Dubya's go-fer/dogsitter/daughter dater to enroll at Harvard

[MethuenProgressive]

From the Harvard Crimson:

A 26-year-old college dropout who carries President Bush’s breath mints and makes him peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches will follow in his boss’s footsteps this fall when he enrolls at Harvard Business School (HBS).

Though it is rare for HBS—or any other professional or graduate school—to admit a student who does not have an undergraduate degree, admissions officers made an exception for Blake Gottesman, who for four years has served as special assistant and personal aide to Bush.

http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=513563

[Redstone]

1. But his Harvard degree, which he'll put on his office wall, will not

mention that, of course.

Them as has, gets. Thus has it always been.

Redstone

[spindrifter]

2. Well, maybe he can take over managing

the Carlyle Group when he gets that framable certificate.

[FrenchieCat]

3. Yuk.....I'll have to tell my daughter to cross the street when and if

she sees him coming!

[Jed Dilligan]

4. Doesn't change my level of respect for an HBS degree

which was nil to begin with

[MADem]

5. How unfortunate for HAAAAAVAAAAAD....

They're already WAY overpriced, they already UNDEREDUCATE, and the charms of Cambridge and Boston can't make up for the lack of value they seem to provide, of late. It used to be a place to get an education AND make those all important contacts.

If they are putting Pretzleduncial porters in the mix, well, they're just diluting the pool with more lukewarm piss, frankly. And given the lukewarm legacy piss that still fills the pool and the Haaaavaaaad coffers, it's going to turn into one of those ritzy, overpriced colleges for morons that one finds here and there....

May as well put some plastic ivy on those walls....can you imagine how the people who competed, and are paying full fare, must feel about this?

[MethuenProgressive]

6. "imagine"

"can you imagine how the people who competed, and are paying full fare, must feel about this?"

Actually, I can. My 16 yo is qualified to attend Harvard, MIT, Dartmouth and the like - but we simply can't afford it. UMASS Lowell is where he'll end up and I expect him to do just fine there.

[MADem]

7. LOWELL is doing some really great things

They are a nationally recognized research institute, and they're also a leader in accessible learning with their part-time and certificate programs. Your child will get a top of the line education, and likely come out of there completely prepared for the real world, and without looking forward to twenty years paying back loans for the "joys" of farting around in ivy-covered environs. Great graduate programs, too.

It's a great choice for a smart kid who is willing to work hard, and close by to either live at home or get home to do the laundry, too!

[MethuenProgressive]

8. ULowell 1980

...was my wife's class. She turned out OK. It just when your kid gets mailings from Notre Dame, MIT, and the like (he's 4.0+ taking AP courses at CCHS) and you know all you can give him is UMass... Oh well, maybe I'll win Powerball. But then I'd have to become a Republican!

[MADem]

9. Lowell was a fine school when your wife attended

...but it is even better today. I'm guessing you've gone by the campus and had a look-round, and checked their website. They really are kicking serious ass. And I've gotta say, when you have a younger, more energetic faculty, the quality of education is far better than sitting in a ivy-walled classroom chuckling as the ancient, tenured clown nods off mid-sentence during a lecture. I suppose it's funnier when you aren't paying the bill!

There's always the scholarship possibility to consider. The application fees are obscene, nowadays, but he should apply to a variety of places and see if he hits the financial aid powerball (that way you won't have to!). I have a relative who could almost afford GWU for his child, and the kid got a FULL scholarship based solely on academic performance--no means testing. It CAN happen, so he should give some of those schools a shot, and ask up front for aid, if he really wants to go to them.

But hey, nothing wrong at all with Lowell--it's a quality education.

[MethuenProgressive]

16. Thanks!

..for the encouraging words re UMASS Lowell!

[MADem]

17. Truly, it really is coming on to be a powerhouse

They have the right attitude, and they are DETERMINED. They have a practical approach, in that they make knowledge accesible, but they don't compromise their standards. I admire that approach; academics should be both challenging AND accessible. That's how you build a cadre of loyal alumni.

Your child will not be shortchanged; he can get a top drawer education there.

Go check out the campus, if you haven't already... your wife will be amazed if she hasn't been back since graduation day! http://www.uml.edu/

And on edit, this is worth noting:

The University of Massachusetts Lowell is one of 150 public and private colleges included in the 2007 edition of “America’s Best Value Colleges,” produced annually by the Princeton Review (PR).

Based on data PR obtained from administrators at 646 colleges and surveys it conducted of students attending them, the new 2007 edition recommends 103 public and 47 private colleges in 40 states.

According to Robert Franek, vice president of publishing at PR, “We use more than 30 factors to rate the colleges in five categories: academics, tuition , price minus average amount students receive in gift aid scholarships and grants, financial aid (how well colleges meet students' financial need) and student borrowing.”

In addition to generic features like “Paying for College 101,” the book contains a three-page profile on each college. Profiles include advice on getting into the school and obtaining financial aid, a review of career and employment patterns among the school’s graduates, a report on the average out-of-pocket costs students or their parents pay for the degree, stats on the average debt load of graduating seniors, first-hand comments from students and interesting extras like the school’s mascot and most popular majors. ....
http://www.uml.edu/Media/eNews/Best%20Value%20Colleges.html

[bobbieinok]

10. son went to prestige college + HATED it

His message since his graduation to everyone is--

--go to the best, cheapest, closest to home undergrad college

--work very hard and make excellent grades

--THEN, if you want, apply to prestige grad schools, where you can (usually by 2nd year) get an assistantship to help pay for your education

(I know several people whose children did this; they have grad degrees from MIT, Rice, Stanford.)

[MADem]

13. Yep, the only degree that counts is YOUR MOST RECENT ONE!

Get your BA at a solid state school, and if you have to, go to a cutting-edge community college (there are many good ones in MA). Trade up for your Master's, and up again for your Ph.D or Juris Doctorate. If you have the "study thing" down, and actually ENJOY academia, it's a damn joy.

I just wish I had more time for school, but the military got in the way. I always had to do graduate ed at a doubletime pace! That said, I was glad as hell to get the shot at all....

[hughee99]

11. I didn't see anything about him not paying full fare in here?

As far as getting in because of personal connections as opposed to competition, is this anything new to Harvard? As far as I can tell, his personal connections got him in the door. They'll take his money just like anyone else, and if he does the work, he'll get his degree. You can argue about the value of the actual degree, but unless he is using personal connections to pass his classes, I don't see how this is much different from many of the other students at HBS.

UMASS Lowell is an excellent school, I'm sure your 16yo will get a great education there at a much better price.

[MADem]

14. The point is, if he's paying his own freight or not, that the kids who

had to jump through the hoops (pass the state tests, get a diploma, get ACCEPTED based on scores on SAT or ACT AND grades, extra-curriculars, etc.) and THEN, get a BA/BS, and have grades and extra-curriculars that make them stand out amongst their peers in order to qualify for this so-called prestigious grad school, have to share a small, rather individualized class with an asshole who is a drop-out, whose claim to fame is making sure the crust is cut off Georgie's PBJ...it leaves a stink. It devalues THEM. It dilutes their work. It mocks their effort. It ain't right.

And they went through all that, they're paying through the nose or will have loans up the yingyang for eons, and this bozo waltzes in because he makes a great gin and tonic???

[hughee99]

21. My point was that A LOT of who gets accepted is who you know...

sure they leave some spots open for those who jump through the hoops, but is many cases those with good connections and the ability to meet the minimum requirements will get in ahead of many who really have done the work. For this guy, they've just lowered the minimum requirements a little more. Frankly, given the fact that this is the VERY SCHOOL that * graduated from would be enough to show that it isn't necessarily only accepting the best and brightest. If HBA decided to let this guy attend instead of some other senator's, governor's, CEO's (etc) child who didn't deserve it either, then I don't see the issue. I know we all want to believe that it's someone who did everything possible to get in that lost their spot to this clown, but I'll bet if anyone lost their spot it was someone who was just a little more qualified, and a little less connected. While I don't like it, I can't really get outraged about something that's been going on for a long time, and resulted in one undeserving politically connected kid getting preferential treatment over another.

[Doctor_J]

12. Why not just make him president now?

Save him years of drug and alcohol abuse, failure in the classroom, at business, at parenting - just promote him to his ultimate desitny.

[MADem]

15. Hmmmmm....the son Porgie never had????? n/t

[AusGail]

18. If he is getting a cheaper education

or receiving special privileges, shouldn't he be fighting in Iraq to pay for it like many who are over there already, because they came from poverty and wanted to improve their lot.

[gardenista]

19. Bet he won't have to graduate from HBS, either before he dons a

stuffed crimson cap & gown and marches down the aisle to the tune of "Mission Accomplished".

Like Dumya, he is a skater.

[MADem]

20. You have to wonder if Dumbya is Peter Principling the guy

He's a FORMER beau of one of the twins, who might have said "Dad, get that creep GONE." One way to get him out of there is to send him off to grad school with a single year of college.

It just boggles the mind, though...