A common complaint about the Ivy League gang is that we lead very sheltered lives. People on the outside imagine our lives to be one long champagne-soaked yacht ride, a life where all of our wants and needs are taken care of and mummy and daddy’s charge card is always on hand.

In reality, though, more than half of Princeton’s student body is on financial aid, and a very large percentage of that is on nearly 100% financial aid. In addition to that, students spend a lot of time in the summer traveling to developing countries, doing community service in struggling neighborhoods, and generally getting their hands dirty. And yet, the myth persists…and for good reason.

There are a lot of different ways people can be “sheltered.” Ivy Leaguers may not all be rolling in wealth, but they still have an embarrassing lack of practical knowledge across the board. Because most of us spent our young lives with our noses stuck in books or playing some sport obsessively, we don’t really know how to, well, get along in the real world. Read More »

Every college girl has been alerted to the fact that they should detag incriminating pictures or take down inappropriate quotes from online profiles because it could harm the status of a future internship, job, or even college application. That’s all common sense at this point.

But now, common problems for young females such as eating disorders are being used as evidence by an insurance company to not insure them. An article in the New Jersey Law Journal details this surprising case.

Apparently certain girls were denied health insurance by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield because of online writings and posts pointing to “emotional” causes of disorders such as bulimia and anorexia. Why would this matter whether it was emotionally or biologically based? Here’s the catch:

The insurer is only required to pay for illnesses that are biologically based, so they are attempting to prove through facebook, myspace, etc. that the reasons behind them are purely emotional.

The article goes on to say that, “Judge Patty Shwartz ordered the plaintiffs to turn over by Jan. 15 the children’s e-mails, diaries and other writings about their “eating disorders or manifestations/symptoms thereof, and related health conditions” that had been “shared with others, including entries on Web sites such as ‘Facebook’ or ‘MySpace.’” Read More »