Originally Posted by intparent
" I just know that my DD and I tend to be polymaths, and that we often feel a bit insecure in groups of pointy types, since we don't seem to have a "one thing" the way that they do."

Interesting comment... my D says she picked Harvey Mudd to attend because she felt it was the college that would feed her polymath tendencies more than any other. Note it was NOT the Ivies she felt this way about. Too many parents and students are asking the wrong question ("How do I get my kid into an Ivy?"). The right question is, what schools will allow me to achieve my goals and be a good fit for me?

Yes, but once you bathe in the shining relevance of the Ivy League, you may yourself become relevant.

At that point, the very relevance you now radiate may effortlessly sweep away obstacles in your path like dry leaves faced with the autumn winds.

However, if you choose a place like Harvey Mudd, the name itself tells you what you may gain.

Obstacles will cling to your feet, blocking your path, as your feet sink deeper into the mire...until at last you sink beneath the soil and join the mass of humanity who know that permanent irrelevance is their fate, and the fate of their children.

Woe to those upon the light of relevance will never shine.

The tragedy of our age is that there are so few places in the hallowed halls of truly profound and meaningful higher learning. And there are so many who cry out, begging to be given the Golden Ticket that will allow them to fit through those narrow gates to ascend the stairway to relevance.