<p>EAD - you should be careful about attributing your own motives, opinions and approach to life, to others. I see you making sweeping, broad generalizations that appear to be simply your own conclusion about things based on your own life experiences, and certainly not upon research. I can only deduce that they are simply our own opinions.</p>
<p>and you should have your opinions. just realize they are from a very limited set of data and experiences.</p>
<p>The longer I live and operate in business, the more I am reminded that my view of a particular thing is usually in the minority, and that there are many, many ways of understanding the world. The reason I need to be reminded of this is that it is natural and reflexive to think others see things the same way you do.</p>
<p>You'd have to be reeeaaallly hungry to spend more than 200$ per person for food even in the best restaurants in NYC. I think you'd have to be reeeaaallly hungry to spend 200$ for that matter. Unless you're an all truffle all the time kind of guy.</p>
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People who stay at The Ritz and drive Lambroghinis do so to flaunt their incredible wealth and impress other people. It has nothing to do with enjoying the amenities of a nicer hotel or the extra features of a superior car.
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<p>Oh, so is that why you go to Duke, to flaunt your incredible smarts and impress other people? </p>
<p>And with all the money you're going to get from going to your prestigious Duke -- and money's important to you as part of your value system, you said so yourself -- when you do become financially successful (and I hope you do!), are you going to go to the Ritz, buy the Lamborghini, buy the nice house, etc. solely to impress other people?</p>
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PF Chang has an incredible pedigree and essentialy screams fine dining so it tends to be expensive.
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<p>Oh good grief, EAD, there is nothing "fine dining" about PF Chang's in the least. (And I was just at one last week.) You must be easily impressed.</p>
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PF Chang's China Bistro is a nationwide chain that offers quality Chinese food
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I beg to differ. I dined at the one in Boston and the food was subpar. It's not even authenic Chinese cruisine, not even close. And if it's a chain...</p>
<p>And with all the money you're going to get from going to your prestigious Duke -- and money's important to you as part of your value system, you said so yourself -- when you do become financially successful (and I hope you do!), are you going to go to the Ritz, buy the Lamborghini, buy the nice house, etc. solely to impress other people?
That's partly why I go there. I also go there because it provides an incredible undergraduate education, good connections, nice collegiate atmosphere and high-achieving peers for me to interact with. I definitely felt that the only appropriate reward for all the hard work I did in high school was to go to a brand name school. The vast majority of ambitious high schoolers feel this way as well. As far those ornate luxuries, I probably wouldn't indulge myself with those kind of things unless I become obscenely rich. In which case, yes, I would only do it to flaunt my wealth. Driving a Lambroghini is one of the most badass things that one can do. You don't do it for yourself. You do it to "wow" others.</p>
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PF Chang is definitely up-scale cuisine. It's definitely not the most elegant Chinese restaurant I have heard of or been to, but it's definitely "fine dining". The wait staff wear formal attire, there is a full bar with a separate bar staff and it does have a decorated atmosphere(elaborate decor, terra cotta statues, etc.). I know a decent amount about this subject because I have been to or lived in Australia, Oman, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, India, Canada, England, etc. etc. I'm not "easily impressed" relative to regular upper-middle class people, but I probably am compared to Alexandre and you. Just give me 5 or 10 more years.</p>
From my experience, the food is usually reasonably good. The fact that its not "authentic Chinese cuisine" and "a chain" does not mean much. You should have probably done your research before you ate there.</p>
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That's partly why I go there. I also go there because it provides an incredible undergraduate education, good connections, nice collegiate atmosphere and high-achieving peers for me to interact with.
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<p>So why can't someone go to Harvard because they value the incredible undergrad education, connections, atmosphere and peers? Why do you project your own desires to impress others onto other people?</p>
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I definitely felt that the only appropriate reward for all the hard work I did in high school was to go to a brand name school. The vast majority of ambitious high schoolers feel this way as well.
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<p>Ah, here's the difference. I felt that the only appropriate reward for the hard work I did in hs was to go to an excellent school. Whether or not the name impressed anyone else was irrelevant. Some of the names of the schools I chose were more "impressive" than others (at the time, I'd say, for sheer prestige alone, Penn > Georgetown > NU > Wash U, but I chose NU). In fact, I'm sorry I didn't look into some lesser known LAC's that might have been just as great for me -- I just didn't know.</p>
<p>I hope you do know that it is an incredible luxury that for your hard work, you got the opportunity to go to a top school. I am going to presume that your family is supportive and not dealing with major issues (e.g., unemployment, drug addiction, whatever). I am also going to presume that you have the luxury of living far from home (e.g., you're not bound by having to stay close because of ill relatives, that type of thing). I used to be snotty about Northwestern as well, but as I got older, I realized that not everyone had the same luxury that I did to be able to make the choice to go to a brand-name school. Plenty of smart kids simply don't have the options you do. As such, it would be kind of nice if you wouldn't lump them all into underperforming people not worth the time of day because they didn't go to a Top 20 school. There but for the grace of God go you, in terms of not having health issues requiring you stay close to home, an ailing parent you can't leave, tremendous financial difficulty, etc.</p>
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PF Chang is definitely up-scale cuisine. It's definitely not the most elegant Chinese restaurant I have heard of or been to, but it's definitely "fine dining". The wait staff wear formal attire, there is a full bar with a separate bar staff and it does have a decorated atmosphere(elaborate decor, terra cotta statues, etc.). I know a decent amount about this subject because I have been to or lived in Australia, Oman, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, India, Canada, England, etc. etc.
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<p>Great, EAD, I've traveled to mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore myself. How does that make PFC "upscale dining"?</p>
<p>LOL at ead. PF Chang's is fine dining? And I'm supposed to listen to you when you tell me there are not any good restaurants in Ann Arbor? Btw, I agree with you ead, there aren't any great fine dining places in Ann Arbor.</p>
<p>You are absolutely right that you should eat where you enjoy the food, regardless if the food is authentic. I know many people who enjoy Chop Suey and Egg Fu Yung even though you'd never find these dishes in a good restaurant in China. As for PF Chang, I didn't pick the restaurant. I was invited by a Bostonian and I'd never go back again. Just wanna point out that it's not authentic Chinese cruisine...and not really fine dining either.</p>
<p>I did not feel like reading through all 10 pages of this thread, but I would like to make a quick comment about the University of Chicago (perhaps it ought to be made).</p>
<p>Most of the kids on here praise SAT scores, superficiality, rankings, etc. (this is not an overstatement). Hence, they don't understand why people revere the University of Chicago. U of C will always be known worldwide for being the place where the atomic bomb was developed (the whole soldier field story). That is why it will often be more recognized around the world than schools such as UPenn, Columbia University (a mahmoud ahmadinejad visit cannot compare to the historical significance of the atomic bomb), Dartmouth, etc.</p>
<p>Finally, prestige really should not matter. That cannot be said enough. I only reply because some of the ignorance displayed by posters here is insufferable.</p>
<p>kingofqueens, i agree lol. Was supposed to be about helping students consider under appreciated colleges.. now i am just hungry :(. i am going to go eat better stuff than PF Changs or whatever.</p>