<p>Yeah, I also won't really look at a school if it doesn't have some kind of a "preppy" base. No offense, but the bleeding heart pseudo-intellectuals get on my nerves far more than "daddy's little princesses" and other "preps". That Urban Dictionary write up was good... most of the "preps" that get hated by people are the pseudo-preps who just do it to try and feel superior...</p>
<p>You have lots to choose from. :)</p>
<p>Judging from this thread, I'd say, you have lots to choose from. :)</p>
<p>AE is even worse than AF in my opinion!</p>
<p>for the curious, vandy has habitually been far more "fratty" than "preppy", hence why it wasn't included in that preppy handbook list (the two sterotypes are similar (well-dressed, lifestyle, proper, etc..., but have obvious differences, fratty people generally tend to prefer hunting and fishing over the more preppy sailing and skiing while both are done by both groups). a lot of the phillips and other northeastern boarding school kids have been migrating down to vandy over the past generation or so and now the preppy scene is clear on campus as well.</p>
<p>also, it's completely moronic to decide against applying to a school based on sterotypes. apply to schools that are academic and somewhat social fits and then narrow down from there.</p>
<p>note: the thing about "bad things" happening to kids from clean-cut, traditional, classic families is that they're raised to work hard and get right back up...meaning it's not as big of a deal. doesn't mean it happens less. don't stereotype.</p>
<p>finally, and most importantly, i can't speak for other schools, but i came to vanderbilt because there is "mold", and if there were, students that don't fit "it" are in absolutely no way out of place as the school is so balanced that there is central area for social life.</p>
<p>Lehigh is pretty bad.</p>
<p>To original poster:</p>
<p>Preppy is generally seen as a lifestyle that comes out of older private schools such as Groton, Exeter, and Andover. It includes a certain style of dress, hairstyle, and to tell the truth, a certain mindset. Preppies in the ideal sense should not be openly elitist. If they are, then they are doing a truly bad job of being preppy. Preppy is a lifestyle just as there is a "trailor park" lifestyle, etc. And the culture includes clothes, vacation spots, food/drink, hairstyles, etc. It is also a large generalization, just like a "trailor park" lifestyle. Not everyone who lives in trailor parks acts a certain way, just as not everyone who goes to preparatory schools acts a certain way. For more information, read Birchbaum's "The Official Preppy Handbook," and another book called "Class"</p>
<p>What exactly does popped collar mean?</p>
<p>Well, it means you put your collar up. I'm sorry, but why do you ask such questions when you could so easily google them? Urban</a> Dictionary: Define Your World</p>
<p>Gomestar, you must be a pretty lucky person--apparently you've gone to two private schools, a very selective LAC, and now you're at Cornell....</p>
<p>so you apparently have had all the advantages of the preps you are complaining about.</p>
<p>My advice? Pick people to hang out with on factors other than the clothes they wear, whether preppy or not</p>