| Interesting discussion and jazzymom makes some good points.
To me, the difference is that it seemed as though G defined "success" very narrowly - Ivy or bust - such that he didn't even realize / recognize that for goodness sake, Caltech, Duke, and Rice - 3 top 20 schools - are just as much of an accomplishment.
The Chicago girl, on the other hand - one gets the sense that if she had "just" gotten into Duke or Rice (she didn't seem the Caltech type), she would still have been happy about it.
I agree both families obviously devoted a lot of time to nurturing two obviously smart and talented kids. I think there's an inherent obnoxiousness in thinking that one is "entitled" to be admitted to an Ivy and an inherent obnoxiousness about the mentality that Ivies-and-only-Ivies are the brass ring, and maybe that's what picked up on here. |