The Workday Reading: June 1, 2015
Jun 1, 2015
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1) Stop Saying You’re Fine, a call for women everywhere to say what they mean. (Say it loud, say it proud.)
2) This slouchy $70 Topshop bag looks more expensive than its price tag suggests.
3) Elle explores the topic of women and alcohol, asking, “When is it time to stop drinking alone?”
4) Looking for shoes to wear to summer events? These $69 Chinese Laundry gold sandals are a lovely knock-off of a Loeffler sandal. These fringed sandals are fun, trendy option.
5) An update on one of the planet’s great murder mysteries: Who killed the Argentine prosecutor who was investigating the Argentine president?
6) Allure covers which makeup brush to use when. My favorite brand are the Sigma brushes. Their Dry and Shape is a great tool for cleaning and preserving your brushes.
7) Grade-inflation is an enormous pet-peeve of mine. Apparently, the Harvard graduation class, who averaged an A- GPA, don’t agree. Dartmouth, however, seems ready to change.
8) This nude-and-black dress with 3/4 sleeves is a versatile choice for work or after-hours. I also like this slightly dramatic twist-front blouse for the same purpose.
9) Cupboard a bit bare? Marie Claire has 33 quick snacks/meals you can make with very few ingredients.
10) Hello, perfectly fitted black blazer…(begins hunt for staffer-priced option)
*image found here.
On grade inflation: My law school curved to a B- average, so managing to get straight As and A-s took real dedication. It was frustrating in many interviews (and as a summer associate at a Big Law firm) that an Ivy Leaguer with a pulse was considered automatically superior to someone at the top of her class in a state law school, and grade inflation played a part in that perceived inferiority. (Related note: Take home tests with the topics pre-distributed, where most students will get an A- or better, have almost nothing in common with a B-minus-curved, in-class, 8.5-hour final where you had to be able to explain the law and recite case names. But hey, I must not understand the difficulties of the Ivy League. /rant )
Sing it, sister! When a friend who went to the nation’s top law school tells me she doesn’t have any outlines, because all her finals were take home, I want to scream. So I have to sit through a four hour final properly recite rules, case names, etc. from memory, and you got three days to finish a final in the comfort of your home with all notes and books because you’re special? Oh, okay.
Printed on t-shirts in the Swarthmore College bookstore: “Anywhere else it would have been an A…really.” I haven’t gone to grad school, but I’ve been told that admissions officers usually recognize the lack of grade inflation at Swat and account for that, not sure about other schools. It is frustrating though to think that even though a lot of us got into and could have gone to Ivies, our GPAs essentially suffered because we chose to challenge ourselves. I can’t even imagine what it’s like for grad/law schools, where your employers aren’t focused on academia and only see a school’s ranking and don’t know the ins and outs.
Love that black blazer! Hope you find an affordable knock-off 🙂