<p>I realize that this may come off as hypocrisy from the guy whose name has "UCLA" in it, but I'm sick of the fanboys. I'm sick of Trojans and Bruins going on and on about how much better their school is. I'm sick of Cal Bears and Bruins going on and on about how much better their school is. I'm sick of UC vs Ivy, UC vs. Michigan.</p>
<p>SHUT UP.</p>
<p>You know what the difference between an adult and a child is? An adult loves something, despite its lumps and rough edges. She admits to them, and hopes to improve them. A child loves unconditionally, and gets upset when anyone suggests that the thing in question is imperfect.</p>
<p>I love UCLA. But I realize that there's room to improve. Tons. I realize that USC has many advantages over UCLA. But that doesn't make me want to go on every thread and say, "OMG! UCLA is perfect and is the best school ever and you're all stupid for not understanding it!" Why? Because that's what a child does. </p>
<p>So before you people post, think first. Think whether or not your love/praise/defense for you school in this particular case is warranted. All of our schools have room to improve (even Harvard! ::GASP::) and they don't need a bunch of jingoistic fanatics running around making everyone think they're populated by jerks.</p>
<p>I understand. This is more of a general "shush please" to the forum in general. I'm sick of trying to talk about the strengths and weaknesses of particular programs, only to have some fanatic jump in and say, "OMG! LIEK MY SCHOOL IS SO MUCH BETTER THAN YOUR SCHOOL!" That then leads otherwise normal people to jump up and down in indignation, and spend ten pages trouncing that poster.</p>
<p>And in the end, nothing new or interesting gets said.</p>
<p>I'm sure you've seen this before (perhaps you even had it happen to you) - Let's say a poster makes an insightful comment about academic strength, and the what not, then one of the "fanatic" posters will immediately post one of those "zealous pride" comments, at which, the entire discussion changes and your post is forgotten and never read.</p>
<p>Nevermind that the content of your post was sound, researched, and took a bit of time, it only takes one poster to ruin it all.</p>
<ul>
<li>I do understand your annoyance though. All too often, posters here are so stubborn and unwilling to accept any ideas. They don't read ANYTHING you write, and merely decide to spout their own ideas. My notion is, if you're not willing to learn and change by reading this forum, why do you bother? </li>
</ul>
<p>Which, for your case, is the zealous posters who cannot accept that their dream school is anything less than perfect.</p>
<p>Basically, this forum is overrun with prestige whores. Sad but true.
A lot of the time, it's all about an ego boost here. People are struggling with their own insecurities. These feelings of inadequacy surface into silly claims along the lines of "My school is better than your school" because it helps the person feel better about themselves.<br>
So yes, it used to bother me, but now that I know the main roots of this little annoyance, it's far easier to ignore. In fact, I even laugh at such ignorance: HAHAHAHAHA. :D</p>
<p>Here's the thing (what thing? THE thing!): I don't think that UCLA is Cal. Nor do I think that UCLA is Harvard. Nor do I think that Harvard is Columbia.</p>
<p>They all have their strengths and weaknesses. Saying that "my school is better because your school is worse" ignores the fact that two schools can be perfectly great without one declining. It's not a zero-sum game.</p>
<p>I dislike when people say things like "______ is the Harvard of the North", "____ is the Black Harvard", "_______ is the Harvard of the West", "________ is the Harvard of the South"</p>
<p>stop comparing to freakin harvard, i hate this whole worldly obsession with HARVARD. Ugh.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I dislike when people say things like "______ is the Harvard of the North", "____ is the Black Harvard", "_______ is the Harvard of the West", "________ is the Harvard of the South"</p>
<p>stop comparing to freakin harvard, i hate this whole worldly obsession with HARVARD. Ugh.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I agree, Wake Forest should be used instead (ie: Stanford is the Wake of the West, Harvard is the Wake of the South, and Notre Dame is the Wake of the Midwest).</p>