<p>The book comparing Yale and Southern can be read as a compliment to Southern students, who are living the American dream and reaching for upward mobility without the sense of entitlement among Yale elites. Someone has to be the first in a family to go to college. Their children may go to Yale. </p>
<p>The book by a sociology professor from U Toronto is not an indictment of either student body.</p>
<p>I’m not convinced that the majority of students at elite schools feel “entitled.” That’s a charge I’m not comfortable with. The majority of those students are very hard-working individuals who set goals and work hard to achieve them. That’s not entitled.</p>
<p>If ‘top schools’ include ‘state flagships’ in the minds of many, then why, when discussing top schools, does the article say ‘the Ivies and other top schools’ and not ‘State flagships and other top schools’?</p>
<p>^^No. Only certain state flagships like UC Berkeley, UVA, UMichigan have consistently been highly rated…that is, all-around universities not only known for specific major like in “engineering”…</p>
<p>Beats me. I’m not saying that “top schools” typically include most state flagships (and good grief, yes, we get Michigan and UVA and UNC and of course it wouldn’t be a CC discussion if we didn’t bring in UC system ad nauseum). I’m saying that it’s just not all that hard to get into comfortable upper middle class land from the vast majority of state flagships, AND that the majority of comfortable upper middle class people attended such schools and not the top / elite ones.</p>
<p>Agreed, but also I think it should have been pointed out more in the article how even the state university systems, and state flagships, can fail those of lower SES. I know that the flagship in my state rewards lots and lots of merit money but almost no need based money. Students from families making less than 30K can be expected to pay around 13K. I think it could do more for these families.</p>
<p>Well the Ivies do give need-based aid only and quite a bit of it. In general, I agree though. Affirmative action would actually be beneficial to society if it were based on SES instead of race. That being said the Ivies (and schools of the same caliber) should hardly be viewed as the bastion of the cosseted elite. Ask the vast majority of the students, and you will find out the effort they put in and how long they have been planning just to get in their dream school.</p>