<p>I see. No Liverpool, what I’m trying to say is having an “Ivy” education is not going to automatically land you a job and while it may sound appealing, is not always the best route to take. I’m not saying at all that students there do not have experience as I’m sure many (if not most) do.</p>
<p>Right now, almost all of us should be trying to graduate with the least amount of debt</p>
<p>I agree with Salve and the student with honor. lol. I just want to fast forward through junior year!!! The stress is too much.</p>
<p>davematthews: That’s exactly what I’m thinking about. I’m attending the cheapest college from my selected colleges.</p>
<p>Personally, I think going to an Ivy would be worth it because of the opportunities you get at one that you won’t get anywhere else. Is there prestige? Yes. But they have the prestige because they offer so much more than most other universities do. I’m not saying you won’t find an experience that’s almost the same, if not the same at another university (MIT, Caltech, Stanford, UChicago, or maybe even other ones), I’m just saying they’re renowned for giving you tons of research opportunities, clubs to join, sports to try, and you’ll have an insane network going on after you’ve graduated. That network might also get you an amazing job right out of college.</p>
<p>Basically, what I’m trying to say is that an Ivy is worth it if you’re willing explore every opportunity that it offers. If you’re going to Harvard just because it’s Harvard, and do nothing but take the minimum amount of classes and party the rest of the time, then it’s not worth it just for the prestige (especially considering the price).</p>
<p>(I’d seriously hope Harvard admissions would see through someone with that intent, though. Otherwise, the rest of us are all doomed. 
)</p>
<p>Metallika: I agree with everything you’re saying except when you said that you can’t get those opportunities anywhere else. I believe that every decent college has an abundance of opportunites. </p>
<p>For example, two colleges in VA give undergrads excellent research opportunites, that most colleges don’t have. One is James Madison University. At JMU you can do extensive research as an undergrad, due to the fact that it doesn’t have a grad school. Students at JMU can also meet with professors pretty much anytime they want. Another school is VCU. At VCU you can do research projects with professors or assist the grad students. And guess what? Neither of these schools are well-known… at least not outside the state of VA. </p>
<p>Now I only listed two colleges in the state of VA, but I’m pretty sure there are tons of other colleges that allow for similar opportunities.</p>
<p>Honors Programs > Any Ivy League.</p>
<p>There’s more personal attention, more opportunity, and a better education. Honestly, the only advantage that I can see in going to an Ivy League is that their endowments are so huge that they can spend money on extravagant classes and extracurriculars, and perhaps better dorm food. But being in an honors program at a college with a smaller endowment will still give you that same opportunity because you’ll be their elite students; they’ll pay so much more attention to you to help you achieve their goals than anywhere else. And they usually come with a hefty scholarship. :)</p>
<p>If you want an intellectual environment, then a LAC is a MUCH better option than an Ivy League. A lot of Ivies are incredibly competitive and cutthroat; that’s the antithesis of intellectual. You’d be better off in a relaxed atmosphere, where students talk about Proust instead of grades and teachers and classes over lunch. The only downside to most LACs is their rural locations; it’d be impossible to get an internship during the school year.</p>
<p>^^thanks sunshowers, I agree with you.</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone else too…</p>
<p>How many people saying prestige doesn’t matter just didn’t get into a prestigious school?</p>
<p>Prestige really doesn’t matter… employers are looking for people with work experience. A degree is a degree. You won’t automatically get a job just because you went to an Ivy.</p>
<p>And remember, the Ivy League is NOTHING MORE than a sports league.</p>
<p>Lol LogicWarrior 
That’s true, though; I can see some people saying that just to save their egos from too much damage…</p>
<p>Bigwill, I see where you’re coming from, too. I’m not saying you cant find those opportunities at another college, Ivies just have a bigger endowment to keep up more of their opportunities. Other colleges definitely have some really unique and awesome opportunities, though, and those are the things that make other colleges top choices instead of an ivy for some great students.</p>
<p>Sunshowers: yeah, their endowment is a big part of it. It allows for more frivolous or unneeded clubs or activities than at some other colleges, but personally that’s just something that attracts me to the top colleges. 
Although, the 77 million dollar cut over at Harvard must not be making anybody happy…ouch.</p>
<p>And I don’t want to sound ignorant, but I can’t help but wonder: What does LAC stand for? :/</p>
<p>But how many people saying prestige does matter are just trying to defend their spending of tons of money for an Ivy education?</p>
<p>The Ivy Leagues actually have nice FA packages, which is the only reason I’m considering applying to any of them. (Besides that Columbia was my dream school before I found out it was an Ivy League school…) </p>
<p>LAC = liberal arts college? I only joined recently, but that’s what I’ve made it out as.</p>
<p>Does anyone else hate the word “prestigious”? Grosssss.</p>
<p>^^rachael, I hate that word!! i only use it because it is the only word some people on here know.</p>
<p>
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<p>Some Ivys provide 100% of need. Columbia’s average fin aid package is $34,948, Harvard’s is $40,533, and Princeton’s is $32,424, according to College Board.</p>
<p>Prestige is important because it makes you known. But I plan on majoring in engineering, so the Ivys isn’t where I’m looking.</p>
<p>Thanks rchhay :]</p>
<p>^^yes, but I’m just trying to say a lot of people are trying to say “yes, prestige matters” because they may be going to a prestigious university and want to defend that choice when a different school might have been even better.</p>
<p>LAC= Liberal Arts College</p>
<p>I read the article’s intro just skimmed the latter part where all the reasons were given. I think this article might be more helpful to the common public, the members of which often use the “Ivy League” as a catch all for good schools (I spend <em>a lot</em> of time on the Education and Reference subsection of Yahoo! Answers) while barely knowing which schools are actually members of it. I feel that CCers are aware of good schools like Swarthmore and Northwestern. Frankly, if the article wanted to argue against prestige, it might have brought up some different schools. A couple of these like Morehouse, Xavier, and Oberlin, are schools of which I have personal reasons to be more aware, and perhaps they aren’t so noted by most people, but Caltech? Really? Looking at even what the article cites as good schools, it’s obvious that prestige and a good education often correlate.</p>
<p>ETA: Yeah, a lot of Ivies can provide a lot more financial aid than a lot of schools of similar rank. My sister’s friend goes to Harvard for practically nothing, and one friend’s sister goes to Yale with aid despite the fact that the family is very well-off, because Yale seems to understand that it’s hard for pretty much anyone to send 8 children to college. In my experience, Northwestern has been frigging stingy.</p>