<p>I was really struck by this post by bclintonk on another thread. (He is referring to Haverford, where his daughter is at school.)</p>
<p>*My D1 attends a very good LAC just outside Philadelphia that very few people here in Minnesota have ever heard of. When she's back home, she gets questions all the time, like: "How did you end up way out there?" or a quizzical, "Do you have family there, or something?" They mean no harm by it. These are ordinary, mainstream, predominantly white, urban and suburban, working-class and middle-class Minnesotans--just your classic slice of middle America--but for many of them the idea of going halfway across the country to attend college because of the perceived quality of the academic experience is something that's just completely outside their experience. They've never attended elite colleges, no one in the families ever attended elite colleges, and if you asked them, they'd probably tell you they don't feel they're missing anything.
On the other hand, many have attended college themselves, or even graduated from one, and some even lived on-campus while doing so. But they just don't get caught up in the prestige game, and for the most part they take the view that one college is as good as the next; the important thing is to go to college, and to complete college, and hopefully to come out the other end with some enhanced skills that improve your career prospects. But they're just not into chasing prestige or some elusive notion of academic quality, and certainly not willing to uproot themselves from family, friends, and community in pursuit of things as ephemeral, and perhaps ultimately trivial, as that. *</p>
<p>I find it oddly fascinating to ask ordinary working people that I come into contact with what they would say are the "best colleges." I find that most can come up with one or two, are otherwise stumped, and really couldn't care less than they don't know any more.</p>
<p>Today's experiment: At a Hallmark store (suburban Chicago).
Young woman, early twenties: "Stanford."
Older woman, mid fifties: "Notre Dame."
Can you think of any more? No.
Have you heard of ... Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT, etc. Oh yes, I guess so.
How about Northwestern or Univ of Chicago? Oh, yeah, I've heard of Northwestern.</p>
<p>They weren't particularly bothered, they had no interest in learning what the "true" answers were, and it was just clear that this was a topic that was of little interest or relevance. </p>
<p>It just strikes me in light of the supposed shock-and-awe that a lot of hs seniors think elite schools have. No, they really don't, not to the general populace. Certainly my D's top 10 LAC isn't well known at all by the masses outside its geographic area.</p>
<p>Ok, now you all try this experiment, let me know what you find out! Don't do white collar environments -- do gas stations, mom-and-pop stores, 7-11's, places of that nature.</p>