<p>^^Well, I wouldn’t say you’re “sheltered,” but your community is certainly different from the <em>many</em> communities across America in which Ivies are seen as the definitive best colleges, heads and tails above all others. Many students at my school, for instead, applied to Harvard or Penn or Columbia just because they think “I might as well–it’s my shot at an Ivy.” However, IMO some of these kids might do better with a small liberal arts college environment. It’s unfortunate that absolutely excellent schools like Williams and Amherst have so much less name recognition, and that students might choose an Ivy over one of these schools because the Ivy is more prestigious and because they’re feeling pressure–from peers, parents, and/or teachers–to choose the Ivy. But maybe the Williams or Amherst or Swarthmore would, in fact, be the better choice for that student than a large, sometimes impersonal Ivy. I think that some liberal arts schools have better teaching than Ivies–no TAs, teachers who want primarily to TEACH rather than research, who care about undergrads. And then there are schools with great programs in certain programs which probably outperform Ivies–International Relations and Georgetwon, for instance. I just think it’s unfortunate that the term “Ivy” means so much to so many people–when really, it means so little! :(</p>
<p>In all honesty, I view the ivies as…annoying, for a lack of better word.</p>
<p>Yes, the Ivy League schools are very prestigious and offer a lot of chances and connections. But the interest in them has become so fluctuated that I feel they are now becoming a huge annoyance in the college world. Thousands of people on CC and in the real world just want to go to ANY Ivy, just for the sake of going to an Ivy. My feeling is this - go to a school because you have a real interest in the school and its teachings, not its name. People have become so consumed with this Ivy talk that its like any school that isn’t an ivy, or MIT, NYU, Tufts, Stanford, or Georgetown is disgraceful. </p>
<p>College is about what you put into it, not just the name of your school. Going to an ivy just for the sake of going to ivy is pointless.</p>
<p>Example, my mother went to Glassboro college (Rowan now). That school is laughed upon on CC. She is now a supervisor in the executive branch of the government and is making 150,00 + dollars a year.</p>
<p>Not saying the Ivies are bad, but they have just become a name brand</p>
<p>I think the Ivies have expanded to unofficially include big name brands. The university that comes to mind are Harvard and Stanford, believe it or not people are surprised when they learn its not an Ivy. Yale too has the elite regal feeling around it.</p>
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This pretty much sums it up. Though I might add in Caltech and Berkeley (Engineering) as well. Johns Hopkins gets media too.</p>
<p>I think MrPrince is completely right.</p>
<p>“Ivy” has different perceptions among different types of people. As an international student, almost everyone around me believes that Stanford, MIT and Berkeley are Ivies, because they think Ivy = the pinnacle of the world’s higher education.</p>
<p>My cousin went to Dartmouth as an undergrad. Every time, when he tells ppl that he went to Dartmouth, ppl normally respond:" cool, you study in US." But if he says:“you know what, I am attending an Ivy.” Then the reply goes like:“What! You are so talented! Which one are you attending? Harvard? Yale? Stanford? or MIT?”</p>
<p>I think they are very cold this time of year. I would have a hard time living in Ithaca, Hanover, or New Haven if I could be at Duke, Rice, Davidson, W&M, Vanderbilt, Emory…for the winter.</p>
<p>201126 do you want to live in Boston?
MisterK- I agree. It’s mainly freshman and middle schoolers that I see doing that. There are many schools way better than the ivies. What do you mean are there other places like that??</p>
<p>Elonraearevn- did your friend make it? Hope they do!</p>
<p>I agree with everyone else. I hate the ivy craze. A classmate feels so pressured by her family because ALL of her relatives, and most recently her sister, went to the ivies. I feel bad for her. She’s not “stupid” but she shouldn’t feel like she has to go to one because of that. I’d rathergo to a school that fits me^^ and do well than an ivy and fail</p>
<p>My friend is still waiting. She doesn’t actually want to go to MIT, she only applied because her dad made her. </p>
<p>The pressure in my area can be insane. I’m lucky–even though my cousin goes to Yale, my parents are totally relaxed about college. I have a friend who’s a junior who’s been thinking about getting into Harvard since she was 11. Her cousin’s name is the Chinese word for Harvard. Crazy stuff.</p>
<p>That is crazy. My moms not like that either. She says don’t worry about money…but I know that’s important. That’s why I wanna get into Yale/Columbia(Barnard)/MIT because their FA deals are good</p>
<p>They’re very, very good schools. However, the “Ivy mystique” doesn’t hold much water to me. I plan on applying to a couple because they have programs that interest me, and I want a school that’s rigorous academically. However, the snobbery and elitism especially prevalent at HYP turns me off of those schools. Plus the fact I’d essentially be throwing money away by applying.</p>
<p>True^
I visited Y and I liked it. Thats why I’m applying, but not to any other ivies</p>
<p>^^exactly, i don’t dislike the ivies because i think i’d fail there, it’s because they’re so elitist and annoying. i much prefer swarthmore which is prestigious in its own way; the impression i got there as well as other top LACs is that the students know they’re smart and at a good school but they’re not stuck up about it, which i really liked. i feel like the LACs have confidence, while at the ivies it’s more snobbery.</p>
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<p>If you’re not yet in college, I have to wonder on what you’re basing these perceptions of snobbery and elitism? My older D graduated from Harvard last spring; my younger one is a junior there now. Both graduated from a rural Southern HS that’s a “Title 1” school (large concentrations of low-income students; at least 40% of students in the free and reduced lunch program). Neither D encountered snobbery or elitism at Harvard - at least none significant enough to ever mention to us. On the contrary, Harvard’s the most diverse and welcoming college environment I’ve ever encountered. The diversity extends to socioeconomic levels as well as nationality and ethnicity. </p>
<p>My wife and I went to a Top 30 private Southern university at which snobbery and elitism were regular features of some campus people and organizations. We had some classmates who were determined to demonstrate that they outranked their peers. At the Ivies, it’s my impression that meeting your peers at freshman orientation is a fairly humbling experience. There’s always someone better, more sophisticated, or more accomplished than you. At Harvard, I’ve not experienced the determination to prove “eliteness” that can be found on many other campuses. Just about everyone there is elite at something, so they don’t seem to have that much need to prove it.</p>
<p>^i’m not saying that all the students at the ivies are elitist, mainly that the institutions seem to be. i’ve toured harvard and it just seemed really snobby to me, plus i’ve talked to a few harvard students about why they picked harvard, and they’ve said “because it’s harvard” which i think is kind of stupid since you should have actual reasons for wanting to go to a school besides its prestige. obviously a lot of people will find their place at harvard and won’t find it pretentious, but that’s just been the impression that i’ve gotten from my personal experiences.</p>
<p>Well, I just checked out the ED Acceptance thread for Brown just for kicks and any shred of hope I had for being accepted was completely annihilated. The CCers who applied ED got absolutely decimated and most of them had scores and ECs that far outweighed mine. There goes my dream school…</p>
<p>So, right now, I’m not feeling great about the Ivies.</p>