<p>How about if I change ugly duck to an average looking swan.</p>
<p>Your peers affect what you become. An average swan among average swans will be an average swan. An average swan among the beautiful may learn their ways and become one themselves.</p>
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some of you people are over the top, get over yourselves. </p>
<p>Yale is good, is it 120K better is debatable. For a family in a strong financial position it would probably be worth it. But for this OP who can now pay 19K a year and borrow the other 11K to make up the 30K efc it’s not a obviouse choice. I wonder why if the OP can now pay 19K per year they don’t have a decent amount of the 30K efc saved up already. Sounds like even the 19K per year might be optimistic.</p>
<p>What an interesting path this thread has taken. As long as we’re bringing children’s stories into the discussion, I vote for the OP’s son, Prince Charming, to choose USD, where my D will be attending, because I’d really like my princess to be married to a Yale-eligible future doctor and live happily ever after. Sorry, couldn’t resist :)</p>
<p>And since we’re discussing aquatic life, maybe I could mention that I didn’t think it was possible for anyone to jump the shark wrt pompousness on this website, but I think it may have happened.</p>
<p>BTW - according to these ladies at least, apparently a few ducks swam past the barricade-
[Claire</a> Gordon: Title IX Complaint Against Yale Has a Case](<a href=“HuffPost - Breaking News, U.S. and World News | HuffPost”>Title IX Complaint Against Yale Has a Case | HuffPost College)</p>
<p>“You have to be a swan to get into Yale in the first place”</p>
<p>You have to be a swan to get into the USD Honors Program in the first place. In fact, statistically, the same swans! In fact, in this particular case, EXACTLY the same swan. That’s why we are having this discussion.</p>
<p>A swan among ducks could develop an inflated ego and get arrogant.<br>
A swan among other swans will realize he is not super-special. </p>
<p>Attending a school like Yale is above all a very humbling experience for everyone.</p>
<p>To the OP: This thread illustrates one very significant and lifelong negative of attending a school like Yale (though it is worse for Harvard): Some people will be prejudiced against you for the simple reason that you attended Yale. They will assume you were rich and privileged. They will assume that you consider yourself superior to others. They will scrutinize everything you do for evidence that confirms their bias. Every mistake you make will be noticed. If you “succeed” in an endeavor it will be because of the privileges you enjoyed (and did not deserve). If you “fail” it will be proof of how Yale is not what it is cracked up to be.</p>
<p>It is true that you can get into medical school and become a wonderful doctor after attending USD or Yale or any other college. </p>
<p>But the purpose of spending 4 years in college is <em>not</em> to qualify for medical school nor even to prepare to become a good doctor. Nor is it to help you make more money in life. College is for your own personal growth and education. If that intrinsic value means something to you then you will be willing to pay a higher price for a ‘better’ college education.</p>
<p>Final point (not to OP, but in general): If you can <em>afford</em> to spend the money for a more expensive college (and one that you think is superior) for your child, but you <em>choose</em> not to spend the money, because you figure it is a waste of money, then you are transmitting a message loud and clear, to your child: “Money is more important than education.” Don’t be surprised if later on you find out you hate how money-obsessed your child has become.</p>
<p>^^^great post. I just pushed the LIKE button.</p>
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<p>At what point on the US News Rankings does the genus change? Is a Brown student a duck or a swan? What about U of Chicago or Berkeley? People really need to know this.</p>
<p>“But the purpose of spending 4 years in college is <em>not</em> to qualify for medical school nor even to prepare to become a good doctor. Nor is it to help you make more money in life. College is for your own personal growth and education. If that intrinsic value means something to you then you will be willing to pay a higher price for a ‘better’ college education.”</p>
<p>Nice thought but I would bet the vast majority of students at highly ranked colleges are there for the reasons you just put down</p>
<p>“To the OP: This thread illustrates one very significant and lifelong negative of attending a school like Yale (though it is worse for Harvard): Some people will be prejudiced against you for the simple reason that you attended Yale. They will assume you were rich and privileged. They will assume that you consider yourself superior to others. They will scrutinize everything you do for evidence that confirms their bias. Every mistake you make will be noticed. If you “succeed” in an endeavor it will be because of the privileges you enjoyed (and did not deserve). If you “fail” it will be proof of how Yale is not what it is cracked up to be.” </p>
<p>I don’t know anyone who thinks like this.</p>
<p>" if you are a swan, you may find yourself to be quite unhappy among the ducks."</p>
<p>You don’t believe in interracial (intergenus?) cohabitation among ducks and swans.</p>
<p>University of Oregon. :)</p>
<p>oops that is in reply to bovertine.</p>
<p>^^^
Of course. That’s what I always assumed.</p>
<p>BTW - I have incredible respect for people who attend these elite schools. Especially those I work with, know personally, or am related to. They don’t seem to mind associating with a mudhen such as myself. And even though my SATs and high school grades were pretty much better than all of them, I don’t hold that against them either.</p>
<p>I would have loved to attend a school like Yale, it didn’t work out that way for me. Arrogance is neither unique to nor ubiquitous among Ivy League grads. I would never judge a whole class of people based on a subset I encountered on a message board. I suspect most Yale grads are out doing something useful, not wasting their time on here (like I am).</p>
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<p>Hmm, now who’s being arrogant?</p>
<p>I find it odd that people cannot extoll the virtues of Yale over USD without being labelled arrogant. Does it work the other way too?</p>
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Not sure where you went to school, but apparently they didn’t instruct you on how to recognize a joke.</p>
<p>Extolling the virtue of a school is not arrogant. The implication that the students who attend that school are so markedly distinct that they need to associate with their own kind in order to flourish is over the top IMO.</p>
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Well, I spent some time crafting this gem -
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<p>I believe the content of this statement to be clear, although the grammar may not be perfect. There was no writing section on the SAT the year I took it. Although I’m certain I excelled on the SAT Achievement test in English Comp as well.
That’s a joke too, BTW. 
;)</p>
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<p>So now you are insulting my alma mater and my intellectual ability to understand your humor? You really are hilarious.</p>
<p>^^^
Thanks. I’m here all night. </p>
<p>So now it’s insulting to a school to state that it doesn’t teach one to recognize a joke? If that’s a criteria for a college education, all three places I went to school were completely substandard. But you already knew that.</p>
<p>If you can point to any place where I otherwise insulted any institution of higher learning, I’d be really interested to see it. I’d also like to see where I insulted your intellectual ability. </p>
<p>One little addendum, it’s a little ironic to me to read these posts when the second most popular post about elite schools on CC is about how half the admitted kids (those with assorted hooks) don’t deserve to be there anyway.</p>
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<p>LOL, that’s so true! Gosh, if these elite schools really just let in anyone with a pulse who is a URM/legacy/athlete, then why would you want to go there and be in the company of such poor students?!</p>
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<p>It would be a mistake indeed to attend Yale because it will enable you to make more money or because it will better prepare you for medical school or help you get in to medical school because of the reputation of Yale. I have not encountered any such claims made by Yale officials, not even in implicit fashion. Most of the Yale promotional literature I’ve seen claims (correctly, I think) that it is a highly rigorous and highly enjoyable learning environment. There may well be some misleading promotional material out there but I don’t know if too many people actually believe that.</p>
<p>In my experience the people at these highly ranked expensive private colleges are there because they were smart and/or talented and/or very well connected AND:</p>
<ol>
<li>The money was not an issue because their family had a lot of money (probably about 50% of Yale students). or</li>
<li>The money was not an issue because the financial aid was so generous (probably about 25% of Yale students), or</li>
<li>The money was an issue but a good education was a priority for the family (probably the remaining 25%).</li>
</ol>
<p>“Extolling the virtue of a school is not arrogant. The implication that the students who attend that school are so markedly distinct that they need to associate with their own kind in order to flourish is over the top IMO”</p>
<p>Amen!</p>
<p>“In my experience the people at these highly ranked expensive private colleges are there because”</p>
<p>You must have vast experience</p>