<p>I’m currently an Anthropology major looking to become a museum curator (American Museum of Natural History is my dream!). I applied to 3 Ivy’s during high school, only to be rejected by all of them. I still have high hopes of transferring to one, but I know that I would have to work extremely hard for the next two years to even stand a chance. So I was wondering, is it absolutely necessary to have an Ivy education, especially for my choice of career?</p>
<p>This question is pointless because there is so much variation between the Ivys, and there are so many schools that are on par with any of the Ivys. For example, MIT and Stanford are generally considered to be on par with Harvard/Yale/Princeton, so no: it is not absolutely necessary that you go to an Ivy. A good data point is that of the US News top 10, 6 are in the Ivy League and out of the US News top 16, half are in the Ivy League. So while all of the Ivy League schools are excellent, there are lots of top schools that are not in the Ivy League. The top LACs are also pretty good, and obviously they are not in the Ivy League.</p>
<p>I would echo the above poster.</p>
<p>What I would do is try to contact people who do curating stuff at museums and ask what kind of educational background they look for and if there are any schools that are considered “targets” or places where they recruit. I honestly have no idea how someone gets a job as a curator or what the career path entails. Does one start out as an assistant to a curator and then try to move up? Does one work in their field/discipline for X number of years and then get hired as a curator?</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.ehow.com/how_12539_become-museum-curator.html[/url]”>http://www.ehow.com/how_12539_become-museum-curator.html</a></p>
<p>Take it with a grain of salt, but this website says to get a ph.D. in your given discipline (i.e, anthropology). So I would look for undergraduate schools with lots of research opportunities so that you can get into a good ph.D. program.</p>
<p>Pretty interesting article:</p>
<p>[The</a> Disadvantages of an Elite Education: an article by William Deresiewicz about how universities should exist to make minds, not careers | The American Scholar](<a href=“http://www.theamericanscholar.org/the-disadvantages-of-an-elite-education/]The”>The American Scholar: The Disadvantages of an Elite Education - <a href='https://theamericanscholar.org/author/william-deresiewicz/'>William Deresiewicz</a>)</p>
<p>If I wanted to be a curator I’d shoot for Williams, it has an incredible reputation in that world and a great alumni network in it. Really not any easier to get into than most ivies, and yes, it would be worth it. I don’t know anyone who has been hurt by having an elite education.</p>
<p>^Did you read the article?</p>
<p>[Master</a> of Arts in Museum Studies Degree Program](<a href=“http://advanced.jhu.edu/academic/museum/]Master”>MA in Museum Studies | Johns Hopkins AAP) </p>
<p>Why not finish at Stony Brook & then get a Master’s in Museum Studies?
JHU link above is just an example of a program.</p>
<p>Must be a Northeast delusion—that only an Ivy will do. Look, I’ve known quite a few people who didn’t get into an Ivy and who spent their entire freshman and sophomore years at some very good schools planning to transfer. They only succeeded in ruining their enjoyment of their undergrad years. For what?! Anyway, what is the “Ivy education” that you you refer to? Do you really think that a smart student couldn’t get an education in anthropology as good as an Ivy at any number of other schools? </p>
<p>What you do in graduate school (and on the job) is much more important than where you got your undergrad degree. Take a look at the curatorial staff at the American Museum of Natural History: [American</a> Museum of Natural History](<a href=“http://www.amnh.org/science/divisions/anthro/staff.php]American”>http://www.amnh.org/science/divisions/anthro/staff.php)
Only two of them got doctoral degrees at Ivys. Two received doctorates at Michigan, one at UC-Davis, one at U. of New Mexico, and one emeritus curator at Cambridge. </p>
<p>There are anthropology and natural history museums all over the country. Do you think the Sam Noble Museum at U. of Oklahoma cares if someone went to any Ivy? Do you think the other museums care? Since you probably need to work your way up through the ranls of the museums before you’d reach your dream job at the AMNH, don’t worry about whether you did your undergrad or even your graduate work at an Ivy.</p>
<p>Mitch, that article has been floating around for a while, so yes. Next ask me if I think it’s total bunk. Yes to that too. </p>
<p>While the author certainly has a point–those who’ve only been in elite environs all of their lives might have difficulty relating in the real world–it has little to do with those in elite colleges, most of who are on financial and have come from real places and experiences.</p>
<p>Bashing elite colleges has become more fashionable as more aspire to them. I think it may be funded by forth generation top prep school grads who just can’t get into top colleges today!</p>
<p>I wasn’t “bashing” elite colleges. I thought it was an interesting article, especially given the circumstances of the original question. I have nothing against Ivy schools. Never even applied to one nor did I attend a prep school. I do happen to agree with some of his points though.</p>
<p>I didn’t post the article because I wanted to start an argument or debate but I think the OP should see there is more to an education than an Ivy name.</p>
<p>
From the American Museum of Natural History website:</p>
<p>Dr. Peter Whiteley (Ph.D. in Anthropology, University of New Mexico) is Curator of North American Ethnology.
David Hurst Thomas, Curator of Anthropology - B.A. Anthropology (1967) UC-Davis;M.A. Anthropology (1968) UC-Davis; Ph.C. Anthropology (1970) UC-Davis; Ph.D. Anthropology (1971) UC-Davis
Dr. Charles S. Spencer (Ph.D. in Anthropology, University of Michigan) is Curator of Mexican and Central American Archaeology
Dr. Laurel Kendall (Ph.D. with distinction, Columbia University 1979) is Curator of Asian Ethnographic Collections
Alex de Voogt, Assistant Curator of Anthropology, Leiden University, Ph.D., 2005Rotterdam School of Management, M.B.A., 1998Leiden University, Ph.D., 1995University of Hawaii at Manoa, M.A., 1993Leiden University, M.A./B.A., 1992</p>
<p>Well, you certainly don’t need an Ivy degree. Total myth. This sentence did grab me, though:</p>
<p>“I know that I would have to work extremely hard for the next two years to even stand a chance.”</p>
<p>There are many logical reasons to stay at your current school–primarily, financial. The hard work shouldn’t bee what holds you back. To be a curator at any level, you’ll need advanced degrees. To be a curator at the Museum of Natural History (one of my favorite places in the world, by the way), you’ll probably need a P.H.D.</p>
<p>for what you want to do, no, you don’t need an ivy league education.</p>
<p>I’d say for IB/MC or other hotly pursued Wall Street jobs yes, but other than that no.</p>
<p>I read the article, most of it said the disadvantages of going to an Ivy League school were mental. Well lets think of it this way:</p>
<p>I would much rather be a snob who makes six figures and lives a good and comfortable life unable to communicate with the working class rather than a “down to earth” middle class nice guy.</p>
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<p>If this is your personality, you will have great difficulty holding onto that six figure job. Many, if not most, six figure employees work with and communicate very closely with that down to earth middle class. If you are a snob who is unable to communicate with the middle class guy, you will likely have great difficulty finding and keeping any job.</p>
<p>Canibaro,on other threads, you have indicated that your are considering premed. Most doctors I know communicate with the middle class. And they do it might well, and humbly. If my doctor was a snob and couldn’t communicate with me (or his office staff, or my family or his nurses, etc) I would find another doctor. </p>
<p>Communication and social interactions are what can make or break an employee. Someoone could be the best and brightest in their field but if they can’t communicate with EVERYONE…their employability would be seriously jeopardized.</p>
<p>I hope your Tier three or four (whatever it is) offers you some courses in communications, and also requires some community outreach or service to those less fortunate than you. It would be a valuable lesson for you. In my opinion, this is more important for you right now and would benefit you more than a degree from a top tier school (which you claim you are aspiring to attend in other posts).</p>
<p>to be fair to canibaro, i have the same mindset, but i also know how to communicate well with everyone and i know to keep my personal feelings such as those to myself. i’m sure canibaro is aware that he/she can’t act that way in front of future patients or whoever and will keep those feelings private when in a place of work.</p>
<p>How sad that some of you feel SO above the middle class. Sorry but you can’t take the spots off of a leopard. If this is really how you feel, you will not be able to hide it forever. </p>
<p>But whatever…the thread is about the importance of an Ivy League education. My opinion is your education is what you make of it. You can make a LOT out of an education at a totally unrecognizable school…your can flunk out of an Ivy.</p>