<p>I've been thinking about going to Cornell and i was just wondering what are the benefits of getting an ivy league education? I tried to look online but all it tells me is that ivy leagues are overrated and what not =\ (nothing positive except bragging rights)
Is the extra work in an ivy league school worth it in the end?</p>
<p>You will generally find that the people who try to downplay Ivy League education are just bitter or did not make the most of their opportunities. It’s best to group all the top schools around them though like MIT, Stanford, G-town, Uchicago, Duke, etc.</p>
<p>First, there really is not extra work in an Ivy League school, and anyway you should work your butt off at any school to maximize your experience and opportunities.</p>
<p>Second, you can’t quantify it.</p>
<p>There are people obviously who are enormously successful coming from non-Ivies, and there are people graduating from Ivies who are not successful.</p>
<p>Your success will be driven by your work ethic, interpersonal skills and talent. </p>
<p>I would not knock yourself out thinking about whether to apply to an Ivy or not. Assess a school by whether it is a fit for you, not whether it is or is not an Ivy.</p>
<p>Yeah personally, as a pre-med Biology major, I don’t find the workload to be nearly as intense as people made it out to be prior to me coming here. Comparing workloads and course contents with some of my friends who go to “lesser” schools, I don’t really feel that we are doing any extra work here.</p>
<p>Obviously there are smart people in classes, but there’s a nice distribution of people of less intellectual caliber as well.</p>
<p>So please, don’t let the potential workload deter you from coming here.</p>
<p>I don’t tend to think of it being the benefit of some general “ivy” education, but I think a Cornell education in particular is great. I like all the options and opportunities we have, both academically and extracurricularly, and how you’ll find curious, motivated people wherever you go.</p>
<p>The main benefits of an Ivy League education, including the colleges that CornellPerson mentioned, are name recognition. Apart from that your education isn’t necessarily better than anybody elses’ and your future success really depends on you. Of course, the name recognition along with strong alumni network opens up doors for you, slightly.</p>
<p>We were weighing the same question. After going to Cornell days, I ran in to a Dad from our hometown who said his senior daughter had 5 job interviews because of her Cornell connections. She has a job before graduating. Mind you, this is probably still do to her accomplishments and major, but in todays economy, I thought it was a huge selling feature for Cornell.</p>
<p>Helps a lot in getting that first job. In this kind of economy, that’s very useful.</p>
<p>The rest is up to you. If you go to Cornell and you end up skipping half your classes, getting drunk, and barely passing the tests, you probably didn’t use all of the resources that Ivy League schools or other elite colleges offer. But, if you take advantage of everything: the superior libraries, the academic environment, the internship opportunities, the widespread alumni networks, etc. you will get full value from your Ivy league education and then some.</p>
<p>An Ivy League education opens up many doors, regardless of what career path you want to pursue.</p>
<p>how are ivies in terms of meeting one’s financial need?</p>
<p>the ivies have great financial aid. its cheaper for me to go to an ivy than it would be to go to a state school…but hey, that’s only me.</p>
<p>Let’s just say that if you chose to go to Cornell over another school just because it’s in the Ivy League, then you are just dumb. Ivy education is great because all the ivies are in the top 20 schools in the nation. So, by going to a top school, you will of course get many benefits.</p>
<p>After having just about finished my first year, I’d like to say this:</p>
<p>1) You will learn to think critically and problem solve. The biggest difference I’ve noticed when talking to my friends who go to lower tier schools is that a lot of their work is much like high school, just more difficult. It’s a lot of memorizing information and regurgitating it. Top schools makes you memorize the same crap, but then you have the added challenge of using that knowledge to think critically and solve problems. </p>
<p>2) You will learn how to work. One of my older friends here said something to the effect of college is less about what you learn and more about learning how to work hard and learn effectively. Take that with a grain of salt, yes a lot of what you learn will be necessary down the road, but the skills you learn here, the ability to challenge yourself and work until you think you can’t work anymore, and then work some more, is what makes going to a top school so valuable. </p>
<p>Notice that for both of those points I didn’t say Cornell, or even Ivy League for that matter… I said top school. At any of the top (whatever arbitrary number you pick) schools, you will be challenged. The challenge is where the benefits from your education are realized. If you’re not challenged, you’re either just a total badass, or you’re not challenging yourself. If someone is challenged by going to community college or going straight into the workplace, then that’s awesome, and I applaud them for pushing themselves. However you’re clearly intelligent and motivated (or else you wouldn’t likely be on here…) and so it’s quite possible that you need a school like Cornell to challenge you. I know I screwed around all through high school, rarely cracking a book, and yet I still managed to get good enough grades to and test scores to get in here. Now I’m getting my ass kicked and you know what? It feels good. It’s nice to know I’m not superman and that there is a place where I’m not going to be the best. If you never push yourself in life, you’ll never figure out what you could have achieved.</p>
<p>The name Ivy League really isn’t all that special. Yes, it’s an impressive title, but people that went to Stanford or MIT are going to get the exact same respect. Why? Because it’s not the name of your athletic conference that is significant, it’s that you went through a rigorous school, faced the challenges, and proved you could succeed. </p>
<p>The benefits of any education is the challenge, and it just so happens that Cornell provides one of the most challenging educations there is to be had. If you’re up to it, then go for it. You’ll be a better person for having challenged yourself and that’s where the benefits are at.</p>
<p>I will admit that i see a definite disparity between the level of difficulty here and the level of difficulty at the schools my hs friends go to. It’s a lot more difficult. From what i’ve seen through comparisons of the science/math classes, we learn a lot more. As ZFanatic said, regurgitation reigns supreme at lower-tier schools. When comparing tests, they are usually at a loss of what to do, and i just plug-and-chug, because that’s what their tests amount to.
You will learn how to think creatively on tests, and if you put in enough work, you will feel like a master of that subject material. The competition varies with your major. I’m a physics/math double major and the competition is usually pretty solid, especially in the honors courses.
Anyways, good luck.</p>
<p>The sporting tradition is great to follow along with when you are an alum.</p>
<p>An Ivy League education isn’t necessarily the most enlightening experience, but it does prepare you for a very comfortable life. </p>
<p>Just think about the demographics, what kind of people attend ivy schools?</p>
<p>To be accepted, you’re either very wealthy or very smart(excluding dumb-ass jocks). </p>
<p>Either way as soon as you’re admitted you’re going to be sorrounded by people who are very likely to be successful, and thus create a huge network for yourself. </p>
<p>At the end of your experience, you enter the work force with strong connections, a prestigious degree and a valuable education. </p>
<p>Ivy League grads have the highest starting salaries than any other graduates(withstanding some really, really small schools most people never heard of but for some reasons get you high-paying jobs).</p>