<p>The following is a piece written by John H. Summers, visiting scholar in the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life, Boston College, and the editor of The Politics of Truth: Selected Writings of C. Wright Mills, to be published in September. A longer version of this essay will appear in his collection, Every Fury on Earth, to be published in August.</p>
<p>"Most of the students I encountered had already embraced the perspectives of the rich, the powerful and the unalienated, and they seemed to have done so with appalling ease. In keeping with the tradition of the American rich they worked exceptionally long hours, they were aggressive in exercising their talents, and on the ideological features of market capitalism they were unanimous. Their written work disclosed the core components of the consensus upheld by their liberal parents: the meaning of liberty lies in the personal choice of consumers; free competition in goods and morals regulates value; technological progress is an unmixed good; war is unfortunate."</p>
<p>I am willing to conjecture Yale is like this. I had a friend there and told him that I was taking a class at my school where the median grade was an A... He said every class he takes was like that. He also told me a story how his neighbor was getting a C in his physics class, and managed to talk to the professor to get some sort of B. </p>
<p>Many of the Ivies are not though, I can assure you for a fact that Cornell is not like this.</p>
<p>"they worked exceptionally long hours, they were aggressive in exercising their talents, and on the ideological features of market capitalism they were unanimous"</p>
<p>hard work and applying yourself? preparing to earn a living based on these principals? sounds good to me.</p>
<p>"the meaning of liberty lies in the personal choice of consumers; free competition in goods and morals regulates value; technological progress is an unmixed good"</p>
<p>giving people liberty and allowing them to make their own choices is good? free markets allow for competition? be innovative and make advancements? i still don't see any problems....</p>
<p>Well I have two responses. First, this article has been discussed already in another place, I believe the Harvard subforum. The consciences was that Summers was very stuck up and pretentious himself. He constantly complained about not winning awards or being recognized. I have no idea if that is true, but you might want to go read current student's responses.</p>
<p>Secondly, I might add that this experience is not in any way limited to Harvard. NewsWeek had a student's story that sounded like the link you posted above, except he attended Berkeley. My theater teacher had a similar story about Reed College. I think such experiences can be found anywhere. However, I can tell you that I will be attending Harvard College this fall and am definitely not from old money. My father was the first person in his family to attend college and I've lived alot of my life without a ton of money. We happen to be very middle/upper class at the moment, but I've definitely been worse off. Do I think I will meet many kids next year who could buy my house with their trust funds and never notice, yes I do. Do I care, no. Many of those kids are very nice people, and the others can be avoided. Harvard has amazing financial aid and amazing opportunities. I have already had numerous e-mail conversations with some of the world's most important physicists. Do not let articles like this keep you from applying to Harvard.</p>
<p>It continually amazes me that people read an opinion and believe it as fact. There are a wide range of opinions on everything - both positive and negative. There are people who love and hate every school in existence. Instead of reading or listening to someone else's opinion, you should research it yourself. By the way, this doesn't just apply to this article, it applies to everything else including the nonsense that is typically printed in newspapers.</p>
<p>Harvard, IMO, is the most rigged school. Of course in every Ivy League school you'll have the rich father pouring in money to the school to get his kid in, but this seems more common at Harvard. Just a speculation from what I've seen and heard.</p>
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Harvard, IMO, is the most rigged school. Of course in every Ivy League school you'll have the rich father pouring in money to the school to get his kid in
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<p>Read A is for admission by Michelle Hernandez, Dartmouth admissions officer. These kind of admits supposedly comprise less than 1% of each year's entering class according to her.</p>
<p>"Harvard, IMO, is the most rigged school. Of course in every Ivy League school you'll have the rich father pouring in money to the school to get his kid in, but this seems more common at Harvard. Just a speculation from what I've seen and heard." and what have you seen? To get your kid in this way in a school with an endowment of 35 billion just doesn't happen that frequently.</p>
<p>I am sure that cornell is different than every other Ivy....of course it is superior. This can't happen there, only at places like Harvard. Maybe cornell students aren't so obsessed with prestige, because well Cornell lacks the same clout as the other Ivies? O and this article was already disproved, the professor was said to be envious, egotistical, aloof and pretentious.</p>
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I am sure that cornell is different than every other Ivy....of course it is superior. This can't happen there, only at places like Harvard. Maybe cornell students aren't so obsessed with prestige, because well Cornell lacks the same clout as the other Ivies? O and this article was already disproved, the professor was said to be envious, egotistical, aloof and pretentious.
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<p>Grade inflation is a definite thing at Harvard. It exists there but the kids there deserve it because they are so brilliant- whether or not grades should be inflated to the level they are though is debatable. </p>
<p>Cornell is the only Ivy whose motto is in English. It's motto- "I would found an institution at which any person can seek instruction in any study." Cornell was the first Ivy to admit blacks and women in the 1800's whereas many of the other Ivies didn't admit women until the 1960's and 1970's. Real elitist to you, huh Bescraze?</p>
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Read A is for admission by Michelle Hernandez, Dartmouth admissions officer. These kind of admits supposedly comprise less than 1% of each year's entering class according to her.
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Thank you - "according to her". You really think she is gonna spill the truth? Please.</p>
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and what have you seen? To get your kid in this way in a school with an endowment of 35 billion just doesn't happen that frequently.
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If you really gotta ask then you don't need to know. C'mon man, think about the real world for a second. Every day things are getting more competitive and the actual living of life is harder to sustain than what it used to be. The rich folks that would do whatever for their kids to get into the Ivy League, and lo and behold, Harvard, would absolutely make you go, whoah. It really is a dog eat dog world out there and it's a lot harsher than you think. It seems like everything nowadays is only important on what's written on paper =/</p>
Cornell was the first Ivy to admit blacks and women in the 1800's whereas many of the other Ivies didn't admit women until the 1960's and 1970's. Real elitist to you, huh Bescraze?
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<p>That would probably depend on your definition of "admitting women," as some Ivies accepted women but into a separate undergraduate institution (cf. Penn's "College for Women" which has indeed taken women since the 1800s.</p>