The Atlantic has fully retracted this story after finding multiple lies and errors, as well as a questionable history from the author: The full explanation with a lot more detail is available at...
The Atlantic has fully retracted this story after finding multiple lies and errors, as well as a questionable history from the author:
Our fact-checking department thoroughly checked this piece, speaking with more than 40 sources and independently corroborating information. But we now know that the author misled our fact-checkers, lied to our editors, and is accused of inducing at least one source to lie to our fact-checking department. We believe that these actions fatally undermined the effectiveness of the fact-checking process. It is impossible for us to vouch for the accuracy of this article. This is what necessitates a full retraction. We apologize to our readers.
The full explanation with a lot more detail is available at the link, they've replaced the story with it.
(I'll mention @soks_n_sandals and @Lev since you both read it and should be informed about this)
This was a very interesting read. I have quite a lot of sympathy for the kids that are the subject of this article. I cannot imagine the stress that these kids are under from their parents'...
This was a very interesting read. I have quite a lot of sympathy for the kids that are the subject of this article. I cannot imagine the stress that these kids are under from their parents' burdensome vision. These parents are depriving their kids of their childhood in a lot of ways, and I think that's unfair at the very least.
I have zero sympathy for these parents, however. They have such a warped sense of reality that I can't honestly begin to put myself in their shoes. There are loads of great state schools that will provide new experiences and opportunities beyond the Ivy League colleges.
I'm a current non-athlete undergrad attending one of the schools mentioned in the article-- another dimension not covered here is what happens after these students actually arrive on campuses....
I'm a current non-athlete undergrad attending one of the schools mentioned in the article-- another dimension not covered here is what happens after these students actually arrive on campuses. Socially, I've found that a lot of these molded Greenwich athlete types tend to form their own groups, and actually don't mingle all that much with the wider student body. I suppose that's not a huge surprise; like prefers like, and as this article demonstrates (as well as the linked article in the Princetonian), Ivy campuses offer many similar students from these extremely wealthy towns. Still, it's disappointing to see both from the recruits, who have been given the opportunity to expand their horizons, and from the schools where this system continues to be the modus operandi.
At Williams College, where recruits compose a bonkers 33% of the student population, I've heard that they call the non-athletes "nonners" and the entire campus's social breakdown is based on athletic status. Wild!
The Atlantic has fully retracted this story after finding multiple lies and errors, as well as a questionable history from the author:
The full explanation with a lot more detail is available at the link, they've replaced the story with it.
(I'll mention @soks_n_sandals and @Lev since you both read it and should be informed about this)
This was a very interesting read. I have quite a lot of sympathy for the kids that are the subject of this article. I cannot imagine the stress that these kids are under from their parents' burdensome vision. These parents are depriving their kids of their childhood in a lot of ways, and I think that's unfair at the very least.
I have zero sympathy for these parents, however. They have such a warped sense of reality that I can't honestly begin to put myself in their shoes. There are loads of great state schools that will provide new experiences and opportunities beyond the Ivy League colleges.
I'm a current non-athlete undergrad attending one of the schools mentioned in the article-- another dimension not covered here is what happens after these students actually arrive on campuses. Socially, I've found that a lot of these molded Greenwich athlete types tend to form their own groups, and actually don't mingle all that much with the wider student body. I suppose that's not a huge surprise; like prefers like, and as this article demonstrates (as well as the linked article in the Princetonian), Ivy campuses offer many similar students from these extremely wealthy towns. Still, it's disappointing to see both from the recruits, who have been given the opportunity to expand their horizons, and from the schools where this system continues to be the modus operandi.
At Williams College, where recruits compose a bonkers 33% of the student population, I've heard that they call the non-athletes "nonners" and the entire campus's social breakdown is based on athletic status. Wild!