<p>Hmm, a bit from left field but I presume related to the concept of prestige unless you can elaborate. Anyways I will play along. </p>
<p>Just to let you know, I was one who opted out. That is I got rid of most of my personal belongings that served no purpose to me unless was a facet of personal expression. The only things I kept were my records, two turntables, musical instruments, my laptop, clothes, books, and a surfboard. When the economy crashed and wages plummeted by 03 I gave up my house, paid off and ripped up my credit cards, and have been homeless since. I pay about $220 dollars a year for storage, $60 a year for a legal mail address, and $100-200 on a phone depending on the minutes. I find that overall I am happier yet am looked down by certain citizens in a democratic society for not paying a grand a month on rent and bills or what have you. I don’t watch TV nor play video games nor do I care for cooking and cleaning so don’t feel I’m missing out on much. I have plenty of friends and like my freedom and independence so willingly committed to working on myself. I like to exercise, mediate, surf, snowboard, dance, hike, bike, go to shows, and get high with my friends who are of all different ages, races, and economic brackets. In those 7 years I’ve completed around 200 units earning at least a 3.5 average which I think is a pretty decent accomplishment considering my circumstances. In many ways I am against comfort but that does not mean I am against the modern world and just have learned to embrace the horror of it.</p>
<pre><code>Have I read a lot of Watts? Yes. Do I think all is illusion? Yes Do I believe in the religious experience as described by him, James, Huxley and others? Yes. Do I believe in cleansing the doors of perception to see through the eyes like a child as described by Blake? Yes. Do I view life on earth as a giant cosmic joke that you either get or it may be on you? Yes.
</code></pre>
<p>I think there is relevance to what Jung also spoke about concerning certain life stages which I find apparent in people. There are some that never outgrow the athlete and warrior stage towards the statesman or soul actualization stage no matter what age. Why people are insecure about their decisions in democratic society and wish to impose their will and beliefs on me I will never quite understand. I tend to think comfort and familiarity breed contempt and due to that America has tended to have a problem with busy bodies who think they best for others. I personally just want the freedom to be left alone so I can pursue my own dreams and ambitions without being coerced if not doing any harm to others.</p>
<p>Some employers recruit straight out of undergrad from very prestigious colleges. My relative was recruited by a major private equity firm out of an ivy from undergrad.</p>
<p>Also, going to a prestigious college is nice because that name will follow you for the rest of your life. Perhaps many employers don’t care as much about the name, but most regular people would be quick to judge between CSUF and UCLA. This may not benefit you monetarily or in any other measurable way, but it can help in intangible ways such as self-confidence and social status.</p>
<p>The UCs were designed to be prestigious, large, relatively well-funded research universities with the teaching model of Harvard and the other ivies. The California Master Plan for Higher Education does not specifically say that the UCs are supposed to be better than the CSUs (it merely says that they have different purposes), but it implies it by relegating the CSUs to second-class status, providing them with less funding, stating that the top 12.5% of graduating high school seniors would be guaranteed a spot at the UCs while the top third would be able to enter the CSUs, and providing less government support.</p>
<p>Finally, UCs are more exclusive than CSUs (require higher high school GPAs, tends to be a more practical option for students with higher income backgrounds, reject more applicants, etc.). Anything that is perceived as being exclusive will be more highly valued by the general public and, especially, people who aren’t a part of the “in group.”</p>
<p>Thank you, kmazza. Your most recent post in this thread contained the information I’d been after. Now I finally understand you. :)</p>
<p>…and I’ve still got nothing but disdain for you, but that’s beside the point. I now understand clearly your loathing for those who succeed, for those who choose to attend and do well at the world’s most prestigious universities. It now makes sense that you, without exception, jump on the CSU v. UC arguments and consistently attack and deride the UC’s that you’ll never – and could never – attend. Not all universities are equal, no matter how badly you want them to be.</p>
<p>That you chose some sort of nomadic life and now try to convince others that you’re successful and happy has no bearing on the fact that others have chosen a responsible path through life. You can try to convince others of the merits of your lifestyle – I doubt you can convince yourself.</p>
<p>Thanks for the information. It’d been a genuine point of curiosity to me. :)</p>
<p>I had a feeling GT would show up with his foolishness. GT you really no nothing about me. Trying to convince yourself with your pathetic inferiority-superiority complex and smug attitude will have little effect on my future or my past. For one I have never derided UC’s. That is an merely one of the illusions you have created to attempt to pigeonhole and disrespect me with. My argument was that they were different not better. Plus I was already accepted in to UCB and UCLA plus more ‘prestigious’ universities and didn’t go because they did not have the program I wanted and thought the price ticket was too high. Idiots like you think it’s low because that is what politicians pump to naive students. To get a better student financial aid/scholarship package places like UCLA and UCB would have to triple their tuition rates. Understand?</p>
<p>There is no reason right now I would want to pay more for classes that I can take at the CCC level. I have worked at places you could only dream off and already make decent money and actually like learning but am shooting for a scholarship that will pay at least half my tuition. I’ve already said this just like I said that your reading comprehension skills suck yet think you purposely choose to feign ignorance. </p>
<p>I don’t loath successful people so don’t know if that is referring to the real world or your little itty bitty college universe. I just don’t see that you have what it takes to be successful so you need to rely on going to UC and whatever other help you can get. Just because I live outside does not mean I’m not a happy or responsible person. Enjoy mommy and daddy taking care of you and working that min wage job. Oh yeah, big shot you still haven’t mentioned what ‘prestigious’ PUBLIC UC you go to and your major. If you can be honest and pull your head out of your ass for just a minute please do tell.</p>
<p>kmazza has actually been bringing information to table to, at the very least, support what he’s saying. You’ve done nothing of the sort. And now you respond with these petty allegations which claim that it’s actually hate that’s informing his opinion?</p>
<p>I think kmazza’s feelings about schools is fine for him, but not all…. Many people have made some good points here. Now I hope we can all move on and stop trying to force personal feelings onto others.</p>
<p>This whole notion that I hate UC’s and students that attend UC’s is absurd when I work for and even tutor UC students. I have never thought or said that and the whole issue has been a straw-man and ad hominem attack upon my character from GT from the beginning. He just doesn’t like that I call him out on his BS and personally don’t know why he thinks adding lies on top of lies will somehow have any weight of truth as a final result. He has yet to be intellectually honest about ANYTHING and when questioned has remained defensive and elusive. I don’t expect him to support what I’m saying, like me, or agree with me. The only thing I ask of anyone here on CC is to at least try and be civil and not to let pettiness get in the way of having a decent conversation. </p>
<p>As far as prestige and college choice is concerned, I have already shared my opinion on the matter. I personally think that the curriculum structure and reputation of a college department is more important than merely just buying into a college’s name. If one merely bought into a college brand name but knew nothing about the department or major my ego and critical thinking skills are going to think one of two things. Either this person is clueless about how education functions or they lack self confidence in their ability.
I’d respect a person more if they admitted the two flip side premises. That they attended X college due to its location, aesthetics, hottie factor etc. OR admit that 'I’m a shallow insecure person that needs my ego stroked at gatherings (family or peers) and affirmation OR that ‘it’s a competitive world out there, I’m an average middle class person that dreams of being wealthy and hobnobbing with the snobs someday.’</p>
<p>Personally I don’t much care for disingenuous or superficial people and neither do many of the educated and well off . The concept of ‘snob’ and ‘bourgeois’ is that they have to IMITATE the habits, customs, and decor of the educated elite to be accepted. The thing is there is a world beyond appearances. There are many extremely wealthy educated people that dress and act with modesty, which makes sense if you think about it. One of my best friends dresses and acts very casual and is worth at least 1/4 BILLION dollars and that is not even including assets he will inherit. Many of the MULTI millionaires I’ve known or met in LA didn’t even go to college and just figured out how the system worked and made it work for them. I remember one time in Santa Monica I met a Harvard graduate who made 8 million dollars and lost it all like that and ended up homeless. After he lost his dough he was shunned by the same people he tried to impress and broke down in tears in front of me because was hungry and didn’t know how to survive on the streets so I fed him. The US is a dynamic system where one can be make or lose millions. If one chooses to see life through a TV screen instead of immersing themselves in the thick of it, they will most likely think I make this stuff up. At that point there is really nothing I can say. What I can say is that I would never want to change my experiences of living outdoors in exchange for living indoors being isolated from what goes on in life, which is MUCH more interesting to me than watching TV or playing video games. One either gets that or doesn’t but I do not appreciate people making false claims about my feeeeelings and trying to downplay what I’m saying with fallacious arguments and rude comments.</p>
<p>The amount of disdain I have for GTarrant is probably about the same as the disdain he has for you, but I still agree with him that your hatred for “prestigious” universities is ridiculous. All of your opinions of prestigious universities are just that, opinions. It’s great that you’ve had all these personal experiences, but trying to claim that some universities are better than other universities just because you think so is laughable. As much as I enjoy hearing about personal experiences, your opinions of prestige just aren’t credible because the amount of bias you have is absurd.</p>
<p>Haha, I love prestigious universities and communicating with intelligent people of all sorts. Sorry mate I judge on individual character and personal virtues over the shallowness of taste or surface decor. I treat just about everyone on the same plain so guess that makes me not a part of certain ‘in groups’.
My bias is more that revolves around the issue of authenticity vs. superficiality. Now I do agree that superficiality is flexible in social settings even though not into small talk.
I’ve met and served some of the most wonderful, extremely intelligent people at Harvard, Stanford, Berkeley etc. I found them friendly, courteous, strong morals and work ethic, open minded, receptive…basically good breeding and rearing, very real, warm, compassionate, intelligent people. Many of them did come from wealthy or prestigious families and know how to carry themselves in society.
On the other hand, I’ve also met the bourgeois snob type…condescending, vain, self-centered, snooty, insecure, obsessed with money and status yet have little class themselves, lazy and not so intelligent yet think very highly of themselves without merit…overall they tend to be giant pain in the arse and a disgrace to their family.
I guess you just have to take the good with the bad. If you go to a prestigious school who would you honestly associate with? A University is a thing to me and already said prestige is created through social and cultural production NOT undergrad students. </p>
<p>Lets take the University of Spoiled Children for an example. They started letting in too many of the second type of people mentioned above. They drove the faculty and staff bonkers and bitterly complained constantly until USC started bringing in more students from all sorts of backgrounds. One time I even tried to date a hot blonde girl from USC of the second categorical type. All she could talk about was me me me, how her dad has pull and she slept with teachers to get the A grade, how phoney and manipulative she was. She was hot and slutty but after about an hour of listening to her blabbing about herself I asked her very simply, ‘Yes, but what brings you happiness inside’ At first she was stunned like a deer caught in headlights and was almost frightened. I basically asked her if she had any substance AT ALL. Her reply was ‘well my friends are so jealous because I’m queen of the dancefloor’ blah blah blah me me me. I couldn’t handle it anymore so said sorry, this date ends here, I’m going to go meet up with friends instead. You know what her reply was ‘but I’m hot and know you want to **** me’. I said sorry I’m very turned off at the moment and not interested. She got very angry at me and started calling me gay haha. I just grimly smiled at here and she knew that didn’t affect me so you know what she said at the end. ‘Thanks jerk, now I got to go **** a guy friend to feel better about myself’. I just said ok cya and walked away and she was furious. True story so take it how you want. Point is fake people don’t impress me man and that goes for people who do everything based upon image and lack substance, college included.</p>
<p>^^ha, you got rather a dry sense of humor so wouldn’t do much for me to insult you. Terms like ■■■■■■■■ though <rolls eyes=“”></rolls></p>
<p>In my graduating HS class, Harvard accepted 9 students. This was when there was like a committee of preps who decided who would finally get in, much different than today, but kinda like in the movies.</p>
<p>2 were normal, cool, smart rich dudes who use to do a lot of coke and drive crazy fast in their expensive sports car. The other 7 were freaks. Three were long hair metalheads, 3 were crazy ass punk rockers, one with blue hair, and two with sick ass mohawks. The other was this edward scissorhands looking dude with nearly the same sort of hairdo, who basically wore it however it looked like after he wet and did something to it before going to bed. He was a peculiar one, socially awkward, but a genius. In fact, all these people were ridiculously intelligent and would score off the chart on IQ and SAT tests and would crush the jocks and preps in school.</p>
<p>The preps that were deciding when saw them said no way! Two of the metalheads said fine, we will just go to another college then. One went to MIT and the other to U of C Denver for whatever reason. The third metalhead/sorta punk rockish wrote a very nasty personal statement about how their current admission process is total trash and got in! </p>
<p>One of the punk rockers with a mohawk saw the prep in the street, beat the crap out of him, and pised on him. I think the other mohawk punk went higher up but eventually got in. The blue haired punk basically said and had the attitude to the prep committee that I’m smarter and better than you snobs and if are going to judge me based upon how I look, I’m just going to Yale then, which he did. It actually wasn’t long after that Harvard did start loosening up on such superficial issues if were losing their la creme to Yale. Plus the Harvard punks and freaks were actually a tourist attraction to Asians with cameras haha.</p>
<p>Do you live on another planet or something? You meet some of the weirdest people. I don’t think you have any idea what typical college students are like at top universities. Your encounters with students that represent about .1% of the schools’ populations have obviously twisted your mind.</p>
<p>Nah, today’s college students are way more conformist and homogeneous looking, kinda like clones. Cambridge, Ma is a very highly individualistic region of the US.</p>
<p>The second that you question the typical American teenager’s dogma, you get attacked.</p>
<p>I’m not sure why kmazza bothered bringing up that story. I think it’s irrelevant and kinda dumb. I also don’t share his opinion, but at least I don’t cover my ears and shout “freak.”</p>