Why the Ivy League Class Controls America

In this video I explain Why the Ivy League Class Controls America. What is the connection between old money and the ivy league. Is admission into the ivy league schools the pinnacle of merit, or the product of privilege? In this video I break down who gets into ivy league schools and the outcomes of the alumni. It's up to you to decide if it's a just system.

#ivyleague #oldmoney #harvard

Chapters:

0:00 Introduction
2:28 Ivy League Admissions & Class
10:29 Ivy League Alumni Representation in the Elite

Citations:

Disclaimer:

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[edwardchang]

I thought my Ivy League law degree would be my ticket into the ruling establishment class but being short and having Chinese DNA closed more doors than the Ivy League degree opened. I was tolerated by the establishment elite overlords so long as I knew my place, which was to do all the grunt work that enabled the establishment's wealth, power, and prestige.

[keysunlocked]

I thought this was pretty spot on. I think most of the Ivy League success comes from people who come from families that are already wealthy, not individual merit. As someone from a middle class background who through athletics got a scholarship to Deerfield Academy and then went on to be a recruited athlete at an Ivy. Internships and job opportunities have more to do with family connections than your grades.

[indeoo_]

Interesting fact, for the last 50 years the amount of students in Ivy league grew by 34%, while US population grew by 65%, which means that's over last 50 years Ivy league education became even more exclusive.

[en-zh-lyrics]

Also Greek clubs are another “secret society” where people make connections. I even hear that many Greek clubs have answer keys to past exams which senior students pass down to junior students, and since many professors do not update their exams every semester, those in the Greek clubs have a competitive advantage since they already know the answers, while everyone else had to study hard to receive decent grades.

[PropheciesRUs]

"It's all a big club, and YOU AIN'T IN IT!"

[adamgorski]

I grew up lower class and graduating from Cornell university (1999) changed my life I would never be financially upper class now if it wasn’t for my experience

[marcofthebeast]

I was a supervisor at an Ivy League school and these kids are extremely focused on their academics. Most of the first year and second years have never even been on a date. Furthermore, the resources and tools that these students get access to is vast. Business students have access to Capital IQ, Factset, and Bloomberg terminals.

[YoLo-hxcs]

You are the most important YouTuber on earth. This isn't an understatement man. The work you do for shedding light on money is more important than any entertainment nonsense anybody can consume.

[tiagosob]

I'm not even American but I'm becoming a huge fan of your work. Deepness of content really rare to find on Youtube. Keep up, Nick!

[tiomoidofangle]

As a Yale graduate, I can testify that it is neither privilege nor merit. It is pure luck. They have categories of people that they are looking for, and if you check the particular boxes that they are looking for when your application comes up, then you're in. If you don't, then you're out.

[theprogen]

Very interesting topic. One exception to the private school advantage is the New York public magnet schools. Stuyvesant, Bronx School of Science, Brooklyn Tech, etc. Stuyvesant, for example, has an Ivy League acceptance of 25%.

[insert-username]

Great video as always! Wanted to provide an interesting quote I read on the internet: "Attending an Ivy-Plus instead of a flagship public college triples students’ chances of obtaining jobs at prestigious firms and substantially increases their chances of earning in the top 1%."

Many people say that those who made it into the ivy league by merit would have been successful going to a state school. I honestly think that's a bit facetious. I went to an ivy and knew many low income / first-gen students who would have never even learned about investment banking or consulting if they had attended their flagship state school. For first gen / low-income students an ivy league degree has immense benefits.

That being said, due to class barriers there are many good students who are not able to attend these institutions.

[bArda]

Another observation is that undergrad degree from an ivy or stanford is way more valuable than a grad degree. It first sounds nonsense but going to ivy for undergrad shows that there's a good chance that you are coming from a certain background. You also build stronger bonds with your friends which will become your network soon.

[marcuse]

I saw this during my matriculation at an Ivy (Business School). I’m not from a wealthy background and a minority. Scholarships and grants enabled me to attend.

My experience was eye opening and the networking/connections made are the sole advantage. It can be seen as unfair with the leg up you get at an institution like this. It does open doors and has surpassed my expectations in terms of investment & ROI.👨🏽‍🎓

[en-zh-lyrics]

I really recommend reading about Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of habitus, economic, cultural, and social capital. Connections fall into the social capital category. People from different class backgrounds also tend to have different “habituses”. For example, people like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg can afford to make riskier decisions such as dropping out of college, because they were born in upper middle class families and have plenty of safety nets to fall back on if they fail, and this effects their risk assessment.

[Macandcheeseenthusiast]

Very true. I currently attend what many may consider an ivy plus (Emory) and the opportunities we have are simply amazing. I have friends at ivy leagues and I wouldn’t say there’s too much of a difference in the opportunities we get. I’m a sociology and data science major and am currently set to make at least 100k post-grad in consulting…which mainly targets these ivy/ivy plus schools. As someone that comes from a poor background, it’s a crazy reality! Both of my roommates parents graduated from MIT and they’ve recommended me for a few internship opportunities. Crazy stuff! I’m forever grateful

[frickfrack]

Merit can’t exist above Capital. Wealth beats merit every time

[SummersJourney-dd]

I'm surprised that you didn't include Brown. The U.S. treasury secretary and many others in prominent positions went to Brown for their liberal undergrad education.

Bank of America's CEO, Brian Monihan is also a brown alum.

As an aside, I have noticed that a number of left leaning think tanks funded by the Rockefeller foundation (John D. Rockefeller Jr graduated from Brown) and left leaning media outlets (CNN was created by Ted Turner, brown alum) tend to have links to that school.

Andrew Yang who is best known for pushing universal Basic income, is also a graduate of Brown and Columbia Law. I find it interesting that a lot of left leaning ideology can be linked to some affiliation with Brown.

[jameswill]

The biggest difference is between the elite boarding schools and public schools. John Taylor Gatto investigated it and made a video about it. Some of the things I remember him saying about boarding schools:
1) From a young age, lots of writing without much emphasis on grammar rules (that comes later), just write! Write a diary or personnel journal, write fictional stories too. For example, you can start with a dog, a cat, and a horse, and write an adventure story about them. Write a lot!
2) Public speaking, they push public speaking from a young age. The audience can be 2-3 people sitting on a park bench, doesn't matter!
3) They learn about all the major religions of the world, public schools - no religion at all.
4) an understanding of human nature: what makes people tick.
5) The classics, learning how to think for yourself, the trivium. Grammer, rhetoric, and logic. unheard of in public schools.
6) Access to people of different professions, truckers, Plumbers, cops, doctors, local politicians, etc, etc. Write them a personal letter asking to shadow them for a day or more.
There's more, but that's what I know off the top of my head.

[ScienceOfSuccess-js]

I hold an advanced degree in neuroscience and education from an Ivy League university where I am a legacy. Your assessment is accurate. Without the proper credentials, I would not have gotten into this highly ranked grad school.