants, polo shirts, Docksides, and $$$$?</p>
<p>even here at Davidson, mini's bastion of 'entitlement', we have all types, even the true preppys(those who actually went to a private prep school and pay full freight costs) do not all conform to the stereotype. However, if you choose to attend a 'boutique' college, you should not be surprised if you meet a certain class of people, just as if you decided to go shopping at Neiman-Marcus rather than Walmart-it's a choice. I do not think anyone is 'entitled' to shop at Neiman-Marcus, nor do I think anyone is 'entitled' to a Rolls Royce over a Honda Civic-it is a choice and if you can financially afford it, more power to you. Mini seems to feel that the boutique colleges ought to do more to attract a different customer base-I never felt that they need to do any such thing, they are running a business and they know who their customers are-if they changed that too much,their customers may go elsewhere.</p>
<p>for me, the stereotypical preppy guy is someone who wears khakis or expensive jeans, with a polo shirt/dress shirt with that damned collar popped. or the dreaded pink pants.
and shops at brooks brotheres/j. crew.
tend to be on the more conservative side of the spectrum.
and plays tennis/squash, golf, or sails.</p>
<p>"Mini seems to feel that the boutique colleges ought to do more to attract a different customer base-I never felt that they need to do any such thing, they are running a business and they know who their customers are-if they changed that too much,their customers may go elsewhere."</p>
<p>Excuse me, but I don't feel that way at all. These are private institutions, and they should be allowed to take whom they choose, and to spend their money as they see fit. I think consumers should be equipped with the best information available, and make their choices accordingly.</p>
<p>And yes, Davidson IS a bastion of entitlement (I don't make up the numbers - they come from Davidson), and there are plenty of people who like it that way, including the Davidson administration. It's also a place you can get a GREAT education.</p>
<p>The Official Preppy Handbook lists Hampden-Sydney as THE finishing school for Southern gentlemen.Birnbach's top ten prep colleges include four from Virginia-HSC,Hollins,Sweet Briar,and UVA.W&L isn't even listed as a runner up in the next ten!
In terms of prep-excellence,class,tradition,prestige,honor,beautiful campus,strong academics,athletics,social life...
Davidson and Hampden-Sydney rule!</p>