Prestige of UChicago

phuriku
Sun, 25 Apr 2010 00:15:52 +0000

I don’t see why it’s so outrageous that some people would pick Chicago over Harvard. Chicago’s and Harvard’s resources are about equal in every area, and it is only in the area of social prestige that Harvard wins. Although as parents, I’m sure it’s incredibly difficult to believe after familiarizing yourself with modern hyper-capitalist American society, most truly serious students care little if anything for social prestige. When I was applying to college, I didn’t apply to Harvard or any Ivies. They weren’t reputed as universities where serious students went to study, so I didn’t think they would provide me with the educational experience that I desired. Hence, Chicago.

Many other students here have similar experiences of having applied to no Ivies at all. When they say that they would pick Chicago over those Ivies, they’re met with disbelief. This assessment is unfair, if not a bit vicious and presumptuous. The best explanation I can give for it is that these people are so disconnected from true academic passion (and, as I hinted earlier, nearer to the realities of our capitalist society) that they’ve become entirely estranged from the thoughts of these serious students. It’s almost similar to the trend of becoming more politically conservative with age - people lose their passion as they age, and as they become more ‘realistic’ in their beliefs toward a capitalistic society, they become puzzled with the passion of the liberals of the younger age. And that’s my analogy for the day.