“So extreme are the admission standards now that kids who manage to get into elite colleges have, by definition, never experienced anything but success. The prospect of not being successful terrifies them, disorients them. The cost of falling short, even temporarily, becomes not merely practical, but existential. The result is a violent aversion to risk. You have no margin for error, so you avoid the possibility that you will ever make an error. Once, a student at Pomona told me that she’d love to have a chance to think about the things she’s studying, only she doesn’t have the time. I asked her if she had ever considered not trying to get an A in every class. She looked at me as if I had made an indecent suggestion…”Via @wolvensnothere
So I didn’t go to Ivy League but I went to Oxbridge and this was a fascinating read. Some things really hit home and were completely familiar [toxic combination of perfectionism and an absurd workload. rich white males punching above their weight what a surprise], some not so much [I don’t think the acceptance criteria are nearly as ridiculously high. I had a sports team and two school clubs as my extra curriculars and that’s all. Same for most of my friends. And I might be naive here but I don’t think we have the same problem with commercialisation or teaching being de-incentivised, although it’s always a mixed bag].
100% agreed on the bottom line that ~elite~ institutes are far from the be-all and end-all. And that further education needs to be democratised.
someone told me when I was applying that oxbridge tend to care less about extra curriculars than other unis and are more decided by your school marks etc so that could be part of it? (but yeah our aplications seem a little less extensive – I didn’t send an audition tape for example just put in I got this grade on this instrument for music stuff they talk about, and everythings on the formula ucas give you so numbers, limited personal writing, limited reference from teachers, done.)
also that oxbridge still interview for everything where a lot fo uni’s don’t anymore so they do the get to know you bit there?
fearlessstateofmind backup 