defend the indefensible: THE IVY LEAGUE

http://www.heavenlycelebrities.com/Pics/Julia%20Stiles/Album/julia266.jpg

http://www.onlygoodmovies.net/celebrities/n_portman/images/nat_07_jpg.jpg

This obviously doesn't actually prove the worth of the Ivy Leagues but quite honestly most of the people I've met at Columbia are no brighter than a box of nails so this is the best defense I have to offer.

http://my.netian.com/~t2man/soundtrack/80s/Flashdance.jpg

(I got Brown.)

http://www.raquenel.com/different/bonet1b.jpg

x-post

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http://members.xoom.virgilio.it/pino22/immaginicelebries/bTF%20Superman%20Dean%20Cain.jpg

http://www-tech.mit.edu/V115/N13/chomsky.gif

and first one who posts river cuomo gets xferred to SUNY-purchase or rutgers-camden.

http://www.marxists.org/glossary/people/r/pics/robeson-paul.jpg

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http://www.cnn.com/books/news/9804/22/bitch.wurtzel/cover.bitch.jpg

http://www2.physics.umd.edu/~yskim/prince/brooke11.jpg

Correct me if I am wrong, though, but don't most of these schools--like, um, most schools in general--base most of their financial awards system off of the FAFSA? This is not including purely merit-based scholarships, obviously. It seems to me, as it always seems, that unless that system gets substantially reformed, people who are not relatively upper-middle/upper class are not going to be able to afford to go to any "quality" university. I mean, Columbia is trying to help me petition my FAFSA results so that I do meet more qualifications, but at current my "expected family contribution" equals half of my earnings for last year. This wouldn't be different if I went to CUNY instead, and I wouldn't be able to get any financial assistance there, either (actually, by logic of the government "awarding" you the difference between your EFC and the tuition cost, I actually get more aid, ie some, at Columbia than I would get, ie none, at a CUNY school). Since I can't actually afford either tuition, I decided to just take out the higher loan and get my degree from a school that is going to have more immediate "results", fair or not as that distinction might be.

I mean, what percentage of low-income people are in any university, period, Ivy League or not Ivy League? How many people apply to an Ivy League from that economic bracket? It's kind of unfair to pin numbers like that on any of these schools when from the get go people just assume they aren't going to make it in or they cannot afford it and just don't bother (as mentioned in teeny's article).

Nellie McKay is written off - http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2007/08/nellie_mckay_calls_columbias_p.html

She should go back to being a redhead.

I presume it is possible to learn something at an ivy league school such as might, in part, justify the huge expense in time, money and effort. Learning is good. Therefore the ivy league is defensible on the grounds that they are capable of facilitating something good.

which is completely outweighed by rich white kids learning nothing and assuming shell positions that drain our nation of its competitiveness in a global marketplace. and the fact that the rest just get burdened with debt and/or wind up working for some ridiculous freegan hippie junk parade like the media or congress.

(splutters) But...but...hey! That's not a very good defense at all!

Man, I love that Nellie McKay. More people need to use insults like "goofus" or (as I say) "jerkface" or "hilarious-head."

My single-mom family was in the lower economic bracket (qualified for large blocks of free cheese in the early eighties and got free school lunch, etc.) but my brother went to Harvard and my sister went to Yale. My mom always impressed on us that we had to get good grades to get scholarships to good schools. She moved us from DC to Montana when my older siblings were starting junior high specifically because the chances of getting into good Northeastern schools improved coming from bumfuck (and also cuz she was a hippie who wanted to garden topless in the mountains amongst the bears and rednecks). I'm sure being from Montana helped me get into Wesleyan. We all got full rides (but lots of debt upon graduation). Thank god for need-blind admissions! Got me the hell out of Montana!

Now they're both raking it in, buy the whey.

maria you consistently amaze me with your posts. you are awesome.

i got into wesleyan, too -- but i was too stupid to get a scholarship sufficient to pay the lion's share of expenses there & my parents refused to make up the difference ;__;

actually, i only ;__;'d way back then -- now, i know that my parents were right to hold the line.