Just say "You've said that."
Academic snobbery
- Thread starter Nimrod
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Someone actually did some studies of the effects of a great school vs a pretty good school. Interesting enough the "great" school they chose for the study was my alma mater, Swarthmore College.
The results in a nutshell: there was no difference in the average future career for someone admitted to Swarthmore who attended Swarthmore compared to someone who was accepted by Swarthmore but attended a less famous school, such as Penn State.
It is great students who make a school great, not the other way around.
True, the second smartest guy in my freshmen physics class is now a famous scientist. But, the absolute genius who was much smarter dropped out of school to devote her considerable brain power to the benifit of Rev Moon. I knew another really smart guy who was kicked out of the Moonies for drug use. OTOH one friend of mine who didn't seem really special had good family connections and is now a Congressman from Maryland.
The people I mentioned who made it in life would have done well no matter where they went to college. The scientist later became a student and close friend of Carl Sagan, which was due to his grad school choice.
It is possible that the brilliant people I knew who joined the Moonies would have done better elsewhere, or maybe their problems in life were bigger than that.
All I can say is every kid has to live with his or her choice and nobody else will live their lives for them.
The results in a nutshell: there was no difference in the average future career for someone admitted to Swarthmore who attended Swarthmore compared to someone who was accepted by Swarthmore but attended a less famous school, such as Penn State.
It is great students who make a school great, not the other way around.
True, the second smartest guy in my freshmen physics class is now a famous scientist. But, the absolute genius who was much smarter dropped out of school to devote her considerable brain power to the benifit of Rev Moon. I knew another really smart guy who was kicked out of the Moonies for drug use. OTOH one friend of mine who didn't seem really special had good family connections and is now a Congressman from Maryland.
The people I mentioned who made it in life would have done well no matter where they went to college. The scientist later became a student and close friend of Carl Sagan, which was due to his grad school choice.
It is possible that the brilliant people I knew who joined the Moonies would have done better elsewhere, or maybe their problems in life were bigger than that.
All I can say is every kid has to live with his or her choice and nobody else will live their lives for them.
Going to a prestigious academic school is great, but graduating with a marketable degree is more important than attending....unless you are Bill Gates. Did I tell you the story about the college girl we spoke with at Spring Break two years ago? We were skiing in CO and during lunch were enjoying the nice weather at a ski lodge outdoor picnic table. We struck up a conversation with a couple of college girls at the end of the table and asked them where they went and what they were studying. They all attended a big school that costs a lot of $$$ and one of them told us she was studying "African American Studies"...you could have heard a pin drop after she said it. What the hell do you do with a degree in African American Studies when you are a pasty white girl and why were her parents paying for it?
Personally I love the smaller schools; when talking Tennessee, other great options are Milligan College, Maryville College, or nearby schools like Emory & Henry. I know there are many other small schools, that have high )or higher) academic programs than some of the big name schools.
Probably, if you happen to buy in to the premise that playing softball in college does nothing for you other than paying your tuition. In which case please do not play college softball and give someone else the opportunity who has the vision to fully benefit from the experience.
JJsqueeze
Dad, Husband....legend
Sounds like a smuck to me. Here is the only response to ANYONE who tells you what their kid is doing after high school...."good for her/him" followed by a positive comment about the choice said sincerely and meant wholeheartedly.
From my vantage point, I see kids working their tails off and families expending huge sums to end up playing at a JC or small college that I wonder if they would have attended had softball not been on the table. For many of modest financial means, they could attend the same or similar institution tuition-free by simply filling out an application, and the money spent on those exposure tournaments would go a long way towards covering everything else.
If the priority is to play softball in college, then so be it. However, if the priority is to get an education, playing a college sport is a nice bonus, but shouldn't be the driver of where they go. I've seen first-hand what can happen when the sport drives the decision. It was the daughter of a close friend, and the results weren't good. She is a smart enough kid, but went to a D3 2K miles away that nobody in my part of the country ever heard of, did not fit in, and was off the team after the first year. She ended up transferring to a school close to home, but the lack of transferability of some the credit hours meant 5+ years to finish her degree.
Disclaimer: My kid plays because she likes it, not because there is any money in it. The chances of her earning some type of scholarship appear excellent, but it isn't likely to be sports related.
If the priority is to play softball in college, then so be it. However, if the priority is to get an education, playing a college sport is a nice bonus, but shouldn't be the driver of where they go. I've seen first-hand what can happen when the sport drives the decision. It was the daughter of a close friend, and the results weren't good. She is a smart enough kid, but went to a D3 2K miles away that nobody in my part of the country ever heard of, did not fit in, and was off the team after the first year. She ended up transferring to a school close to home, but the lack of transferability of some the credit hours meant 5+ years to finish her degree.
Disclaimer: My kid plays because she likes it, not because there is any money in it. The chances of her earning some type of scholarship appear excellent, but it isn't likely to be sports related.
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Did you just not-quite-name-drop NDT???
Greenmonsters
Wannabe Duck Boat Owner
IMO, its hard enough to try to manage the things we actually have some ability to control than to worry about what others say or do. IME, regardless of what you actually think, "I wish her well and hope things work out the way she wants" is the reassuring/sought after response to that type of statement.
Ok, guys, I have to make this FYI correction for you. The word is "schmuck." "Smuck" is 3/4 of the name of a brand of jelly.
