Say someone has grad school as their eventual goal..

[osucowboys]

<p>Yeah I knew I’d get more responses if I phrased it as something rich/preppy/white etc. I have two points I’d like to make about that. The first, is that I don’t think I am the one being closed-minded. I’m perfectly open-minded to places like UCLA and/or NYU, I just know better than to think that they are where I would be the happiest. It’s ironic considering how people shutter and become offended when they hear rich/preppy/white… it’s almost like a double-standard for “open-mindedness.” </p>

<p>Second point I’d like to make off that bat is that I have a different standard of “rich/preppy/white,” and that is more inclusive to pretty much any of America’s cleaner urban areas. I’ve only been to maybe 10 major cities with colleges I mentioned, but I would say “preppy areas” includes Georgetown (DC), Shadyside (Pittsburgh), Buckhead (Atlanta), University Park (Dallas), all of Boston, Rice Village (Houston), and so on. Maybe it would have gone down better had I described my zen as simply somewhere with style. I just meant to exclude your Cornell, Princeton, Bowdoin, etc…as well as NYU, Columbia, UCLA, etc. Something in between.</p>

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Well, I for one applaud you for wanting to motivate yourself to work hard toward your goal of a graduate level education! You’re dreaming and exploring and that’s a good thing. The specifics of your goal and where you actually end up may change and probably will change, but dreaming and having goals are important. Good luck as you start your college journey! Don’t let anyone kill your enthusiasm for your dreams.</p>

<p>As for Tulane and the city of New Orleans, it is not all poor and uneducated. There are many multi-million dollar homes and the city is as diverse as any other big city. You will see people of all types, races, and financial status riding the streetcars together. It’s a wonderful city and the people are very welcoming.

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<p>Thanks MagnoliaMom. I’m just thinking about a 4-year planning…I didn’t mean to offend anyone by being 18 and uttering the words grad school and preppy in the same sentence, but whatever. John Lennon once said life is what happens when you’re making plans (favorite quote) so I’m just going to make plans and have a general direction of where I want to go, enjoy my full ride to college, and have a good time. One thing that will help is knowing what I need to end up with – so thanks juilliet for posting guidelines to consider about grad school admission (I hadn’t considered EC’s as potential negatives). </p>

<p>I liked this quote:

At any rate, if the point is just for interior design, just pick the #1 graduate program in political science and be done with it. USNews says it’s a tie between Harvard, Princeton, and Stanford. Pick the one that matches the furniture, or something.

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<p>I think the fundamental reason why I don’t like them is just because I don’t consider myself a political science machine. I think I could be personally comfortable at Harvard, so that is good to know that Harvard is tops for political science. I don’t think I could be personally comfortable on the west coast or in a small town like Princeton, NJ. </p>

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I also have a hard time imagining Tulane as a place for being rich, preppy, and white considering the poor black population in New Orleans

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<p>You’re dead wrong there. Tulane is a school that is great at welcoming diversity, but it is far from being “ghetto” if that’s what you’re implying…and I’m NOT the one that has this impression that diversity can’t equate to rich/white/preppy…those are just words I threw together to elimate places like Cornell, MIT, Columbia, NYU (especially), etc. If you actually went to Tulane, and experienced that part of New Orleans you would know how stylish and upscale the Uptown New Orleans area is, which is where Tulane is. It’s also one of those places that inspire romantic images of Southern settings.</p>

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You don’t have any intrinsic motivation to just do well in school?

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<p>This isn’t what you’re probably going to want to hear…but no. Why should I want to do well in school just for the sake of it? I’m not one of those people that obsessively love the letter ‘A’. I am however an incredibly motivated person once I set my mind on a goal. Knowing that there are several different directions I could go in and having a general idea of what each direction requires is what makes me excel.</p>