unalove

dream.jpg (image)


(Just a friendly reminder not to let your goals and dreams consume you, and to realize that only you can make yourself happy).

asdfjkl1

Nice point.

cory123

lol i agree with the general point which is to focus on your life now and not look for happiness in idealistic goals later on. But to play devil's advocate, one of my best friends was rejected/waitlisted at many many many schools that were lower than Brown in ranking. Brown was his top choice. He applied ED and was deferred. When he was accepted RD, I can hardly remember any time which he was happier than after getting into Brown.

unalove

^^

1) See what he thinks about Brown a few months from now. He'll probably like it a lot, but it probably won't be the same euphoria. Just like the euphoria of buying an iPhone eventually wears off, so does the one of getting into a dream college.

2) I don't think it's a bad thing to aspire to attend an elite college, but some people think it's going to solve every problem. It's not. You're still you!

idad

You had me agreeing until you got to the iPhone part. I've had one since they cam out and I grow more euphoric over it each day I own it. It has gotten so bad that I am looking forward to getting the next one that comes out on day 1!

jack4640

oh man, marx could do so much with ^^^^^^^

unalove

an iPhone probably would make me happier than admission to Harvard, as my iPhone could actually do things :-P

phuriku

^^^ Burnsauce, Harvard.

Few things would make me happier than getting an acceptance letter from Caltech for grad school. I'm pretty sure the happiness would last.

CNI

LOL, I definitely don't get what the hype about ivies are about, and I think as the time progresses, more people will start recognizing really great non-ivy schools (S, Duke, Cal Tech, U(C), JHU, etc.) as better than many Ivies, especially the lower ones. Personally, the only ivies I'd even CONSIDER to be above U(C) in an academic sense are H, Y, P, Columbia, and Wharton (Not CAS or SEAS though).

phuriku

The only two Ivies I think are better than U of C in an academic sense are Harvard and Princeton, and even there, the difference is rather small. I've seen Columbia and Yale work in some areas of personal interest, and they don't seem that impressive. Then again, I think it's a bit silly to judge in terms of "overall academia" among rival schools... it needs to be narrowed down to departmental strength.

chicagoboy12

is cornell way far behind? i know if i say economics then everyone will be like YESSS, but i think it might have better job recruitment. everyone says ivies get recruited more than uchicago, so even though chicago has the better econ dept i think cornell econ might get me a better job. plus, cornell has the ILR which means lots of class options.

unalove

Dude, like we even know which ivy is "better"?

Sometimes I think that we're like wrestlers in a locker room, indicating the size of certain body parts without providing any proof. ;-)

idad

Published in the Atlantic a couple of years ago: The Truth About Harvard

As unalove says, how would one measure...? It's all anecdotal.