Can somebody tell me...

katliamom
Fri, 08 Jan 2010 13:32:10 +0000

I posed your question to a young woman who grew up in a lower-middle class family, went to mediocre schools, but ended up at a posh Ivy. Like others on this thread she also advised reading a great deal to “catch up.” She also advised at least a little self-studying in two areas: art and music. She said many prep and upper-middle-class kids have had exposure to the arts – and therefore point of references – that she lacked, and that made her feel less prepared to compete in the humanities at her university. She recommended you check out basic books/CDs from the library and create a little mini-course for yourself. These days, with a huge amount of material also available online, it’d be easy (and fun.)