<p>I can understand the reluctance to talk about the school attended. When my then third grader was playing soccer with a community team, a father came up to him and asked where he went to school. My little guy (who at that time was unaware he attended a school for highly capable kids) told him. The smile disappeared, and he growled, “Oh, that’s one of those genius schools, what are you doing here playing with us?” I came very close to saying something (among other things), but was overcome with the look of hurt on my kid’s face. I had to take him aside and explain what happened. My guess is many have had this experience and it makes one a little gun shy about talking about the kids and what they do.</p>
<p>I’m in almost exactly the same situation… First choice was Stanford, where I was waitlisted. Got into MIT but it didn’t feel “quite right” and I was seriously tempted to try UVa instead, where I think I’d be happier.</p>
<p>I’m going to MIT, though, since I figure I might like it, and if I don’t it might be easier to transfer out of than another school, whereas if I went to UVa I’d be more stuck.</p>
<p>Probably totally irrelevant by now, since I didn’t read all eleven pages of the thread, but I just felt like sharing since the situation is so oddly similar.</p>
<p>As far as the name-dropping goes… MIT sort of rang a bell to most of my family but they didn’t really know what it was. So now I keep telling people I’m going to MIT without expecting anyone to care and feeling stupid about that once I see they’ve all heard of it.</p>
<p>findis- the transfer option is always there. And I agree, it will be easier to transfer FROM MIT than the other way around. And Harvard does not have a transfer in option.</p>
<p>Dropping “the H bomb” in certain circumstances is a sure conversation stopper- folks will look down at their shoes and start mumbling apologetically, which requires one to then start apologizing for one’s educational opportunities. And also keep in mind that there are few things that can cool male ardor faster than telling a man you’ve just met that you have a Harvard degree- I think that’s why so many of my female HLS classmates married fellow HLS grads.</p>
<p>Ramdom thoughs:</p>
<p>About 30 years ago I was hanging out with 2 buddies in a small town an hour from Detroit. One friend was brilliant, one was lucky to get out of high school. The brilliant one mentioned something about MIT, and the other guy asked what it was. The smart guy said it was a college near Boston that specialized in engineering and the sciences. And the other guy said “Oh, so it’s like the [now defunct] Detroit Institute of Technology?”</p>
<p>I don’t think the Harvard NAME cools “male ardor” as much as the smugness that might come with it.</p>
<p>Speaking of cooling male ardor, the other day on Family Guy, they were trying to get the perverted guy to control his “ardor” and the only way they could find to cool him “down” was for him to think of Renee Zellweger.</p>
<p>When I see somebody wearing a Harvard or Notre Dame sweatshirt or t-shirt, I always think it’s more likely that he/she is just wearing it as a way to leech some glory off of the school, rather than he/she having some connection with the school. Can’t think of any other colleges that would make me think that, except perhaps Michigan. Nice thing about the LACs is that if you see somebody wearing a Kenyon, Williams, or Washington and Lee sweatshirt, chances are they actually went there or knew somebody who did.</p>
<p>There was a post a couple years ago re a guy who managed a factory in Chicago that had a lot of Hispanic workers. The guy heard via the grapevine that one Cuban worker had gone to Yale. Thinking perhaps he’d found a worker that might be management material, he asked the guy if it was true he’d gone to Yale. The guy said something like, “Yeah, back in Cuba, when I was 16 I stole a bicycle and they sent me to Yale for 6 months.”</p>
<p>I’m surprised to hear so many Harvard people claiming to be reluctant to mention their alma mater. Isn’t there something called the “Bob Woodward Principle,” which says that Harvard grads will let you know where they went to school within 10 minutes of meeting them?</p>
<p>“And also keep in mind that there are few things that can cool male ardor faster than telling a man you’ve just met that you have a Harvard degree- I think that’s why so many of my female HLS classmates married fellow HLS grads.”</p>
<p>The H bomb cools the ardor of men who like passive women or who themselves lack self confidence . It fuels the ardor of males who are smart, self confident and like strong, smart, assertive women.</p>
<p>Since Harvard had four times as many males as females when many parents on this site were college age, it’s understandable that many Harvard women who are our age married Harvard men. The women were in high demand on campus. College students in general tend to date people on their campus.</p>
<p>“The H bomb cools the ardor of men who like passive women or who themselves lack self confidence”</p>
<p>There are lots and lots and lots of those men. Lots. Tons. A lot.</p>
<p>Yes, there are lots of men who lack confidence or who like passive women. And if dropping the H bomb makes such men run, good riddance to them.</p>
<p>I’ll admit that as soon as D was admitted to H, a little voice inside my head automatically reacted with, “Oh no, now she’ll never get married!”</p>
<p>NSM, You said it!</p>
<p>Bay, Change that to, “Thank goodness she’ll never get married to someone who does not like intelligent women.” It’s a good thing, really!</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Love it!</p>
<p>Part of H’s job is to check in groups of flight students. H is nearing retirement and these students are in their early twenties. Having to meet with someone as old/high ranking as my H is nerve racking for them, just as it was for my H when he checked into flight school.</p>
<p>They say their name, hometown and a few other things including college. To break the ice, H waits until one of the students names a well known college, then he puts on his “never heard of it” look/tone of voice and barks “Dartmouth? Is that even accredited?” </p>
<p>Works everytime.</p>
<p>Hey kwarn, any update on the decision front? </p>
<p>We’re having a great time over here in the corner, but thought I might wander over and see how things are in the kitchen.</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>Sounds like a great line to brush off a guy. Probably works better than “I’ve got herpes.”</p>
<p>Schmaltz–the other day I realized I like wearing my Brandeis sweatshirt b/c it makes me feel smart. ;)</p>
<p>No one in the family went there, but H’s grandfather was on faculty years ago.</p>
<p>
I bet the Car Talk guys have made a few more people familiar with the MIT name.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I still laugh about a column they wrote in which a young woman who wanted to be a mechanic wrote in and asked something about how few women mechanics there are. They encouraged her to go into the field, even if she would be the first or one of the first women in a program or garage. </p>
<p>To boost her spirts one brother said of the other, “In fact, my brother was the very first moron to ever attend MIT.”</p>
<p>LOL, everyone. I went to college “in New Hampshire.”</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Wearing a t-shirt is hardly “leeching glory.” I travel for business and often visit college campuses in the course of my work. I routinely pick up t-shirts for my two high schoolers; they enjoy wearing them and it’s a nice souvenir. Within the past month, I got Brandeis, Wellesley and Boston College t-shirts as I was in Boston on business. A good friend of mine just completed a college tour with her D who is a year older than my kids, and I had her pick up t-shirts from all the schools she visited as gifts for my kids. Why do they have to have a “connection” other than “visited there”?</p>
<p>To me, thinking that someone wearing a t-shirt is “leeching glory” says more about the observer than the t-shirt wearer. It’s the same kind of mentality that says that wearing a big diamond ring or carrying a designer handbag or driving a nice car is “bragging.” It’s resentment and envy on the part of the onlooker, not bragging on the part of the wearer / driver.</p>
<p>Well, I do think it’s a matter of degrees. There are quality, beautiful items that happen to be expensive, then there are expensive things that are known primarly for being expensive. </p>
<p>When I see someone wearing a college shirt, any college, I assume they attened, a family member attended or they are a fan.</p>
<p>My daughter picks up a t-shirt at every college she visits. She just likes them. I would think the schools would love it because it’s free marketing.</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>Never heard of it!</p>