<p>"ivies" are in name only. i went to a small new england liberal arts college and went on to grad school at an ivy. i can say with 100% confidence that my education was SO much better in college, overall the people were smarter and more interesting, and more importantly, the profs were heads and shoulders above their more "prestigious" peers.</p>
<p>It depends on where you go. I went to an Ivy for undergrad and found it to be 100% better than my graduate education, at a different Ivy. So the distinction is not so clear.</p>
<p>huskem, your post doesn't justify anything. Your particular example is one case, so it doesn't consitute any kind of evidence. Worse, you can't possibly know every single person in your college ug, and then the grad school well enough to make your claim.</p>
<p>How do you compare graduate schools and students with their undergraduate counterparts? You simply cannot. Your post is unfoudned.</p>
<p>"huskem, your post doesn't justify anything. Your particular example is one case, so it doesn't consitute any kind of evidence. Worse, you can't possibly know every single person in your college ug, and then the grad school well enough to make your claim."</p>
<p>I was comparing my major at one school compared to the department at the other. You're right, you can't know everybody at a single school, but I guarantee you that I met and knew absolutely every single student within my department at both institutions- a small liberal arts school allows you the opportunity to meet everyone in your major and hold frequent intelligent conversations with them, and more importantly, get to know and work with the professors outside the classroom.</p>
<p>You must be one of those people who are totally shocked that a non-ivy could actually be at the same level, or <gasp> possibly a little worse than another school. The ivy league is just based on an athletic conference anyways. Do you look down on someone wearing an MIT, Williams, or Duke sweatshirt because it doesn't have "Harvard" written across its chest?
Guess what. I also took some classes as an undergrad at Brown for one summer, where I was the only non-Brown student in the classes. With less studying than I had to do at my own school, I aced the class, and destroyed the curve for everyone else.</gasp></p>
<p>And yes, my personal experience is valid and reliable, thank you very much. If you think otherwise, I guess that when making decisions about what college to go to, you talk to every single student on campus, and then compare their answers to the answers you get while talking to every single student at another school. Hate to burst your bubble, but comments in college guides are solely based on bits and pieces of people's observations. I dont know what theoretical model of college admissions your claims are based on.</p>
<p>and tetra- next time you try to talk down to me, try spelling correctly. it will make me think about taking you seriously</p>
<p>I agree with Husken. It's not that people shouldn't look at ivies with reverence, for they are academic, but other schools are just as good.</p>
<p>Everyone needs to step back and remember ivy is an athletic league, nothing more.</p>
<p>Not to be rude, but do we really need yet another post about this topic? People who are convinced that Ivy must = The Best (capitalized, even) are not going to change their minds based on your personal experience, related in a fairly anonymous online forum, so why even bother trying?</p>
<p>I like this topic. And I'll support it no matter how many hundreds of times it comes up</p>
<p>Sure, they education might not differ. But who would you rather hire? A Harvard grad or an Iowa State grad?</p>
<p>Hmm, the discrepancy between Harvard and Iowa State is remarkably more pronounced than need be, given the scope of this thread. A more pertinent question would be "Would you rather hire a Dartmouth grad or a UChicago grad?" The answer to this one isn't nearly as obvious.</p>
<p>My point is there's nothing wrong with Iowa state though. A lot of people go there because they want to (omg someone who wants to go to a public state school! what is the world coming to).</p>
<p>I don't really think the Ivy League bias for people is so strong - lots of people don't even know all eight of the schools. Just one example: I actually didn't know about Dartmouth at all (like, I never heard it mentioned until relatively recently in my life - I ended up really liking it during days on campus too). Schools like Stanford, MIT, Duke, John Hopkins, and Georgetown are still recognized often, despite not being part of the Ivy League. I think everyone is PC enough to acknowledge that the Ivy League does not own all, at least not anymore.</p>
<p>were not talking about so much real life, but cc life</p>
<p>Building on what thethoughtprocess said, I think the term "Ivy" colloquially no longer represents the 8 schools that are a part of it, but rather it's become a term that's synonymous with elite academics. I know many people who think MIT's an Ivy, as well as a number of people who don't know that Dartmouth and Brown are Ivies. When people casually talk about an "Ivy education" or the fact that they're "aiming for the Ivies", it's not so much those particular 8 schools but rather top-ranked and prestigious schools in general.</p>
<p>yee haw...</p>
<p>yea, let me confirm that a large number of people know that Ivy leage schools are supposedly really good, yet only know of princeton, harvard, and yale.</p>
<p>I haven't seen many posts stating that the only good schools in the US are Ivy League schools.</p>
<p>Yet, I keep seeing these types of posts reminding us that there are good non-Ivy League schools. Well....duh.</p>
<p>seriously this topic is retarded. People know that the ivies are not always the top schools...we all know that, thanks. </p>
<p>huskem: I'm happy for you...you went to a great school, enjoyed your college experience, and gained admission to a great graduate program. Why do you feel like you have to validate yourself by coming on a website and proclaiming that your experience was better than any ivy league school experience? People choose colleges for different reasons just because you chose a different path from someone who went to an ivy doesn't mean you have to come on here an proclaim that your school is better. If you believe that then great...</p>
<p>I think you should just get over your insecurities. If the public sees your college as inferior then who cares? The only people that matter are employers, recruiters, etc. who know that your college is good. Be happy that you had a good college experience.</p>
<p>a while back i always thought that id absolutely diiieee to go to either Harvard or Yale. Well until now id be thrilled to get in; but i find myself a lot more into Boston u and Northwestern, simply because they have really good communications programs, which Yale doesn't even offer as a major. So maybe im mad but for some reason H and Y don't seem so heaven like anymore...weird i know
i guess my 2 cents bout this topic is that you should go somewhere that has everything that interests you, and not just "a name". if you do find all of your interests in an ivy then you should defiantly apply but if not maybe an unknown college that has your interests will be even better for YOU. In the end no one can say ivy league schools are'nt ammaazzinng ; but i guess some other schools are EQUALLY good (i wouldn't go as far as saying even better cuz thats just not true when you look at the big picture)</p>
<p>I agree 100% with elodie. It's all about the person's interests and what they want to do.</p>