<story><title>Why do Ivy League students self-sabotage?</title><url>https://movingthelimit.com/why-do-ivy-league-students-self-sabotage/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>josh_fyi</author><text>I studied at Harvard and the answer is that they want to pretend to be so smart and talented that they don&amp;#x27;t &lt;i&gt;need&lt;/i&gt; to work. The image is of the effete aristocrat who enjoys life without lifting a finger.&lt;p&gt;Think of George W. Bush: Got into Yale (Harvard too!) because his blue-blood line always did. Mediocre grades. Lots of alcohol and drugs. (Quit that later.) Avoided Vietnam with the cushiest fun job as a fighter pilot who never flies out of Texas skies (and mostly skipped that too). Led some companies funded by his rich family.  President twice.&lt;p&gt;Who wouldn&amp;#x27;t want that?</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>akprasad</author><text>I believe you and the author are describing two different types of students. The author describes students who &lt;i&gt;want&lt;/i&gt; to work and succeed but are unable to cope with &amp;quot;real-world problems rather than contrived academic examples,&amp;quot; whereas you seem to point to students who want instead to luxuriate in their self-perceived social class.</text></comment>
<story><title>Why do Ivy League students self-sabotage?</title><url>https://movingthelimit.com/why-do-ivy-league-students-self-sabotage/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>josh_fyi</author><text>I studied at Harvard and the answer is that they want to pretend to be so smart and talented that they don&amp;#x27;t &lt;i&gt;need&lt;/i&gt; to work. The image is of the effete aristocrat who enjoys life without lifting a finger.&lt;p&gt;Think of George W. Bush: Got into Yale (Harvard too!) because his blue-blood line always did. Mediocre grades. Lots of alcohol and drugs. (Quit that later.) Avoided Vietnam with the cushiest fun job as a fighter pilot who never flies out of Texas skies (and mostly skipped that too). Led some companies funded by his rich family.  President twice.&lt;p&gt;Who wouldn&amp;#x27;t want that?</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>avindroth</author><text>Feels like an oversimplification. My peers at Stanford felt like they were genuinely grappling with issues like imposter syndrome.</text></comment>