<p>Prove it. Are you implying that you go to Harvard right now?</p>
<p>No, I graduated from MIT in 2007. You know full well that I can not prove it without compromising my privacy. Even if I could, I have nothing to prove to you.</p>
<p>RightâŠjust like Yale and Princeton are for Harvard rejects. I forgot there was a perfect hierarchy hereâŠforgive me for being so foolishâŠ</p>
<p>i wud think an MIT grad has something better to do nowadays :/</p>
<p>As a grad student here, I would have to say that Iâve enjoyed my time at Columbia. Since Iâm not at the morningside campus, I donât have that much undergrad exposure, but I have to say that those I have talked to here and there have been outgoing and not nearly the snobby, nerdy stereotype that I had been bombarded with for years about the Ivy League. As a graduate of a school that doesnât hold a candle to any of the schools being debated, I have to say that I think they are all fabulous academic opportunities and that squabbling over who is the best of the best of the best of the top 1% is pretty confusing.</p>
<p>It doesnât count for squat to be among the best of the best. On that level, youâre still competing, and as good as you may be, if you donât stay on top of the pack, your ambitions will be snuffed out.</p>
<p>Thousands graduate from the elite schools every year, and they are competing for a very limited number of opportunities. That a majority will be shut out, even though theyâre among the best, is inevitable. Thatâs why especially in the elite world, these distinctions are important.</p>
<p>Petty, but not negligible.</p>
<p>I really hate to get involved, but this thread has kind of turned into a joke. Columbia, Harvard, Caltech, Princeton, Brown, Stanford, MIT, etc. are all incredible schools. Anyone that gets accepted to any of the elites should be absolutely thrilled. Whatâs turned into an inquiry of the type of student that attends Columbia has turned into a flame war about why Columbia is or isnât a good school. Iâve met a lot of great Columbians so far and I donât think thereâs a general type that goes there. Obviously there are going to be unfriendly people that go there (there are unfriendly people everywhere), but there are really friendly people there too.</p>
<p>Oh, and dimsum, I hate to say it but you must have better things to do than bash Columbia in itâs own forum. Itâs kind of sad for someone as old as you to do something as churlish and childish as that. Honestly, itâs just downright immature. Iâm not going to join in the supposition that youâre bitter about Columbia because you didnât get accepted or something like that. To be honest, I really donât care where you went to school because no matter where you went it doesnât give an excuse for the way youâre acting. In my opinion, itâs pretty sad that as a high school senior I can call you out on this.</p>
<p>kwu, I would argue that at that level among essentially equally excellent schools, it is essentially just oneâs own worth rather than any difference in prestige.</p>
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<p>No oneâs âbashingâ anything. Donât you have debate at your high school, kiddo? </p>
<p>Oh, by the way, your self-righteousness is so endearing, sweetie.</p>
<p>dimsum, you went to MIT. Is it true that the students repair their eyeglasses with bandaids and wear pocket protectors, in accordance with stereotype? I ask because I attended another institution in Cambridge, and experienced that stereotype, and have a nephew who attends MIT, and he reinforces that stereotype, and one of my sonâs good friends at MIT reinforces that impression, etc. Given all my data, the stereotype must be correct, right?</p>
<p>I wear contact lenses.</p>
<p>While some of my classmates may ârepair their eyeglasses with bandaids and wear pocket protectorsâ (but not anyone I know), none of their mommies and daddies fight their battles for them on the internet.</p>
<p>I enjoy watching battles undertaken by MIT alums about student life at Columbia.</p>
<p>Youâre welcome!</p>
<p>nevermind.</p>
<p>dimsum, you seem to have misintepreted my post. I was not implying that there are not students who do not want to attend Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT, Stanford, or Caltech. Rather, I was suggesting that not everyone wants to attend those schools. Moreover, I implied that the popular acronym, âHYPSMCâ (and variants), by reducing these schools to one word, makes them one entity. Unfortunately, many high schoolers pursue these schools, believing that theyâre the best, neglectingto consider their fit. Thankfully, many more high schoolers attempt to find their best-fit school and make it their first choice. For some, one of these schools will turn out to be their best-fit and top choice and they will therefore apply. For many other students, though, they will find that another school is a much better fit and will thus decide after extensive reflection that neither Harvard, Yale, nor Princeton (or the tech schools, if the applicant is mathematically inclined) are right for them. They do not want to attend. The idea that all other schools are âworseâ choices is franklessly ludicrous, as is the idea that Columbia is a school exclusively for HYPSMC rejects. </p>
<p>My fundamental point is that most Columbia students want to be here. Theyâre not just here because they were rejected from their first choice. I donât think that can be said for most applicants; those who find (or assume) Harvard or Yale are the best schools for them frequently apply to Columbia as a back-up, so itâs not surprise that Columbiaâs yield is not perfect and it fairs poorly in âcross-school match-ups.â But the students who apply to Columbia, are accepted, and then choose to enroll overwhelmingly want to be here! Thatâs why they chose to enroll. I also reject the idea that students choose Columbia over non-HYP primarily because of the city; many choose Columbia over Harvard, Yale, or Princeton, in part due to the location, in part due to the student body, in part due to the Core Curriculum, and so on.</p>
<p>I want to be here. That said, I often feel like no one else does.</p>