Misconceptions When You Come from a Prestigious School (Part 1)

“Which school are you from?”

“Ooh kadato gud nimo!”

“Ahw brayt ni bataa kay graduate didto.”

“Ahw sure naman kang madawat.” 

These are most of the statements I hear whenever people ask me which school I came from. “Which school are you from?” is always that million-dollar question that I detest answering (unless I’m on an interview). I think I can handle answering why I’m jobless with much confidence more than this question. Not that I’m not proud of my roots, it’s just that people seem to always have these answers readied when they hear you’re Carolinian. 

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Yes, you heard it right, I’m a Carolinian (for those who don’t know yet), and it makes me feel embarrassed just saying that. Coming from a prestigious school has its perks, true. But sometimes, people keep on having stereotypes and misconceptions just because you come from one. And I am no exemption from that. Before I got myself in University, I had my own impressions too until I got in and became the receiving end of those statements. 

So I figured, why not debunk some of these stereotypes and impressions haha. I asked from a few of friends (Carolinians and Non) for their point of views regarding this. But first things first, why do people have these impressions in the first place? Now I’m just gonna quote what my fellow Carolinian said: 

“First, let us figure out why there’s such an impression in the first place. Well, it goes down to the “name” or shall we say the brand name. Just like Apple and Samsung. If we hear Apple, the first thing that comes up in our mind is its quality over its price. Meaning, yes, it’s expensive but it’s okay because with its quality, it’s worth every penny. But how did they make such impression? Well, based on their performance and service throughout the years. It didn’t come in a blink of an eye like, apple = quality. It was years in the making. Now let’s go back to the question, what’s with USC? Throughout the years, USC showed us that their products - the students, are capable of competing and even topping bar exams and licensure exams or at least keeping up with the top-tier schools in Manila and even bag awards and present good performance in research, extracurricular activities, and other stuff, giving us an impression that USC is a top-tier university.” –Jayson Madrazo, 2020

I guess I don’t have to explain that much with what he had said, I mean you get the picture lol.

So here are some of the common impressions/stereotypes most people have on Carolinians and let’s see whether they’re true or not. 

#1 PRIVILEGED, RICH, SOSYAL, MAARTE

When you are a Carolinian, you are privileged. And when you’re privileged, you’re rich because the tuition fee is really pricey. And because you are rich, you’re sosyal (classy) and maarte (finicky). 

“Usually they think that parents could afford (rich), but that isn’t true. Some are scholars, while some are extremely rich. It’s just that there are some parents who are hopeful for their children to have a great education.” –F

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Privileged? Well yes, because we get to have quality education that we are paying for. Rich? True to some, but not to all. Some of us are scholars, some are extremely rich but discreet, some are working part-time while studying, some have parents who use loans just to get their kids the quality education that they need (yep, that’s me), some have to stop school to work for their tuition fees and other priorities, some of us come from the province and have to live on a tight budget every day, and the list goes on. 

“Always wants to get ahead with the newest trends especially with gadgets and music, braces, skin routine + monthly derma.” –N

But when people say sosyal and maarte, let’s get real people, even social climbers act this way. But I’m not saying I’m one of them though. Truth is when I was in college, my friends and I would have to go outside to buy cheaper meals or bring our own lunch because the canteen served pricey meals that did not even suffice to what we paid for. I even knew some rich kids who were far stingier compared to us who were already poor lol. Well there were some who were really sosyal or maarte, maybe because that’s how they were brought up but that doesn’t mean they’re bad people (though some of them really had attitude problems). Some were just plainly narcissistic social climbers, rich or not. 

“Yes I got some stereotypes like “maarte” and “sosyal,” when in fact, I didn’t even take a shower for straight 2 days when I was running late for a 7:30 class hahahaha.” –K

#2 CONYO/ENGLISH SPEAKING

“Most of them are conyo, that’s a fact.” –N

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Well, it’s true that some Carolinians are so conyo and good at speaking English that they end up sounding sexy sometimes, but again this is not true to all. I, myself for example still experience stuttering and brain loading in terms of speaking English lol. Bisdak pa rin eh hehe. Well there are some people who are naturally conyo because of some factors like the high school they came from, or the family background that they have and such, or because they are super-duper smart, etc. But some of them have to speak English especially when a foreigner or classmate whose 1st language is English, is present in the classroom or the teachers just require you to. Some just try too hard to sound conyo that they end up sounding too cringey. 

But one thing’s for sure, these conyo/English speaking people are quite helpful in terms of improving your English speaking skills. Trust me, it comes in handy. 

“Well it’s okay, but sometimes there are some who sound too maarte when speaking in English, while doing some facial reactions in some way and they’re not even rich. Some of them are smart asses I really look up to, that they sound so sexy when they speak and use complicated words that I sometimes open my dictionary secretly hahahaha.” –N

#3 SMART

“Well if you come from USC, you’re bright and talented. True. Everyone I encountered was amazing at something. Each had their own special unique gifts.” –K

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It is true that a lot of smart people are there, but that doesn’t mean that all of the ones who got in are brainiacs. Up to now, I still wonder how I got in when in fact, I got a below average in the entrance exam (particularly Math), and was asked to retake but still ended up with the same average. My best friend even got in with below average from her entrance exam without retaking.

Some are truly smart, some try to get by and pass in order to survive because believe it or not, 3.0 was enough for some of us.

Though I do believe in multiple intelligence, but admit it, no matter how you much wanna believe that nobody is dumb, some people just really make you think twice where the hell their brains are. 

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#4 GOOD QUALITY EDUCATION

“Wise choice. He/she knows that he/she wants a good education. There are some who are not rich, like scholars and whatsoever. That’s why I can say they’re wise in choosing the school.” –J

“Prestigious school. More advance compared to the others.” –A

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You get what you pay for as they say. This isn’t true all the time. Though I did have a tough college life that truly helped and molded me in facing the real world, we did have some teachers that did not quite meet the expectations. Just as how students vary, teachers also vary.

Yet, we did get what we paid for in some aspects like the facilities itself. 

“Well, I can certainly say that USC meets my expectation. And my expectation was the standard will be high. Which is true since when I was in the seminary before, our Philosophy class was more on reflection paper. But when it comes to USC, it was different, it was more. It was more! Reading every now and then, article reviews and term papers were really intense.

But I also knew that I would really meet okay and not so okay teachers. I expected that. No matter where you go, they’re there. That’s why when I met them, it wasn’t such a disappointment for me because I knew they exist. Hahaha” –J

Part 2 will be continued next week, on Friday. Stay tuned😉

Writer,

Thin Girl Writes