In his article “Don’t Send Your Kids to the Ivy League” and his new book Excellent Sheep, William Deresiewicz insists that students at Ivy League and elite universities, while talented and driven, “are anxious, timid, and lost, with little intellectual curiosity and a stunted sense of purpose: trapped in a bubble of privilege, heading meekly in the same direction, great at what they’re doing but with no idea why they’re doing it.”
There is much to criticize about elite higher education institutions and the imperfect methods that are used in their admissions processes—based not on merit but rather finding a ‘holistic’ person. Administration is no better, rewarding research and extracurricular success more than academic success. Deresiewicz’s critique, however, doesn’t consider the whole picture behind people’s decisions to pursue what he considers the “sheepish route.”
It is no secret that a staggering number of Georgetown graduates go into careers in consulting and finance. The statistics are similar at other elite universities, including the Ivies. Many students work towards these goals throughout their undergraduate career. At Georgetown, the idea of joining Hilltop Consultants, GUASFCU, or even the Corp with the hopes of attaining prestigious leadership positions is prevalent and has probably crossed many—if not most—of our minds. If not these, we join other student organizations with the idea that there might be some payoff stemming from our hard work that manifests in our future job applications and acquisitions. We are all heading in the same direction in much the same way.
It is also not uncommon to hear people around campus echoing their concerns with wanting to study topics of interest and immerse themselves in their classes but finding themselves forsaking that to take an easy course or get a good grade. Deresiewicz maintains that this mentality leads to a failure to achieve the two goals of college: teaching us how to think and building a self. When we get good grades, we are only learning analytical and rhetorical skills for our business jobs later on.
I do not believe that this is a bad thing, and I do not believe that we are sheep for pursuing lucrative careers or developing skills to that end. In fact, I think that sets us up for what is coming later in life.
For people coming from underprivileged backgrounds, there is greater pressure to find a well-paying job. These students need to make sure they succeed so their parents’ investment—or, many times, their own investment—is repaid, or at least, worthwhile. I think the same applies to the middle class.
While I might feel that doing what I love acts as more of a conduit to achieving true success than leading the “excellent sheep” life, I still tailor what I’m studying, whether or not I love it, toward something I deem practicable, such as “security and strategy” or “international business development.” For the underprivileged and the middle class, going to Ivy League schools offers the resources, connections, and prestige necessary to get the first leg up and later pursue their own agendas. Coming from these backgrounds, it is difficult to justify following, say, musical passions at a school like Georgetown that offers the opportunity for a virtually guaranteed advancement in quality of life by setting us up for well-paying careers.
Perhaps it is the privileged, then, who may be most affected by Deresiewicz’s plight. They may be stricken by the fact that they are privileged when they come to an institution like Georgetown and see people from other walks of life, making them insecure or timid about all they have been given. Or, they may have been conditioned to pursue a certain lifestyle and accrue honors and languages and extracurriculars, and are fabulous at doing so, but then find themselves lost in the mix and unsure where their passions lie at the end of it all. For the underprivileged and middle class, the “excellent sheep” route serves as an avenue to future goals and ambitions; for the upper middle class and upper class, it may end up leaving them little room to forge their own path, opinions, or hobbies.
This experience is certainly not applicable to all. Some might be moved to correct the social inequities they perceive and use their position of privilege for good purposes. And even if they don’t, many will still become successful and pay for someone else’s education one day. It is impossible to enumerate all the possibilities, but there are many more than Deresiewicz gives us credit for.
In any case, I know what I believe in and what I want to contribute to later on. I just want to be on some footing that allows me to do that.
