The only value system in which “matriculating to an Ivy” is good personal goal is one which focuses entirely on status symbols, at the expense of any other social values. It’s the type of value system which breeds the admission scandals, because parents are willing cheat and lie and break the law in order to achieve the status symbol of “my kid attends an Ivy league college”
It is a value system which teaches kids that status symbols are more important than helping others, more important than making a difference in the world, more important than finding their own place in world.
Because the only thing that the Ivy League universities all have in common is that they belong to the Ivy League athletic conference, and that this conference is associated with some sort of “prestige”.
Worst of all, merely “attending an Ivy” is a terrible goal because it diminishes the student and the student’s dreams and aspirations.
What sort of mean and meagre goal is it, which ends when the student receives an admission to college in 12th grade? What sort of empty and terrible life goal is ended at 12th grade if the student is rejected from every Ivy League university? This is, in fact, much more likely than being accepted to an Ivy.
So this “value system” not only erodes a student’s value system, skews the moral compass, limits and constricts their aspirations, mars the student’s high school years, but also can leave them directionless, or despairing when they graduate high school.
So many parents and students have been here, starting posts with “my kid/I worked so hard for four years, did so much, spent so many hours on homework, extracurriculars, etc, and it was ALL FOR NOTHING, since they/I were/was rejected form every Ivy league college to which they/I applied!!”.
There are also the poor kids who are losing it, since they spent everything in getting in to an Ivy, and now they are burnt out and unhappy, and have no idea what they want, and lack the drive and energy to figure out new life goals.
And these are only the ones who find their way to CC.