Reply #106: Not as much as you think. Getting into one of these schools means attending the right [View All]

high school, whether it be public or private.

Not a single kid in my high school was able to attend a private college or university. All of my friend's buddies at his high school in Newton, Mass. attended Ivy League or comparable schools.

Yes, there are some kids there on merit, but money is still a huge part of it. A friend of mine went to Yale as an undergrad. His parents were diplomats. And he said he just didn't fit in because he wasn't nearly as wealthy as the other kids were. His dorm mates would all go skiing weekends to...Switzerland. One's grandfather invented a company called 'Timex'. He said he just didn't fit in.

Hell, at my graduate school nearly all the kids in my program came from academic families or those with professional degrees, such as law or medical or phd of some kind. There were three of us - all three of our dads were captains in the navy - 2 USN, 1 RN - and we just didn't fit in and couldn't afford to socialize with the others.