<p>Before this gets out of hand, I just have two things to say:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>The differences in opportunities coming out of Columbia vs. HYP are negligible, and my success has more to do with me as a person than with what name is on my diploma. I get that. My beef is with the unjustified prestige that a HYP kid in the “toss-up” pile gains from the top 200 outstanding applicants. This has almost no practical bearing. It’s more of an idealistic complaint about the unfair system through which prestige is accorded. Then again, many other things are more unfair, so I’ll stop my whining here.</p></li>
<li><p>The Columbia/Yale quote that coureur refers to came not from one of my friends, but from a working professional. That’s why I used it as an example of what an actual “adult” thinks. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>I’d like to thank everyone for their sincere and well-intentioned advice. I won’t be posting on this thread any further, but will gladly respond to PMs. Thanks.</p>