What does one do with a sociology degree, even one from Harvard? Edit: I didn't mean that to be as critical as it sounded.
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What is it like to be poor at an Ivy League school? (2015)
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Re: What is it like to be poor at an Ivy League school? (2015)
#12What does one do with a sociology degree, even one from Harvard? Edit: I didn't mean that to be as critical as it sounded.
Pretty much anything. Degree doesn't matter as much as people think. Institutions matter more IMO.
The data show quite the opposite: the degree matters more than the institution. An engineering degree from a top 50 school has a higher return than an arts/humanities degree from a top 5 institution.
http://cdn.static-economist.com/sites/default/files/images/p...
Re: What is it like to be poor at an Ivy League school? (2015)
#13What does one do with a sociology degree, even one from Harvard? Edit: I didn't mean that to be as critical as it sounded.
Anything for 2 years, then MBA, then Wall Street.
Actually, the prevailing trend at Ivies the past few years is the following:
Graduate --> 2 years at Wall Street / Management Consulting --> MBA --> Silicon Valley / Startups
Re: What is it like to be poor at an Ivy League school? (2015)
#14Even being a poor grad student at an Ivy feels like this. The undergrads are wealthy and the grad students cherish every dollar of their ~$30k salary while still sometimes do side work to get by since city's have rents set for the higher income undergrads. There was some resentment we had for our students to say the least.
This article suggests that schools are taking an interesting step to avoid such resentment:
White appreciates, for example, that Harvard gives low-income students free tickets to the freshman formal, but they have to pick up the tickets in a different line from everyone else. “It’s clear who is getting free/reduced tickets and who isn’t,” he says...
This seems like it might be an effective strategy. Take the people who are living on the largess of others (e.g. grad students on a stipend, poor undergrads on financial aid) and give them constant reminders that they are there thanks to the contributions of others. Then perhaps they'll feel gratitude instead.
In much the same way, my CEO likes to remind us that annoying as customers can sometimes be, that's where our salaries are coming from.
Re: What is it like to be poor at an Ivy League school? (2015)
#15Would be nice, if there is ever some kind of paywall or login-wall, if poster would just paste the plaintext as the 1st comment.
Re: What is it like to be poor at an Ivy League school? (2015)
#16When I was accepted to one of the best universities in the UK I applied for the standard loans and grants from the government.
I didn't get a grant: my parents earned about £1000 more than the threshold for one. I lived and socialised with people who did get grants. If anything, they seemed to have slightly more spare cash than I did.
In any case, there were plenty of students with a similar amount of not-much-money. I couldn't afford to go backpacking round Central America, but I could go to occasional big rock concerts or a music festival. We couldn't afford to go to the fancy clubs in central London, but we could afford to go to the... less fancy ones, where drinks were £1 and your shoes stick to the floor. That was just as much fun :)
Re: What is it like to be poor at an Ivy League school? (2015)
#17Earlier quoted context omitted.
Pretty much anything. Degree doesn't matter as much as people think. Institutions matter more IMO.
The data show quite the opposite: the degree matters more than the institution. An engineering degree from a top 50 school has a higher return than an arts/humanities degree from a top 5 institution. http://cdn.static-economist.com/sites/default/files/images/p...
why are there no dots for humanities for schools with lower than 20% accceptance rates?
Most ivy schools have an acceptance rate lower than 10%
Re: What is it like to be poor at an Ivy League school? (2015)
#18Even being a poor grad student at an Ivy feels like this. The undergrads are wealthy and the grad students cherish every dollar of their ~$30k salary while still sometimes do side work to get by since city's have rents set for the higher income undergrads. There was some resentment we had for our students to say the least.
This article suggests that schools are taking an interesting step to avoid such resentment: White appreciates, for example, that Harvard gives low-income students free tickets to the freshman formal, but they have to pick up the tickets in a different line from everyone else. “It’s clear who is getting free/reduced tickets and who isn’t,” he says... This seems like it might be an effective strategy. Take the people w…
The undergraduates with rich parents are also technically living off of the largess of others. A family probably feels more of an obligation to support their own children but it's not like the majority of undergraduates paying tuition are "self-made."
Re: What is it like to be poor at an Ivy League school? (2015)
#19Yep. I remember my parents spending more time talking to cafeteria workers, I didn't even think it was appropriate for them to meet my professors, nor did I think it was an option. Being weeded out from social circles was also painful. "Let's go downtown for dinner Saturday night", "Nope I'll meet up with you guys later, I've got something else going on."
Re: What is it like to be poor at an Ivy League school? (2015)
#20Even being a poor grad student at an Ivy feels like this. The undergrads are wealthy and the grad students cherish every dollar of their ~$30k salary while still sometimes do side work to get by since city's have rents set for the higher income undergrads. There was some resentment we had for our students to say the least.
This article suggests that schools are taking an interesting step to avoid such resentment: White appreciates, for example, that Harvard gives low-income students free tickets to the freshman formal, but they have to pick up the tickets in a different line from everyone else. “It’s clear who is getting free/reduced tickets and who isn’t,” he says... This seems like it might be an effective strategy. Take the people w…
Speaking from personal experience, this would cause more resentment rather than gratitude. I worked more hours to ensure that I didn't have to wait in these types of lines wherever possible. I found that people with money were less likely to want to associate with you once they found out that your family didn't have any because it made them feel awkward.