The Ivy League and other elite private colleges are losing esteem

I used to think this was grandstanding by the right, but the delusional letters sent by the Ivy league groups after Oct 7th have really opened my eyes on this.

Adding to that, Ivy league leaders showed a huge double standard when it comes to antisemitism vs. other forms of racism/discrimination.

If Israel had that much power these things would stop. There's clear misinformation on this subject. Students (even Jewish students) are walking around with Hamas symbols. An organization whose stated purpose is the destruction of a sovereign state. An organization who literally sabotaged the attempt we had to form a Palestinian state. An organization that is still keeping US citizens as hostages including women and children.

If it was any country other than Israel these people would be banned from public life and maybe jailed for supporting terror.

The problem is that Americans such as yourself, are making the mistake of assuming you understand. You don't: https://twitter.com/ABZayed/status/1784565074964664531

These extremists are psychopaths, they are not people who can be reasoned with. Example: recently the son of the Hamas leader was killed in the conflict. He posted a picture of him delivering the news to his wife and they're both smiling in the picture. They're either pretending or are literally happy their son died. The most basic normal thing about people should be the desire to protect our children. It's true for most Muslims, Jews, Christians, Hindu etc. It should be universal.

These people don't even abide by that basic rule. They are HAPPY to sacrifice their own children not for freedom (Israel offered a full Palestinian state before) but for a holy war that would engulf the earth. The fact that US students are wearing their colors is astoundingly ignorant and prolongs the war.

Another proof. Hamas was offered a deal that would stop the war. Israel wants its hostages back. They can stop that right away by accepting the deal. But when they see the demonstrations in the US and Europe they won't accept the deal to further damage Israels standing.

(2) Agreed. Which is exactly why these various Ivy League brands need to be concerned about their appearance. Maybe if they didn't cost $100k per year and up, they would not be under such scrutiny.

(3) I reckon if you can qualify for any significant discounted admission at an Ivy League school, you can get a full scholarship and/or awesome financial aid at a number of excellent state schools. So the value isn't in it for poor kids. As for rich kids, well, just because they have the money doesn't mean they want to waste it on a school that is just not worth it. I'm sure these schools' reputations aren't quite bad enough to discourage the rich from going, but let's see how bad they let it get.

But I concur that if you get into MIT (or comparable) and it seems to be a good fit, then it is hard to beat for a variety of reasons.

Nonetheless another strategy that is worth considering is pursuing a science or engineering major at a good but cheaper and less elite school, where you can perhaps stand out more, and then attending an elite graduate school (private or public) in your field.

Can you substantiate this claim with evidence; e.g. a photo of a student bearing a Hamas (not Palestine) symbol on campus?

I put it down to a number of factors: -The replication crisis -Divergence of "Social Justice Leftism" (for want of better words) over main stream liberal and conservative ideals at universities. -over production of degree holders, creating a shortage of trades people and graduates who can't get jobs. You have many graduates who prefer to work in unskilled jobs rather than retraining into trades. -Increased expense of university. On average most attending university are better off. But there are a lot of people worse off. -Disappointing returns on research at universities. Commercial and Industry specific labs have a much greater return on investment, but the narrative has been about needing to invest in universities.

I'd like to see less places funded at universities. Less research funded at universities. More funding for research elsewhere. Pre registration of studies become the norm or mandatory (i.e. say before you do the work what you are looking to test in the data you collect). More prestige and funding for trade schools.