<p>Hey,</p>
<p>I really didn't know where to post this besides to go to each ivy league forum and posting this over and over...</p>
<p>I was wondering if current ivy leaguers, or ivy league alumni, could post their thoughts/experiences at attending this college?</p>
<p>That would be so awesome- I'd like to visit, but I'm too poor and the guide books seem very superficial hah.</p>
<p>ok
i may be able to help you, since i visited 4 ivies in the past year</p>
<p>in ivies, you have INCREDIBLly amazing resources, in upenn, they offer independent language study classes in 180+ languages. but the thing is: are you ever gonna use the resources? most people just know it's THERE and never ever touch it..you know...do u really need that kind of environment?</p>
<p>education-wise, ivies are just like other top 50 school.s</p>
<p>some ppl think u can make a lot of connections in ivies, well, it used to be true. but nowadays, more and more middle class or poor class kids are attending ivies, children of the famous usually associate with themselves...so, it's not so true today</p>
<p>a number of my family members have attended ivy league universities. they are excellent universities for both education and social life. many people believe ivy league universities have no social life but that is completely untrue, especially at schools such as upenn and dartmouth where social life is very big.</p>
<p>the educational opportunities are endless and the professors are outstanding. yes, you probably know the ivy league reputation, but they are among the best universities in the nation and you will be in an environment full of highly-intelligent and motivated students. it is an environment unlike any other and they are really not all that competitive either. i have visited during the school year a number of times and they are wonderful. they are definitely not comparable to just any top 50 school. i would say top 20 schools can compare to ivy league but outside of that, you cant really compare. </p>
<p>also ivy leagues are among the most generous with aid, with princeton having a no-loan policy. ivy leagues have among the highest endowment in the nation and offer very generous aid so you shouldnt worry about that.</p>
<p>untitled is incorrect with connections. there are several connections built by going to an ivy league university and ivy leagues have among the highest graduate school placements in the country. HYP alone fill up nearly 1300 spots in 5000 or so in the top mba schools. the alumni connections are very strong and students have high spirits and feel a great connection with their school.</p>
<p>The Ivies are, for the most part, amazing universities, but please don't get caught up in the Ivy-League fever that so many high school students and parents get caught up in. I have friends and relatives (a cousin at Columbia and another at Cornell) who regretted their college choice. Prestige was their major factor in determining where to go. Some of them didn't even see the colleges they planned on attending until orientation. The people who generally enjoy their experiences at the Ivies are people who would have attended those schools even if they were not in the Ivy league. Carefully research the schools that you're considering applying to. If you can't afford to travel to them, try to meet with admissions officers and alumni in the area (adcoms tour many high schools around the country). The most important thing is to find where you FIT- academically and socially.</p>
<p>I was at Cornell for the first two years of my college career. Even after two years of living on campus I thought it was an amazing place. But ultimately, it wasn't for me. I spent most of my time in my dorm studying and I never got a chance to take advantage of many of the resources that Untitled was talking about. Also, the rigor of the work was more than what I was looking for. Ivies may be among the best schools in the world, but it ultimately comes down to how well a certain person fits in. That applies to any school.</p>
<p>Everyone needs to go and see a full range of colleges if possible. Or you can believe a lot of 18 year olds who believe what they want to based on where they will be going.</p>
<p>There is a big difference in feel between Dartmouth and Columbia, Princeton and Harvard. The is a huge difference between Cornell and Williams. A great gulf between Cal and Yale, UMich and Swarthmore. Yet each of these schools is the ideal pick for lots of very accomplished kids.</p>
<p>Go, see, experience and stop listening to very biased kids who mean well but really don't know.</p>
<p>yes, I really would like to visit- and i too agree that it would be the best way to choose a college- but I dont have the funds to visit (except the closer public schools)-so, have to rely on what people say...</p>
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but I dont have the funds to visit (except the closer public schools)-so, have to rely on what people say
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If you're the kind of person the ivys are looking for, you'd find out a way to learn more. You could ask the school to put you in contact with recent alums or students home for the summer in your area. You could read thru the student newspapers. You could look thru the online blogs for those students. And on and on. Or you could just say, yeah, too bad I can't visit, nothing else I can do.</p>
<p>maybe i'm not.
but i have sent emails, but they're usually just generically pointing me back to the college webpage...
blogs, experiences, what's the difference? I'm trying to get opinions..</p>
<p>any opinions on the old campuses? harvard/yale/penn.. all really old architecture style.. and dining area, versus UC's more modern ones</p>
<p>"untitled is incorrect with connections. there are several connections built by going to an ivy league university and ivy leagues have among the highest graduate school placements in the country. HYP alone fill up nearly 1300 spots in 5000 or so in the top mba schools. the alumni connections are very strong and students have high spirits and feel a great connection with their school."</p>
<p>first, you may only know like 2 of those 1300 students, if you are lucky.
second, are they SO powerful that they're gonna hook you up with an awesome jobs? You think people really care much about others? my cousin went to Dartmouth and didn't make friend with any of the rich or the powerful people...</p>
<p>I think you sort of misunderstand the point of connections. I've always looked at it as less of a "oh, I was friends with that guy in college" thing than that someday after you graduate you'll be looking for a job. Then, yes, fellow graduates who may be very much older than you will definitely be inclined to help you out.</p>
<p>If you are the type of person the school REALLY wants, they might offer to fly you there. I dont really know about the ivies but have a friend who was offered a flight to chicago to visit northwestern (she ended up at upenn after turning down NU and G-town).</p>
<p>As for architecture, I personally thought UChicago (its on par with the ivies...) campus was really cool. It has some very very hardcore gothic buildings (rockefellar, harper), some more normal buildings and some very cool modern buildings (max palevsky, ratner). Very interesting. Some people are put off by purely gothic campuses because they are kind of depressing but it doesnt take much stuff to make that depressing turn into very cool (and most schools do this).</p>
<p>do you know what the multicultural preview at Williams is? I got this weird letter..</p>
<p>Oh, I got that last year as well. If we're talking about the same thing, Williams flies you out to Mass. to give you a taste of the life of a purple cow. I didn't go because I'm disorganized and when I found it again in the massive pile of college mail, it was too late. Oh well.</p>
<p>sony -</p>
<p>I received that same invitation last year and took up the opportunity and now I will be attending Williams next year. (I can't wait!) </p>
<p>The program is just what it says, a typical preview with the benefit of being fully paid. That was huge for me because I'm from the midwest and can't afford to visit schools across the country. Anyway, the preview is intended for minorities, though minority status can be defined in a number of ways. For me it was my socioeconomic status/midwest rural farm girl status, I think. </p>
<p>I encourage you to submit the application; it's pretty simple if I remember. Plus, you have nothing to lose. It's funny because I had never heard of Williams until that letter came. I sent in the letter, sure I wouldn't get to go. But to my surprise, they flew me and I fell in love with the school... (so applied ED)</p>
<p>Good luck with applying and your college search in general!</p>
<p>that's awesome!
Thanks!</p>
<p>I received that letter last year, and unfortunately, I did not bother to apply to that. In retrospect, I probably would have been accepted. Nothing beats a fully paid trip. :(</p>
<p>As ottothecow said, certain schools are willing to fly out students they really want; along with my acceptance letter to Harvard was another letter stating they would pay for a trip for me to visit Harvard.</p>
<p>I've heard that even if you don't receive an offer to be flown out to visit, you can sometimes get a plane ticket by talking with the admissions office; it's just not publicized for obvious reasons.</p>
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I've heard that even if you don't receive an offer to be flown out to visit, you can sometimes get a plane ticket by talking with the admissions office; it's just not publicized for obvious reasons.
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In the book "The Gatekeepers" it says exactly that. To paraphrase the way I recall it: If you've been accepted to a college and can't afford to visit, many will pay for your trip. However the only ones they explicitly extend this offer to are minorities and other highly recruited students.</p>
<p>
[quote]
first, you may only know like 2 of those 1300 students, if you are lucky.
second, are they SO powerful that they're gonna hook you up with an awesome jobs? You think people really care much about others? my cousin went to Dartmouth and didn't make friend with any of the rich or the powerful people...
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Do you think that your cousin no making friends with any one could be more of a reflection on your cousin as it is on the school? Dartmouth students are very friendly and outgoing. IF you don't show your self friendly then you won't make friends.</p>
<p>Regarding statement about your cousin no making friends with any of the rich and powerful people, no want wants to be used. People just like you want people to be your friend for who you are, don't you think that it goes the other way also. </p>
<p>If you are just trying to glom on to someone just because they are smart, rich, connected, etc. they have probably had to deal with this people doing this all of their life and it is probably very painful for that person to be viewed only in terms of what they can do for you. They want to be seen as simply "John" or "jane' not my dad is a big CEO or kid whose family has major bucks. You will be seen as a slimmy opportunist and avoided like the plague.</p>