@baltimoreguy, “Not sure why he thinks he was such a super-special interviewer, that these numbers shouldn’t apply to him… The author of this article seemed to be full of the same vainglory he accuses Harvard of.”
In defense of the article’s tone, the author graduated from Harvard within the last 15 years–of course he’s sure that he’s special. The arrogant assumption–which permeates every letter of his article–that the author is innately special, powerful, and validated in his wants, doesn’t really undercut the piece’s larger thesis.
In my opinion, his messiah complex doesn’t preclude a reader’s ability to embrace criticism of the Ivy League, it actually strengthens it.
Take, for instance, @T26E4’s post in this thread. Which, despite being (very accurately) critical of the article, shares many of the article’s assumptions and much of its tone.
"I’ve been an alum volunteer for +25 years for a Harvard peer school… My interviews have mostly followed his experiences… but then there have been those few who I left feeling that: ‘This kid will change the world’. Just like people I attended college with – ambassadors, Attorney’s General, professors, pastors, news journalists, artists, physicians, writers, Best Actor multiple nominees… "
“I trek yearly to my desolated inner city school district – carrying my Ivy banner – still looking for the flicker in the eyes of that special student or two…”