<p>Drawingdot's post is great. There are so many other colleges at which you can get a quality education. HYPSM are not the only good colleges that exist ppl! If you graduate from any of the colleges in Drawingdot's list, in the long run, your life probably won't be that much different from those who graduate from HYPS. To add to that list:</p>
<p>Dartmouth (a small but underrated Ivy Leaguer)</p>
<p>Northwestern (MBA program is one of the best in the world)</p>
<p>Brown (very liberal, but if that's what you are looking for then perfect)</p>
<p>Cal Tech (California's counterpart to MIT)</p>
<p>Cooper Union (a top engineering school; full tuition awarded to all students)</p>
<p>West Point, Annapolis, Colorado Springs (the service academies offer an outstanding education. State of the art facilities and top notch instruction. Class sizes are very small; never more than 20-25 students per classroom. You have a five year service obligation, and life is tightly structured, but the tuition is free, and you receive a monthly salary of ~$800 per month.)</p>
<p>NYU (located in the city, this college is becoming more competitive every year as it attracts a larger number of outstanding, excellent students)</p>
<p>There are many more that I can't think of off the top of my head right now. But don't be so narrow-minded when selecting a college. I've known high school senior that cried for week when they were rejected by all the HYPSM colleges. I mean w t f? It's not the end of the world for god's sake. If you really want to go so badly, then a transfer is still a possibility too.</p>
<p>I would not place Brown, and definitely not Cooper Union and NYU up there. They're good, but I'm not sure they're within striking distance of HYPSM. Schools that are just a notch (other than what you've listed) below include UPenn, Columbia, Swarthmore, and Amherst.</p>
<p>hopkins campus is gorgous . stanford is the most beautiful place i have ever seen. princeton is beautiful but it's princeton bahhh! its in new jersey. maybe i'm just too much of a townie..</p>
<p>Grade inflation at harvard is pretty influential. I mean you arent really given C. But it is relative, when i visited Princeton-JESUS CHRIST-thats all i could say. I mean seriously when a department is allowed to give only 45% A's at max max max, that turns out to be like 33% per class. So if there are 10 kids and 5 of you get 100%, then 2 just would get a B depending on HOW HIGH YOUR 100% was. And the Organic Chem class, is a damn near killer. But this is nothing compared to a math or science class at MIT. I though i was smart, but damn, these kids are monsters. They already know the answer before the question. Its sooo cut throat. I mean my advisor was talking about SUICIDE WATCH, because some kids have been known to get really depressed when they come in and are at the bottom of a class. </p>
<p>Go to the best school you can handle. It will suck hard if your always at the bottom, when you cant be average. HYPSM isnt the world.</p>
<p>Add UVA to the list too......best public school.</p>
<p>I would probabbly choose Princeton....the name brand of Harvard MIGHT be able to attract me too. I would only consider Yale for law school after I am done with undergrad. Would love to go to Stanford too.</p>
<p>last time i checked Upen was NOT in a good area of philly and was gated.</p>
<p>btw, of the schools looked at, the ivies, northwestern, goergetown ect....what about how they are for grad programs? i've noticed some of them do have an odd disparity (like with princeton for incetance) where one has a noticebly better setup for one over the other, and i'd be interested to hearing more of the grad end of that.</p>
<p>Harvard isnt necessarily the easiest Ivy, its just that its grade inflation practice has been publicized especially by harvard bashers at Pton and Yale. HYP are all equally hard as is MIT.</p>
<p>U Penn is located in a relatively safe part of Philly, i mean okay its not a Montgomery County Pennsylvannia type, but it is a lot better than the deep west side of Philly.</p>
<p>"Yale- Aesthetic Quality, Tradition, Much more community based, Currently has one of the more known alumni class (Kerry, Bush, and Jodi Foster)"</p>
<p>yes, the three greats of our time. Kerry, Bush and Jodie Foster......sigh</p>
<p>Its not that they are greats, but for Alumni shock value thats as close as you will get for the 2004-2006 years. I mean in a hotly debated presidential campaign involving millions and hundreds of millions of dollars. What are the chances that both candidates were from Yale.</p>
<p>I mean isnt that great for Yalies. You know how Harvard can always say that their dropouts can make billions. Well yale can say that there average student can become president ( i mean really average- 77 and 76)</p>
<p>too bad for HYP but Stanford created the best president of all time - Herbert Hoover. No other president could make a depression look so good. im proud of him</p>
<p>Its not about who had the most prez as alumni.</p>
<p>Its about the fact that for the last year and into the next one, Yale has the biggest names in the political arena. </p>
<p>Right now Yale can say that for now they had both the candidates for prez. Not only that they can say that both were lackluster students atesting to how much a yale degree can get you. </p>
<p>But in the end Harvard has the biggest names in alumni</p>