This discussion is essentially being provoked by ASAP Science after they released a video titled “does your school matter?” They delved into the idea that going to a smaller college, even a cc, might be better than going to a “higher up there” kind of school. The reasoning was that at a smaller college or cc, the graduation rates are higher since the pressure is not as intense as it might be somewhere “better”, and essentially getting a degree at a lower ranked school trumps going to a highly ranked one and dropping out. I think another point that they missed is that I always seem to hear stories about the ungodly high rate of suicide at ivies and other top schools…but what are your thoughts? I know that most kids here college confidential would rather cut their own arm off than not go to an Ivy though…
Have you seen the graduation rates at lower tiered schools? At my mid tier flagship, the University of Oklahoma, only 67% of students will graduate in 6 years and that’s better than the national average! At every top tier school grad rates exceed 90% (granted the populations being compared are exceedingly different, but that’s another discussion). Let’s not even talk about grad rates at a community college.
Citation needed.
This discussion highlights a problem I see all the time on this site, students and parents alike. College selection should be all about helping to match your student to colleges where he/she will successful. I have three already in college, each attending a different state school where they are challenged but not stretched too thin. They are probably each in the top 25%, which makes for a confident student that still has to work hard. My last one is applying to top schools including the Ivies because, for him, he will be challenged but not stretched too thin. Going to an Ivy or top school should be because that challenge level is appropriate. It should not be based on the name. If your choice is appropriate, drop-out rates are not the statistics one should be concerned with. Minimize that concern by matching each student with the appropriate school(s).
@DeathEater The Ivy League schools are famous for easy grading and light course loads. Did you know the most common grade given at Harvard is an A and 90% of each class graduates with honors?
Grade inflation and lax standards are well documented, just Google it.
Isn’t Brown pass/fail?
Brown’s grading has letter grades of A, B, C as well as an S option. F grades are not reported.
@DeathEater, as @NCmom14 points out, it’s about fit. It is definitely better to go to a college in which you can thrive and grow, rather than struggle to keep up. Maria Montessori said that a student’s work should be ‘challenging but achievable’, and imo that’s a great target. Not too easy, not too hard: like Goldilock’s go for ‘just right’ 
Ivy League admissions officers tend to be quite competent in selecting students that will thrive at their schools. Of course there is a bit of pressure in attending a school where you’re no longer top dog (since everyone is top dog) but it’s not like there is some mass exodus of drop outs at Harvard…
Graduation rates for traditional, 18 and out of high school students are fairly good just about everywhere. It’s the non-traditional students that skew it.
As for the school, it really depends on the individual. Some of the higher up schools DO inflate grades.
Go to a school where you see yourself fitting in. Choosing schools based on prestige alone makes for unhappy students. I personally think fit trumps everything else.
Well, I mean, yes, a college degree at a lower-ranked school is better than no college degree at all, but there’s no reason to assume that a student will drop out just because they go to a highly ranked school.
@ScaredNJDad : “light course loads”? So sorry [not really], but you do not know what you are talking about. Grade inflation is rampant; I doubt you could prove the Ivies are more culpable than any other school. Actually, I’ll put my neck out there and suggest that an A should be the proper grade for a student meeting expectations at an Ivy. I think the idea of grading on a curve at that level is absurd. “I’m in Econ and I’m not as smart as the next Robert Reich, so I only get a B+?” Anyway, this thread is about the value of choosing a match, not your view of the Ivies or my response. Please start a new thread if you want to pursue that question.
Have to agree with the above. My son is a freshman at an Ivy and I can assure that the courses are not easy nor is the marking lax. He is working as hard as he ever has.
@AboutTheSame Have you ever heard the old saying “don’t let the facts get in the way of a good story”. That pretty much sums up the workload and grade inflation at the Ivy’s.
Read the story in The Atlantic about the professor that gives out two grades. Besides that it has been documented before. I know a kid that went Columbia that literally called the work a joke.
I will say that Dartmouth has not been accused of this.
Isn’t true that 90% of Harvard students graduate with Honors? What was that rate in 1950?
Please start a new thread if you want to pursue this topic. OP had a different question. Can we please respect that?
My DD turned down HY and two other Ivies for Stanford. Before you say that doesn’t matter because her alternative was Stanford all I can say is there was much pressure on her from outside the family to still make that Ivy choice. She didn’t and is very very happy with her decision. Fit and comfort allow her to thrive. It helps.
If any suffering is making you work harder, gain new skills/knowledge, actually improving your personality, then go for it. No pain no gain.
But, if the suffering is making you miserable day by day, then don’t go that way. It’s not worth it. Choose the other option.
also I read an article than another person on CC had posted, but I haven’t found it yet.
I am really open to all that you guys have to say, as I am truly curious about other perspectives. I think that most of the time, kids that feel like they ABSOLUTELY have to go to an Ivy are just regurgitating what their parents tell them. I think if a school becomes so time consuming to the point where you don’t have a life outside of homework whatsoever then you shouldn’t go there.
OP, I think you’re right, but there are Ivies and there are Ivies. D had to choose between H and D. She found it very telling that the kids in Hanover had a reason for being there while the kids in Boston were mainly, “doh, it’s Harvard.” She had a great four years in Hanover, and I;mm not putting that out there to suggest that your thesis is wrong, but that the match may simply be something other than HYP.