“My wife tells me my hair is too long, and no Ivy League school will accept our son once they see me. Getting in is a package deal, they look at the whole family. Is that true? And if it is, would they be unable to look past the length of my hair? Would that override my Masters degree in science, and anything else that they might use in evaluating me in regards to my son’s application?”
No, your wife has completely made this up out of whole cloth. You might want to ask her where she got this mistaken notion from. Is she thinking that every Ivy League applicant / family needs to have the 1950’s “Ivy Style” look? I assure you kids in the Ivy League look just like kids everywhere.
My guess is that if this is real, she is really bugged by his hair, and either (1) can’t see that it really won’t matter and genuinely thinks the school will think it is awful (not true), or (2) is just using it as an excuse to push her agenda on his personal grooming.
Where did your wife grow up, and what experience has she had with the Ivy League to think that they are admitting / judging based on the hair / personal presentation of parents?
(BTW, you ARE aware that the Ivy League is merely an athletic conference - 8 of the best schools, but not THE 8 best schools. You wouldn’t want to be the silly kid of person who idolizes them above their peers just because of their athletic conference.)
If your hair is straight, get a perm or let it solidify into dreads. Or clip the sides, shorten the bangs a bit, and get the remainder feathered/frizzed a bit – the perfect mullet. Then insist on accompanying your kid to all college visits, with added emphasis.
I joke, but I think this is a ploy to manipulate you into getting a haircut. So go ahead and tease her a bit… have some fun.
The Ivies, and every other school to which he applies, will care about him – not you – in terms of evaluating his candidacy. You represent a giant wallet to them, potentially, but that’s a post-acceptance matter for the top private universities and LACs (FA offers…).
PurpleTitan, mdcmom, RoundGenius, superbowser12, and anyone else who questions the veracity of this post, what would I gain in making this up? I personally did not believe my appearance had any effect, and am not sure where she came to that conclusion or if others felt that way. So I decided to put it out on the discussion board to elicit some responses/opinions on the matter.
When we first met, I had VERY long hair, which, by the way, I kept neatly groomed. It has been many years (long enough for our child to near college age), and I have even cut it to the point where once I had it shaved bald. I don’t mind cutting it, have no concern for those who would judge me either way based upon my looks, or think any college admissions would judge my son based upon my hair. As I said, I just don’t like being placed in the position where, if he does not get accepted to whatever college he chooses, it is somehow my fault.