Harvard, of course, is a great university. Yet, you don't need to go to an Ivy League school to be successful. It still comes down to just be willing to work hard.

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The tone of the article is as elitist as its content. There is a lot of good teaching going on at the Ivy League schools, just like there's good teaching going on in lots of state schools. The problem comes down to two things: money (and lack of it) and education. If you live in a place like I do, where you have only one school district to choose from and it's not that great and you don't have the money to move to a place that has better schools, your bright kids don't stand a chance.

Going to one of the elite universities mentioned is more about making connections than anything else. As some have suggested, going to these elite schools for undergraduate work may be overrated.

If someone is really looking out for the future of their college bound student, they should consider choosing a university for the quality of the department in which the student will major. You go to some schools for drama and others for engineering. Going to the Eastern Ivies might be good preparation for power connections in the Atlantic world, but going to a Pacific coast university might better connect you to Asia; if conncections is what you are after.

The legacy angle is underplayed in the article. How else would a dodo like GWB, who would have been rejected by his local community college, get admitted to 2 Ivies?
Kinda hard to believe isn't it?

Harvard grad school is generally prtty good, but undergrad is a total joke. They don't really deserve to be in the Ivy League. The problem is that there have so many spoiled rich brats that they've had to lower their academic standards so that at least some of these losers will pass. This has been true for many years. Your kid will be much better off at any other Ivy, like Brown or Cornell. Even the better state schools like UMass or UW offer a better educational experience than Harvard.

I think Ivy League doesn't really mean shit
anymore, other countries are finally starting
to build universities and stuff, that's good
times, there, I think. It'll make educators
in this country seriously look at what they
are(or aren't) doing and how to make sure
that every pupil in K-12 gets the maximum
brain treatment, or programming, to make them
more gooder competitiver in the Con Me.
Or, maybe someone will have an epiphany and
say 'not everyone gets to be an astronaut',
and rework their expectations accordingly.
Robots can do many things, including do
surgery, build cars, probably pick lettuce,
and many many other things. Besides, with
Google on its' way to ruling the planet,
eventually all they'll have to do is give
you a compatibility implant so you can
be a meat-bot. No more of that independent
thinking crap...too dangerous.

You can start by NOT sending them to public schools.

Easy, just bribe them in with tons of cash. And if you are broke a good set of kneepads and flexible TMJ's are a good start.

there is no way the public-school white kid who is an A student in Math and Science is getting into Harvard. It just doesn't happen like that, unless they hire an admissions coach to write some brilliant essay and slap the kids' name on it. I think they go for about $30 grand these days.