4 ms·

Heh. Get born into the right family and off to Harvard you go.

by sown 14y ago

leeoniya 14y ago
<del>Harvard</del><ins>ANYWHERE</ins>
- zaptheimpaler 14y ago
  Traditionally, we use s/Harvard/ANYWHERE/g around these parts.
  - kristopher 14y ago
    HarvardˆHˆHˆHˆHˆHˆHˆHANYWHERE
    - mahmud 14y ago
      Harvard^WAnywhere.
hyperbovine 14y ago
If you're coming from the "right family" a Harvard education probably isn't worth that much to you anyways.
- MisterBastahrd 14y ago
  Of course it is. Families like that don't think in terms of a single generation. Joe Kennedy knew that putting his kids in Ivy League schools meant that his grandkids had a very high probability of being in Ivy League schools, simply because of the connections you make with other wealthy people at these universities. Joe didn't care whether his kid was in Princeton or Harvard, as long as it was one of them. Once you've made more money than you can count, the next step is to focus on your legacy.
  - TheComedian 14y ago
    > Joe didn't care whether his kid was in Princeton or Harvard, > as long as it was one of them. And oddly enough, JFK went to both Princeton and Harvard. He attended Princeton for six weeks before getting ill and withdrawing and then going to Harvard the next year.
- ladzoppelin 14y ago
  I am sure the ones getting in because of family help pay for this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_aid_%28educational_expenses%29#No-loan_financial_aid http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_aid_%28educational_ex...
sliverstorm 14y ago
Does his application make him out to be unworthy? I'm having a difficult time reading bits.
- yolesaber 14y ago
  I am not sure of how the grading system worked at his particular school at that particular time, but it would appear that JFK received numerous C's and D's during high school (see: scores in the 60s and 70s on page four).
  - sliverstorm 14y ago
    Ah, I see now. Page 6 appears to be the results of an exam conducted by Harvard, and I had figured Page 4 was probably related (in which case who knows what a "good" score is). Now, the other question, how much did academics matter in 1935?
    - yolesaber 14y ago
      Not much when your father was Joseph Kennedy heh. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Kennedy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Kennedy
  - slurgfest 14y ago
    While JFK's grades may have been unexpectedly poor in any case, readers should bear in mind that C and D had different meanings than today's due to grade inflation.
- MisterBastahrd 14y ago
  He would barely qualify for a state directional school with those grades at that time. Had he not been the son of Joe Kennedy, his school counselors almost certainly would have tried to steer him towards manual labor.
  - bretpiatt 14y ago
    What do you base that on? Do you have the historical college admission records from the other 109 kids in his class? All 110 kids in his class at Choate are likely to be Ivy League material. I base this off of their current stats posted at http://www.choate.edu/admission/25greatreasons.aspx http://www.choate.edu/admission/25greatreasons.aspx The most popular colleges from 2008-2012: Georgetown University, 48; New York University, 40; Yale University, 38; Boston University, 32; Columbia University, The George Washington University, 31; Boston College, 30; Wesleyan University, 29; Cornell University, 24; Princeton University, University of Pennsylvania, 21; Brown University, Trinity College, 20.
MengYuanLong 14y ago
I would be interested to hear other's thoughts on JFK's answer to why he would like to attend Harvard. I suck at writing essays but it seems his reason for wanting to attend Harvard is incredibly trite and superfluous, especially coming from a man who would eventually be considered a great orator. For example, he states that Harvard " is a university with something definite to offer." Yet gives no definitive examples. Why is "To be a 'harvard man' is an enviable distinction" in President Kennedy's mind? Essentially every sentence lacks justification and specificity. Sigh. These sorts of materials at least provide fuel to refocus on work and studies. Being born outside a powerful family may lack certain advantageous but they can be overcome. Right?
- mquander 14y ago
  I assume his reason is trite and superfluous because it's a stupid question. When you're a high school senior, all you know about colleges probably boils down to - General reputation - About famous people (or family members) that went there - A brief visit to a few of them that you pick out of a hat - How much it costs What kind of non-superflous evidence do you expect him to be able to bring to bear?
- forensic 14y ago
  His answers are shallow because they can be. The application was just a formality for the sake of show. He was guaranteed admission based on family connections.
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]

Heh. Get born into the right family and off to Harvard you go.

by sown 14y ago

Heh. Get born into the right family and off to Harvard you go.

leeoniya 14y ago

<del>Harvard</del><ins>ANYWHERE</ins>

zaptheimpaler 14y ago
Traditionally, we use s/Harvard/ANYWHERE/g around these parts.
- kristopher 14y ago
  HarvardˆHˆHˆHˆHˆHˆHˆHANYWHERE
  - mahmud 14y ago
    Harvard^WAnywhere.

hyperbovine 14y ago

If you're coming from the "right family" a Harvard education probably isn't worth that much to you anyways.

MisterBastahrd 14y ago
Of course it is. Families like that don't think in terms of a single generation. Joe Kennedy knew that putting his kids in Ivy League schools meant that his grandkids had a very high probability of being in Ivy League schools, simply because of the connections you make with other wealthy people at these universities. Joe didn't care whether his kid was in Princeton or Harvard, as long as it was one of them. Once you've made more money than you can count, the next step is to focus on your legacy.
- TheComedian 14y ago
  > Joe didn't care whether his kid was in Princeton or Harvard, > as long as it was one of them. And oddly enough, JFK went to both Princeton and Harvard. He attended Princeton for six weeks before getting ill and withdrawing and then going to Harvard the next year.
ladzoppelin 14y ago
I am sure the ones getting in because of family help pay for this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_aid_%28educational_expenses%29#No-loan_financial_aid http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_aid_%28educational_ex...

sliverstorm 14y ago

Does his application make him out to be unworthy? I'm having a difficult time reading bits.

yolesaber 14y ago
I am not sure of how the grading system worked at his particular school at that particular time, but it would appear that JFK received numerous C's and D's during high school (see: scores in the 60s and 70s on page four).
- sliverstorm 14y ago
  Ah, I see now. Page 6 appears to be the results of an exam conducted by Harvard, and I had figured Page 4 was probably related (in which case who knows what a "good" score is). Now, the other question, how much did academics matter in 1935?
  - yolesaber 14y ago
    Not much when your father was Joseph Kennedy heh. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Kennedy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Kennedy
- slurgfest 14y ago
  While JFK's grades may have been unexpectedly poor in any case, readers should bear in mind that C and D had different meanings than today's due to grade inflation.
MisterBastahrd 14y ago
He would barely qualify for a state directional school with those grades at that time. Had he not been the son of Joe Kennedy, his school counselors almost certainly would have tried to steer him towards manual labor.
- bretpiatt 14y ago
  What do you base that on? Do you have the historical college admission records from the other 109 kids in his class? All 110 kids in his class at Choate are likely to be Ivy League material. I base this off of their current stats posted at http://www.choate.edu/admission/25greatreasons.aspx http://www.choate.edu/admission/25greatreasons.aspx The most popular colleges from 2008-2012: Georgetown University, 48; New York University, 40; Yale University, 38; Boston University, 32; Columbia University, The George Washington University, 31; Boston College, 30; Wesleyan University, 29; Cornell University, 24; Princeton University, University of Pennsylvania, 21; Brown University, Trinity College, 20.

MengYuanLong 14y ago

I would be interested to hear other's thoughts on JFK's answer to why he would like to attend Harvard. I suck at writing essays but it seems his reason for wanting to attend Harvard is incredibly trite and superfluous, especially coming from a man who would eventually be considered a great orator. For example, he states that Harvard " is a university with something definite to offer." Yet gives no definitive examples. Why is "To be a 'harvard man' is an enviable distinction" in President Kennedy's mind? Essentially every sentence lacks justification and specificity. Sigh. These sorts of materials at least provide fuel to refocus on work and studies. Being born outside a powerful family may lack certain advantageous but they can be overcome. Right?

mquander 14y ago
I assume his reason is trite and superfluous because it's a stupid question. When you're a high school senior, all you know about colleges probably boils down to - General reputation - About famous people (or family members) that went there - A brief visit to a few of them that you pick out of a hat - How much it costs What kind of non-superflous evidence do you expect him to be able to bring to bear?
forensic 14y ago
His answers are shallow because they can be. The application was just a formality for the sake of show. He was guaranteed admission based on family connections.
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]