—Tuition: $57k —Dorm & meal plan: $16k —Your son PRETENDING he doesn’t know you after wearing glasses they pass out at orientation: PRICELESS
It is interesting how easily kids are embarrassed by their parents. Looking back, my father used to drop me off at football practice after school, and I felt so embarrassed when he pulled up in his old farmer’s pickup truck. It was ugly, covered in brown primer, with hand-built wooden racks to haul animals, and a custom-painted front bug shield that read "Pig Hauler." How embarrassing! Looking back now, I wish he were still here to embarrass me. Perhaps with all the changes in the world, it is refreshing to see that some behaviors, like parental embarrassment, remain constant. One day, he will look back on these days and wish dad was still around to put on the sunglasses. Good luck in school buddy!
Found just one comment that refers to the cost. Absolute madness. At the University of Amsterdam where my daughter is enrolled the standard tuition for EU students is €2,694/year.
The irony isn’t lost here: Fellow RETHINK Retail Expert Scott Galloway has been one of the loudest critics of elite college admissions—and now his own son is headed to University of Virginia. But maybe that actually strengthens his point. Even those who understand the flaws in the system are still pulled into competing within it.
If your child isn't embarrassed by you at least once in life, you're doing it wrong. A girlfriend back in college told me a story where she told her parents (in high school) that she didn't want to be seen with them. The next time they picked her up from some school event, they visibly put paper bags over their heads while waiting for her. A+
I love this! When I was in college, My dad pulled up to my dorm in an RV with an insane horn noise and I just simply walked past as if I didn’t know him. Long tradition of dads embarrassing their kids!
Will never understand why parents go out of their way to be corny. Those are ugly sunglasses. You’re doing it to be goofy. But it’s your son’s college orientation. Not yours. Don’t make yourself the main character.
$73K a year. Higher education has become an overpriced, undervalued product — and the cracks are showing. Administrative bloat. Professors drawing top salaries while teaching less and carrying little real-world experience. Easy access to federal loans that let schools raise prices without consequence. This model isn't sustainable, and we're already seeing it: schools closing, mergers, enrollment declines at smaller institutions. Higher ed needs a serious restructuring — leaner administration, faculty accountable to real outcomes, and pricing tied to actual value delivered. The institutions that don't adapt won't survive the decade.
These kinds of posts make me a bit triggered these days. I used to chuckle, although not a real laugh, at this stuff. Now I see it as another example of making it socially acceptable to have poor relationships. It’s like the rich laughing about the mistakes they make, while the poor say “show me something to aspire to, please!” We can do better. I’m trying to.
The shortest customer journey from “dad“ to “who”: priceless
As they walk away (which they always do -- without looking back) I like to yell "make good choices" for maximum connection and embarrassment.