Alexandra Robbins
Encyclopedia
Alexandra Robbins is a journalist
, lecturer, and author. Her books focus on young adults, education, and modern college
life and its aspects that are often overlooked or ignored by college administrators . Three of her five books have been New York Times Best Sellers.
in Bethesda, Maryland
in 1994, the school profiled in The Overachievers; and summa cum laude from Yale University
in 1998. She was editor-in-chief of her high school newspaper, the Black & White.
She has also written for a variety of publications, including Vanity Fair
, The New Yorker
, The Atlantic Monthly
, The Washington Post
, USA Today
, Cosmopolitan
, and Salon.com
. Robbins has appeared in the media, such as The Smart Woman Survival Guide
, The O'Reilly Factor
, 60 Minutes
, The Oprah Winfrey Show
, Coast To Coast AM
, The Today Show, Paula Zahn Now, The View, The Colbert Report, CBS Early Show, and Anderson Cooper 360°
, and networks including CNN
, NPR
, the BBC
, MSNBC
, CNBC
, C-SPAN
, and the History Channel.
, she broke the story about President Bush's unimpressive college grades and SAT
s in The New Yorker
. The article got such media attention that reporters called to interview her and asked what her SAT scores were. She has not made her scores known publicly.http://archive.salon.com/politics2000/feature/2000/04/17/sat/index.html
Robbins was a member of Scroll and Key
, one of Yale's more esteemed secret societies, and has written a revealing book, "Secrets of the Tomb", a social history of societies at Yale, featuring Skull and Bones
. The book's 2002 release was timely given the membership of George W. Bush
and George H. W. Bush
in Bones, and then more so when John Kerry
, another member, was the Democratic Party's 2004 presidential nominee.
Robbins was a guest on the satirical program The Colbert Report on August 9, during which Colbert challenged claims Robbins makes in The Overachievers, citing some observations of Robbins' own experience, while she countered with observations about systemic problems resulting from a highly competitive system, the cheating that is endemic to competition and problems with standardized testing, arguing that the aforementioned conditions teach misplaced values. A video of this interview is available from Comedy Central.
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, lecturer, and author. Her books focus on young adults, education, and modern college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
life and its aspects that are often overlooked or ignored by college administrators . Three of her five books have been New York Times Best Sellers.
Biography
She graduated from Walt Whitman High SchoolWalt Whitman High School
Walt Whitman High School is a public secondary institution serving roughly the western part of Bethesda--an unincorporated suburban area of Washington, DC, in Montgomery County, Maryland. The school is named in honor of the American poet. It is fed into by Thomas W. Pyle Middle School.-History:The...
in Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda is a census designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House , which in turn took its name from Jerusalem's Pool of Bethesda...
in 1994, the school profiled in The Overachievers; and summa cum laude from Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
in 1998. She was editor-in-chief of her high school newspaper, the Black & White.
She has also written for a variety of publications, including Vanity Fair
Vanity Fair (magazine)
Vanity Fair is a magazine of pop culture, fashion, and current affairs published by Condé Nast. The present Vanity Fair has been published since 1983 and there have been editions for four European countries as well as the U.S. edition. This revived the title which had ceased publication in 1935...
, The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
, The Atlantic Monthly
The Atlantic Monthly
The Atlantic is an American magazine founded in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1857. It was created as a literary and cultural commentary magazine. It quickly achieved a national reputation, which it held for more than a century. It was important for recognizing and publishing new writers and poets,...
, The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
, USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
, Cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan (magazine)
Cosmopolitan is an international magazine for women. It was first published in 1886 in the United States as a family magazine, was later transformed into a literary magazine and eventually became a women's magazine in the late 1960s...
, and Salon.com
Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
. Robbins has appeared in the media, such as The Smart Woman Survival Guide
The Smart Woman Survival Guide
The Smart Woman Survival Guide is a Canadian situation comedy, filmed in Toronto, Ontario, currently in its third season. It airs on the W Network and CosmoTV. It was renewed for 26 further episodes before season one had finished shooting...
, The O'Reilly Factor
The O'Reilly Factor
The O'Reilly Factor, originally titled The O'Reilly Report from 1996 to 1998 and often called The Factor, is an American talk show on the Fox News Channel hosted by commentator Bill O'Reilly, who often discusses current controversial political issues with guests.The program was the most watched...
, 60 Minutes
60 Minutes
60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
, The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
, Coast To Coast AM
Coast to Coast AM
Coast to Coast AM is a North American late-night syndicated radio talk show that deals with a variety of topics, but most frequently ones that relate to either the paranormal or conspiracy theories. It was created by Art Bell and is distributed by Premiere Radio Networks. The program currently...
, The Today Show, Paula Zahn Now, The View, The Colbert Report, CBS Early Show, and Anderson Cooper 360°
Anderson Cooper 360°
Anderson Cooper 360° is a one-hour television news show on CNN, hosted by the American journalist Anderson Cooper. It is also broadcast around the world on CNN International....
, and networks including CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
, the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
, CNBC
CNBC
CNBC is a satellite and cable television business news channel in the U.S., owned and operated by NBCUniversal. The network and its international spinoffs cover business headlines and provide live coverage of financial markets. The combined reach of CNBC and its siblings is 390 million viewers...
, C-SPAN
C-SPAN
C-SPAN , an acronym for Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network, is an American cable television network that offers coverage of federal government proceedings and other public affairs programming via its three television channels , one radio station and a group of websites that provide streaming...
, and the History Channel.
Bush educational record
Along with author Jane MayerJane Mayer
Jane Mayer is an American investigative journalist who has been a staff writer for The New Yorker magazine since 1995...
, she broke the story about President Bush's unimpressive college grades and SAT
SAT
The SAT Reasoning Test is a standardized test for college admissions in the United States. The SAT is owned, published, and developed by the College Board, a nonprofit organization in the United States. It was formerly developed, published, and scored by the Educational Testing Service which still...
s in The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
. The article got such media attention that reporters called to interview her and asked what her SAT scores were. She has not made her scores known publicly.http://archive.salon.com/politics2000/feature/2000/04/17/sat/index.html
Robbins was a member of Scroll and Key
Scroll and Key
The Scroll and Key Society is a secret society, founded in 1842 at Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut. It is the wealthiest and second oldest Yale secret society...
, one of Yale's more esteemed secret societies, and has written a revealing book, "Secrets of the Tomb", a social history of societies at Yale, featuring Skull and Bones
Skull and Bones
Skull and Bones is an undergraduate senior or secret society at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. It is a traditional peer society to Scroll and Key and Wolf's Head, as the three senior class 'landed societies' at Yale....
. The book's 2002 release was timely given the membership of George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
and George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
in Bones, and then more so when John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
, another member, was the Democratic Party's 2004 presidential nominee.
Robbins was a guest on the satirical program The Colbert Report on August 9, during which Colbert challenged claims Robbins makes in The Overachievers, citing some observations of Robbins' own experience, while she countered with observations about systemic problems resulting from a highly competitive system, the cheating that is endemic to competition and problems with standardized testing, arguing that the aforementioned conditions teach misplaced values. A video of this interview is available from Comedy Central.