Condescending people...

aj725
Fri, 03 Jun 2011 19:44:40 +0000

OP – there are probably a number of different things going on here. There is often an issue between Penn and PSU for a lot of Penn students; Penn is perpetually being confused with PSU and some Penn students go out of their way to tell anyone and everyone how highly ranked/difficult their school is. Also, as one of the posters here said, it may be occurring to the Penn admit that there are downsides to the admission – it is going to be a matter of totally starting over in a group where she likely will not stand out and paying a lot of money/taking out lots of loans for this; thus, she may feel the need to justify her decision even when she isn’t being questioned in order to make herself feel like she is SO much better off.

Unlike the other posters, I don’t think this is a lifelong issue. While some people who get into elite schools brag about it while they are in college (esp. when talking to hometown residents), by the time they hit the working world they realize that while the degree may open some doors, it isn’t a constant topic of conversation in the real world. People rarely talk about college and when they do it’s about social experiences/study abroad/friends, not about the ranking of the school. Also, once they start working most will meet a person or two that they really look up to professionally/personally who happened to go to an unknown school and will realize that what everyone has been saying is right – going to an ivy isn’t everything.

But I will agree with posters who say that people are also condescending to students who get into the top schools. If you’re not impressed with where they got in or their decision to attend, you don’t need to say anything at all; however, many students and their parents do say things like ‘I could have gotten in too if my older bro went there/if I was legacy/an athlete’ or ‘why would you spend $x to go there, it’s a waste’ etc.

I always assume that when top admits brag, it’s about their own need to justify how great they are, and when those who can’t get in criticize, it is to justify how they didn’t want that school anyway.