<p>You guys are making me nostalgic for Australia, where I did my undergrad, where nobody gives a hoot what uni you went to, where we just threw some shrimp on the barbie and enjoyed life. And we had a pub on campus!
I saw an excellent documentary last night on HBO about the war photographer Tim Hertherington. I bring it up because so much of the world is in so much pain. Kids in war zones carry around AK-47s, not iPads. There are so many places where kids can’t even get an elementary education (especially girls). And here we are, arguing about whether USC or Duke is worth the extra $50,000 a year because it’s not Harvard, where people spend a more than a quarter of a million dollars (maybe half a million or more if you add in private elementary or high school) educating ONE kid.
I need a glass of wine, too.</p>
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Well, Harvard is a highly ranked school. And Harvard is an elite school. I don’t see too much difference between Harvard and Harvard.</p>
<p>:D</p>
<p>Oh I agree on the estrogen thing, and acknowledge my responsibility in bringing hormones to this thread. If I weren’t a married woman, I’d only hang out with men. Too many suburban, middle class women here are completely nuts, and get way too involved in petty jealousies–I guess because they don’t have to worry about AK-47’s. Unfortunately, when you’re a mother whose kids noticeably do well, it puts a big target on your back. One of the worst weeks of my life was when the high school AD erroneously announced to a full auditorium of parents that my D got a full ride to Stanford. Ever read the book “Tripping the Prom Queen”?</p>
<p>poetgrl, I thought you were caught up in Sotomayor? As someone who is “OK sometimes but full of myself” or something close to that I find your posts quite haughty. Is there some special status you have here that I should be bowing too?</p>
<p>I got plenty of oxygen…and a bit of honesty. And several of you keep thinking of this neighbor thing a little concretely. Read a little Lacan when you’re done with Sotomayor.</p>
<p>And blossom, sorry, but you lost me at hello. I have no idea what you said. Do you think I hate the Ivies or that I haven’t accepted the good schools that folks (including me) don’t give enough credit???</p>
<p>Oddly enough, and I was thinking about this while I was on my treadmill, getting both “a run” and “some oxygen” (and I guess boxing workout to come), that I have no resentment at all towards the Ivies. One kid from our school got in Harvard this year. I am THRILLED for him, ecstatic. I find myself more vulnerable to closer comparisons, like when people act like a school within 10-15 USNWR slots is significantly preferable to another one. </p>
<p>And it’s not like I’m going into therapy over all of this. I talking about minor grimaces, slight reactions…sort of like the kind of things that make people say I’m outta here, or make them say something overly snarky and smart…sort of like what happens here.</p>
<p>And I’m no longer asking anyone specifically this question, but there are A LOT of folks here who obviously post a lot and check in a lot, etc, etc…Since almost all of them seem to be beyond any conflictual feelings about elite or less elite, I’m just guessing that THERE MUST BE SOME REASON, SOME EXPLANATION FOR THE VERY ACUTE INTEREST.</p>
<p>shorty, but you’re not in Australia. The NFL DRAFT is going on as well as the NBA playoffs, and yet you’re spending your Thursday evening on College Confidential, suggesting that you have absolutely no interest in matters so pathetic as college desires. I hardly ever find myself happening into forums where I have not the slightest interest.</p>
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By neighbor I mean anybody who, without solicitation, discusses any of this college admissions nonsense with me IRL. I don’t mean just people who live proximate to me. I don’t count internet thread discussions on here that I purposefully seek out. If I didn’t visit this site, I think these discussions would come up maybe once or twice a year for me. Mainly “How’s your kid doing” . “Okay”. 'Great".</p>
<p>If I seek out an argument on a website, that’s my own darn fault. In that case it’s for my amusement. Nothing more sinister than that.</p>
<p>Is that too concrete a conception for the term “neighbor”?</p>
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No need to shout. Ever heard of entertainment? I check my engineering website every day too. So what? Should I submit my post count from that site to you for analysis? Here’s a hint, I have way more posts to that board. What’s my “narcissistic” compulsion over there? We have joke threads, complaint threads, recipe threads, technical threads, family threads, kid picture threads, home remodel threads, a “drunk tank” for drunk posting. Even “10K post” races for innane drivel to kill time. It is the internet for goodness sake.</p>
<p>I’m on here a lot today because I’m off work and have to hang around the house for, yes, another non-sinister reason. I’m killing time making some posts. I bet most people are like me - they check in here as part of their routine, and wind up getting in the same arguments over and over again. You could probably find me on both sides of this particular argument, as well as the AA argument, the “anti-holistic” argument. the grade inflation argument. All the faves. I don’t believe most people are invested in any of them to any serious degree. </p>
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How absurd. THe Miami game is on in the background. Only people who take this way too seriously think you can’t jot down a quick post and watch/listen to a game at the same time.</p>
<p>The NFL draft is even worse than this. It is people voluntarily tuning in to watch a three-day-long HR meeting. Count me out.</p>
<h1>384: you make good points…</h1>
<p>LOL, someoldguy!</p>
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<p>Because this is a hobby site for people who are interested in the traits and distinctions in US higher ed. It’s similar in that way to automotive review sites for people who are interested in cars. There are qualitative and quantitative differences among institutions, and many different kinds of students with different goals. Also, colleges, like cars, connote status among some portions of the population (these are unlikely to be overlapping portions of the population).</p>
<p>Do you think this interest in higher ed is somehow illegitimate?</p>
<p>This site is like Chowhound for Colleges. It’s interesting and amusing and occasionally infuriating. But in the end, people make the choices to attend the places that appeal to them and that they can afford. Just like Chowhound. In the end, everyone gets fed.</p>
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<p>You should feel free to put me on ignore, if you want. I won’t mind. Just go to your control panel and edit ignore list and then you won’t have to see my posts anymore.</p>
<p>I have a PhD in English Lit. I’ve read more than enough Focoult, Lacan, and the rest of them to last a lifetime. Personally, I fell more along the frye lines and was way more interested in the historical critics, though I was mildly fascinated by Said, for a while, as it pertained to colonialism, et al, and particularly in terms of queer theory, I was fascinated by some of the French women like Cixxous (sp.) etc… </p>
<p>But please, if you don’t address me, I will not address you either. No problem.</p>
<p>In defense of finalchild, s/he is correct that there are CCers who spend a lot of time posting on threads with this topic, and there’s always at least one going. I am one such poster. However, in the group of frequent posters, there are those who love to insist that they don’t care one whit about elite colleges. Isn’t that a little odd? Do people who have no interest in cars make thousands of posts on automobile sites? Are non-engineers frequent participants in the engineering forum?</p>
<p>I was part of 2012 high school and now 2016 college threads. We seriously discussed each of our kids’ choices, ups and downs on a daily basis, supported each other in their decision making process. The goal was that every kid has a an affordable college choice that they have no problem attending. There was zero judging. Most parent threads for each class year are pretty similar.</p>
<p>texaspg, I’m trying to get to the root of the judging. My belief is that speaking the unspoken, addressing the elephant in the room, etc is how you get there. It seems like the judging often is OK as long as it is in one direction and coming from certain persons.</p>
<p>peotgrl, it’s Foucault. And the real question is where did you get your Ph.D. in English Lit? 
I only have a Ph.D. in phenomenological psychology. </p>
<p>And NJSue, I don’t think the interest in the site is illegitimate at all. Rather, I think total denial of the interest is implausible.</p>
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THat’s just it. Just because somebody posts on an automobile thread doesn’t mean they are jealous of the person with the Rolls Royce. Maybe they are, maybe they aren’t. They might just be looking for a used alternator.</p>
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We have a few. But not many. But guess what? EVery engineer on there went to college. And I don’t believe there is a single college discussion thread on there at all. We discuss which employers are good, which employers pay well, which employers suck. A little bit. But anybody who went on there singing the praises of a particular school they attended would not find a particularly interested crowd. THeir thread would last about three posts before people lost interest.</p>
<p>Mostly I log in because I am just killing time waiting for the pasta water to boil, and I enjoy the chat. I have an interest in higher ed because I work in higher ed, and my kid just graduated from college. However, now that she’s done, I’m pretty much done, too. I’m sure in a year or two I’ll find another forum to hang out on, like Therapy Alpacas (seriously, have you googled those? They are the cutest things ever!)</p>
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<p>I’m not really sure why that is the “real” question. I sometimes post on that forum to talk to the kids there, but I really don’t go around blaring that, at all. But probably both of our doctorates would indicate why we both bother to be here. We care about education.</p>
<p>You will find most long time regular posters have graduate degrees of some variety or another. It’s interesting to me that you have a doctorate in psych. I also have an advanced degree in Psych and work in the counseling field, with kids.</p>
<p>Another reason I find myself here. This age group interests me and I sometimes PM a student with some advice on where to go to get some help.</p>
<p>I’m not sure why you are so obsessed with narcissistic issues. But there you have it. Since you know your theory, then you have your answer.</p>
<p>We had a rather funny thread yesterday about people who do or do not worry about spelling and grammar on message boards. I fall into the don’t worry on message boards category.</p>
<p>Again, feel free to put me on ignore if my posts bug you. Also, feel free to not address me, and I will not address you, either.</p>
<p>Yes, bovertine, but threads on CC that argue over whether elite colleges are worth extra money don’t die out after 3 posts. They go on for hundreds of posts, and yet some of the people still posting by #395 are those who claim they could care less what schools anyone else chooses to attend. Then shouldn’t they find a nice recipe thread or something?</p>
<p>Thinking about it, I am not sure who does NOT have an advanced degree around here.</p>
<p>I don’t, so am I out? I also never took a CS course, but I am in technology. No wonder no one ever pay any attention to me.</p>