so how many Ivy Leaguers go on to hold exciting jobs anyway?

Applying to College
21

<p>"Hmm, I guess I'm going to have to go back and see if all those PTA officers have Ivy degrees. (Sheesh)"</p>

<p>You really misinterpreted what I said. My point was that if a homemaker were an Ivy grad, she would likely be involved in community service and other activities, including as a leader.</p>

<p>I have been an Ivy grad homemaker, and also was head of the Parent/teacher organization at my kids' school, and did lots of things that went above and beyond my job title as I tried to help the entire school. </p>

<p>I also have friends who are Ivy grads who have been homemakers and did similar things.</p>

<p>I am not saying that one has to be an Ivy grad to be a homemaker who is deeply involved in service like the PTA or being on nonprofit boards, etc. </p>

<p>When Ivies select their students in addition to grades, scores, they look for people with leadership experience, community service experience (and quality, not the amount of hours is what stands out) and with the demonstrated interest in avidly pursing their own passions. Those personality traits will continue whether a person chooses to be a corporate executive, doctor or homemaker.</p>

<p>The people who get accepted to Ivies didn't do extracurrulars, service, passionately pursue their interests to get into college. That's the way that they are wired.</p>

<p>"(And yes, I know Ivy grads that are happy homemakers, play tennis, and drive their kids around. No, all Ivy grads are not over achievers in any sense of the word.)"</p>

<p>I think "overachiever" is a word that is meaningless. How can any person achieve more than they are capable of doing?</p>

<p>I drove my kids around, took yoga, and also was doing lots of other things that most people would have had no idea about. I have a friend, another Ivy grad, who comes across to most people as Ms. Socialite: She's beautiful, has a wealthy husband, and kids who are going to top private schools.</p>

<p>Most people have no idea about the things that she's also doing with her local museum and with her kids' private school because those subjects won't come up in the kind of light conversations that she has with most people who just notice her beauty and charm. When we were undegrads, when she went back to her working class hometown over the summer, she'd hang out with young people who weren't in college, and they thought she was going to secretarial school.</p>

<p>Another homemaker from my class is a doctor's wife who also has been on the board of a small college that is outside of her area. She was in charge of an academic conference that the college put on each year, something that probably most people who know her socially have no idea that she does.</p>

<p>" No, and Ivy degree doesn't guarantee you exciting jobs or even happiness. You have to get those on your own."</p>

<p>I thoroughly agree.</p>

22

<p>
[quote]
A little, sure (a big name can be useful) but not much. What they do is provide an environment that is highly conducive to you advancing yourself.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Of course. It's not about the name at all, but pushing the boundaries of knowledge -- and the capacity to do so would be maximised of course by having peers with the maximum amount of talent.</p>

<p>
[quote]

"Why do you perceive these fields as inherently unglamorous? Why do you (apparently) think the life of a successful academic is inherently glamorous? Academia has plenty of drudgery, politics, etc, too."</p>

<p>

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Chemical engineering isn't an unglamourous field if one pushes the boundaries of knowledge on chemical engineering, for example. It's not about the glamour, it's about making discoveries.</p>

<p>If for example, as a lawyer you become a renowned jurist who contributes to jurisprudence and theory of law, then that would be a measure of success. Currently for example, society has a dire need for a new theory of intellectual property law.</p>

<p>Chemical engineers who research synthetic fossil fuels or high-tensile strength materials (which would help push boundaries on several fronts, e.g. a make space elevator more possible) would indeed be remarkable. Yet a lot of chemical engineers with otherwise prestigious degrees I have come across seem to be mere plant operators.</p>

<p>
[quote]
From what you've said, it seems largely based on how many papers someone has published.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>No, that is simply a manifestation of one's social utility, which is the ultimate measure of one's own success. Contribution of little discovery to a field one has a top degree in would indeed be squandering one's own talent, I would think.</p>

<p>
[quote]

She also could be a mom who's a dedicated, creative homeschooler who may be writing textbooks to use with her kids, may be creating innovative teaching methods, and may be doing lots of research on her own to find out the best ways of teaching her kids.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Then that would be a sign of social utility, because she would be pushing the boundaries of knowledge on pedagogy. (A field with immense social utility indeed.) She doesn't necessarily have to write a paper, but such work would be equivalent, for example, to publishing psycholinguistics papers on language acquisition and suggesting new methods of language acquisition education that such homemakers would capitalise upon.</p>

23

<p>not everyone at the ivies is a top scholar...and not all get fabulous jobs immediately after graduation...there is a thread on the engineering page from a Cornell grad who still has not found a job...</p>

24

<p>I like how the argument on this thread seems to be that homemaking, by itself, isn't an achievement...</p>

<p>I find my classmate who was a Shakespearean actor far more remarkable than my friend who worked for Deloitte. Sure, the latter is more money, but the former is just far more interesting.</p>