Do ivy league colleges pay Hollywood?

7 comments

1. They dont need to pay this reflects existing common biases. I dont think the trope comes up enough for the movies to drive this mentality.

   What does drive it are the college rankings. With thousands of colleges its the only real way people have to objectively narrow down where to go, and the rankings are dependant partially on “exclusivity.” A school looking to bump their ranking can easily do so with an ad campaign, bringing in more applications, and with fixed spots increases their rejection rate.

2. If you say Harvard or Yale, everyone recognizes the school. If you say Calvin University, you get far less name recognition. I really think it is that simple.

3. 1. It’s a movie. If the movie was like basic real life with little to no drama then it would be boring right? Would you watch a kid go to school, sit through class, go home and hang out with friends/play video games/go to the movies/do homework and then rinse and repeat the whole movie? It creates suspense and for that age group its the “next step in life” to either go to collage or get a job.

   2. The idea of the whole point of getting in a “good college” is to get the best education and experience you can so you can get the best job you can typically. It’s about being the “best you can be” and not just being mediocre or settling for less. It’s not about getting “no where” in life, it’s about wanting to do the best you can. (Note: I said this is the *idea* behind it, that *doesnt* mean people who didn’t go to college are necessarily worse off than those who did)

   Can I ask what movie specifically you watched?

4. It is a plot device to show how intelligent a kid is. Those top tier universities are extremely selective, and beyond the reach of even most smart people.

   A movie can give the viewer a lot of information about the character just by saying they are applying or have been accepted to an Ivy League school.

5. Ivy League colleges have traditionally had a reputation for being top schools academically and socially. Their acceptance rates are incredibly low. Good grades is only one factor to admission, and you are competing with many people who were some of the best students at their schools. For example Yale’s acceptance rate is around 6.5%.

   You can be successful without an Ivy League education but the school’s reputation certainly helps. The connections you gain can really help your career. This predates movies and television.

6. Ivy League colleges are really really good. That said, they’re an extremely small subset of college level education.

   Side note: How many U of M grads does it take to screw in a light bulb?

   Four. One to install the bulb and three to tell him he did it just as good as an ivy leaguer.

7. So it’s a mix I think. Ivy league and other prestigious colleges definitely have a benefit to going there. They’re good schools, and they *mostly* got their reputation by being really good schools that only the elite could get into, and so having a degree from one of those schools sends an immediate message.

   The issue is that it’s been peddled to the last couple generations that if you don’t go to college (literally any college) you’re going to end up being some low life societal reject. But college is expensive, and prestigious colleges are even more so, so there’s already a bit of a barrier to entry anyway. The chance that some regular joe is getting into an ivy league school is pretty slim.

   Basically, there is a benefit to getting into an ivy league school over just a regular state school or community college, and if you are the sort of person who doesn’t come from a rich family that could guarantee you a spot in one of those schools, if there is a possibility you could be accepted it could literally be life changing. Getting in with the “right” crowd by getting into an ivy league school can open doors that would otherwise have been unavailable to you.