RORY: We started the obsession board a few years ago. And then when we took that trip to Harvard, the student store was having a two for one flag sale, so that kind of sent us into the final stage of the psychosis. Hospitals were called, medications were prescribed, there is no cure.
Richard takes note of the cork board Rory has in her room, completely covered in Harvard memorabilia. Note that she says, “We started the obsession board a few years ago”. It was Lorelai who began the board, perhaps when Rory was about fourteen, and on the verge of starting high school.
Richard is taken aback that Rory is already so set on going to Harvard, when his alma mater is Yale University. He already knew it was Rory’s preference, now he discovers it is her absolute obsession and the only university she is interested in. That Rory says, “There is no cure”, probably suggests to Richard that she can’t see herself changing her mind.
The Annotated Gilmore Girls 