<p>Fair enough Toneranger. Sorry for the late response as I don't visit here often, but with regard to your points ...</p>
<p>1.) I wasn't knocking your academic background or doubting your professional one as much as I was looking for some clarification and some sense of what value your perspective has. And by that, I mean your perspective on what I have personally written because I'm not sure you fully digested my initial comments when formulating what amounted to a nuanced "defense" of PSU.</p>
<p>2.)The problem, of course, is that nobody commenting on Lehigh's behalf here has ever lumped the school in with the Ivies or their equivalent and the main reason aside from the obvious one is that it is beyond irrelevant. From the Penn State POV even referencing them is a false argument. My high school sent a mixture of kids to Rutgers who ranged from exceedingly bright to mediocrities to utter morons and while any RU supporter will predictably and understandably point to the first batch they are not what dictates the perceived "stand alone" value of a degree from somewhere. The sample of Penn State grads I know is considerably smaller but represents a similar range. There's nothing you can't accomplish coming from either of those schools, but there is more inherent value in being a pure breed than there is in being a mutt. You pretty much know what you have in a Golden Retriever but a mutt has to win people over. It is wishful thinking to believe that is not an advantage in the dog pound of life.</p>
<p>3.) Penn State Honors College is not Penn State, if you will. Clearly you know as well as everyone else does why they choose to make the distinction. </p>
<p>4.) I was not suggesting you painted your son as being exceptional in the purely academic sense. In spite of the almost comedic hysteria and neurosis that envelop this website, success in life does not hinge on where you went to school, what your major was ranked, what your first job is, what grad school you got into or anything of the sort. This stuff only matters for unexceptional people, which is something life will measure in a way college can't. Nobody at Harvard needs a Harvard degree more than the person who has the least business being there.</p>
<p>5.) I was only asking because typically Lehigh only throws merit money at people who can get into much better schools unless there are extremely unique circumstances. </p>
<p>6.) This discussion of what is or isn't a big time name doesn't mimic any I've had as a grown up and, truthfully, I'd feel sorry for anyone who routinely has talks of this nature. But a million and one unsolicited affirmations later (both socially and professionally) I don't even have to be curious, let alone insecure, about how Lehigh grads are perceived among the mass of people who attended high prestige schools. And I doubt many other alums do either. It just is what it is. I'm not saying you don't have a right to express your perspective on this, but confronted with your outsider's impression of what other people think versus the life that unfolds before me and my peers, forgive me if my strongest rebuttal is to take a moment to laugh.</p>
<p>7.) I completely agree. Only I would add that one better choose PSU with a clear sense of purpose and try to stick to the script. Because for all the talk about class size or department rankings there is a lot to be said for the ability to follow your bliss after school. I envy the sheer randomness with which my friends from truly elite schools have been able to choose careers or change paths. It is a little harder coming from Lehigh but a lot harder from a school like Penn State. If someone wants an illuminating lesson on the true value of their degree they should try stepping out of the comfort zone that their major provides.</p>
<p>8.)I love everything about college football. I was just teasing.</p>
<p>9.) Not entirely true. It is in an ugly part of town. It's not an overly effete or excessively intellectual environment. The topgraphy is dreadful. And the case of beer to girl ratio is probably 10:1. So it has a lot going against it in an A or B decision but there are also a lot of people who instantly love the place. You may find it inexplicable. And it isn't for everyone but its also a bit silly to assume that Lehigh is always a victim in the weeding out process based on your extremely limited pool of experience. I'm not entirely sure that people turned off by the terrain, the partying, the surrounding aesthetics, or the tendency among students to work hard and then shut up rather than constantly having their lights on are not compensated for by people who see many of those things as non-factors or absolute virtues. I didn't know anyone who chose Lehigh over Penn, Cornell or similar schools and then proceeded to act like they were attending one, but I knew a bunch of brilliant, fun, unassuming kids who chose Lehigh instead because they didn't want that kind of 24/7 hothouse environment. </p>
<p>9b.) You'll have to be more specific as I suffer narcoleptic seizures when forced to talk about myself.</p>