Another possibility is the fact the students/parents concerned observed and knew of students who ended up drifting aimlessly from job to job or on extended periods of unemployment which they attribute to those students choosing non-preprofessional majors.
If they also understand the root issue of those post-college issues is due to the students’ mediocre academic and post-college professional performance, they may unfairly associate the non-preprofessional majors as ones which draw slacking students with lesser academic abilities. The latter stereotyping shouldn’t be too much of a surprise to longtime CCers as such notions have also been openly expressed shared by many CC posters in past threads.
Such notions would cause the students who hold such marginally performing students with low regard to disregard non-preprofessional majors in order to avoid any association with the marginal performing students*. Ironic considering such issues aren’t restricted to non-preprofessional majors considering I’ve observed similar issues with folks majoring in ostensibly preprofessional fields like business(including accounting), communications, and yes…even CS.
Interestingly, many HS classmates hold similar stereotypes of undergrad business majors with the exception of those who attend topflight undergrad b-schools like Wharton, NYU-Stern, UVA-Mcintire, etc. And and some extended family members wouldn't even make exceptions for the latter type of undergrad b-school**.
** They tend to recommend undergrad business as a major only for students in the family who are academically marginal in HS and have little/no interest in academics/intellectual pursuits whereas they’d discourage it for students in the family who are academic high-achievers or those they regard as having some serious interest in academics/intellectual pursuits.
“You know, anyone with half a brain who has spent more than a few months in this country can easily figure out that there are lots of ways to be successful (assuming we’re defining success as a middle to upper middle class comfortable lifestyle) that don’t require going to one of a small handful of schools.If people are too stupid not to get that about the US – then I am really tired of having sympathy for them. I may have sympathy for their kids who are ridden too hard, but I don’t really have sympathy for them.”
^^The chase for HYPSM is hardly exclusive to “people too stupid to not get that about the US.” I venture to say many, if not the majority, of parents posting here – witness those fretting about whether their kids made the national merit cut-off and whether high SAT scores might compensate for low GPA, are in fact American citizens, just like you and I. And some of them, myself included, agree that the rat race taken to an extreme is not good for kids.
This is not a culture clash, except for people who want it to be about their way of life being threatened by foreigners. It is an excuse to call out other parents for getting ahead, by using a hook that is different than the hook we chose for own kids.
What I am resistant to taking at face value is that the call for scaling back academic acceleration comes from a place of pure charity. The most vehement posts on this thread have been laced with tone and attitude that is ugly and wholly un-American and goes against the spirit of fair play. It’s not realistic to choose an expensive home in what is likely a very expensive neighborhood with high-test-score schools and expect anything but a rat race. If you secure your child in the accelerated classes to look good for college admissions (HYPSM or state flagship or whatever), you have to own up to the fact that you CHOSE this experience for your child. Pointing your anger at other parents, using stereotypes and barely veiled language is projecting your issues onto someone else. Other parents, with different methods, want what is best for their kids, no different than you or me. I don’t think they have only ‘half a brain,” no common sense and no understanding of America, just because they adopt different views than me.
All I’m saying is, if you live by the sword, you die by sword, so to speak. I agree entirely that HYPSM is too narrow a definition for success in America, embraced by far too many people, whether they are rich white 1-percenters, or non-white immigrants.
this is one of he best threads I’ve ever read here. I guess when it all comes down to it parents are furiously passionate about wanting what’s best for their kids. And they all think they know what is best
