<p>why are people so obsessed with them? even they would pay 40k to get their kids in.</p>
<p>people pay A LOT more than 40k to get their kids in.</p>
<p>It depends on which one. There is HYP, and then there are the other ones. Big difference in prestige.</p>
<p>HYP are internationally recognized. And I agree there are people who would be willing to pay more than 40k to get their kids in… AND pay 40k a year for tuition.</p>
<p>Well – the only real benefit for me would be the use of their ‘name’.
Yeah…there’s the whole ‘I want to be challenged’ thing.
But – whatever…the name is what you’re paying for.
The name opens doors. Gves a boost to starting salaries. Is great for networking purposes.
Or at least it should do all of these things.</p>
<p>If my child got into an Ivy or highly ranked institution…yeah – Id pay for their education.<br>
As for myself? I was never inclined towards that sort of thing. Not exactly sure why.</p>
<p>I’ll use my career/major as an example (accounting).
Now, ‘Big Four’ (corp accounting firms) will usually recruit from your regular old state schools.
Actually my mentor attended UTSA. A modest cheap school. She was picked up by Ernst and Young and worked there for a few years…with coworkers who attended Ivy League schools, mind you. I notice that EY and KPMG usually have a heavy presence on most campuses.</p>
<p>Anyway – here’s the issue:
In MY opinion, you would attend Ivy to get your foot in the door to work at the Big Four companies.
But…if you can attend a state school and still have a shot…what the h*ll is the point of it all? Why would you spend $30,000+ on undergrad when the same companies recruit at cheaper institutions?</p>
<p>Bragging rights…? Does it actually impress? Are ppl in awe of you?<br>
Hmm…I had a highschool friend who attended M.I.T.
I was happy for her. Never felt intellectually inferior or anything like that. I don’t compete with others and she is a bright lady – but, give me a break: I practically tutored her in statistics! For me to be ‘cowed’ by her accomplishment is just…laughable. I tend to view other Ivy folks in the same light. I treat them like everyone else.
They’re just individuals who attended great schools. Whether they’re more competent/intelligent/capable/less capable, etc…than I…remains to be seen. Guess it’s just my personality. I don’t intimidate easily.
But hey – she did a good thing for her career. That is what it is all about. That ‘name’ opened doors.</p>
<p>I personally don’t care where anyone goes to school. The question is: “Can you do your job?” I’m a nontraditional student with supervisory, management and military experience, btw (29 yrs old).But, all in all, it makes no sense that this (prestige) would be the ONLY criteria for what someone would consider to be a ‘good school’.</p>
<p>Anyway, I don’t really consider the school name.
How good is the program? <–this is my concern. I only care for ranking of this sort…b/c I desire quality training in my field. I attended UTAustin…but I have to transfer. <em>sigh</em> So I’m heading to FSU. Their program is pretty okay.
But I digress…LOL
UTAustin isn’t Ivy – but they have the <em>BEST</em> undergrad Accounting program in the country. Google if you must. I believe their MACC (masters) program is tops, too.</p>
<p>Overall, it is not that serious.
So long as you have a high gpa (3.7-4.0), high scores on standardized tests (gmat, lsat, etc…), have some skills (work experience or internships), are adept in relationship building and networking and <em>especially</em> CAN SELL YOURSELF IN AN INTERVIEW…you will beat your competition.
Why?
You meet and exceed the standard.
People spend way too much time over-thinking and over-complicating the matter. </p>
<p>Where you attend school is a minuscule piece of the equation.
It draws the eye, sure. I may anticipate the interview to see what this Ivy candidate is all about…but they shouldn’t think that they’re a shoo-in.
For all I know, the candidate in front of me is some ‘legacy student’ and a total idiot! Fairness in evaluating is the only way.
I’ve met plenty college-educated half-wits in my time. A degree is no guarantee of anything…even if it is Ivy.</p>
<p>Beyond prestige there is a certain amount of utility at Ivies (and at other Ivy-level schools)…for example the alumni network is of tremendous value.</p>
<p>You could find anecdotal evidence to suggest that one Ivy Leaguer doing hiring or what-have-you would (all other things being equal) hold in order of preference:</p>
<ol>
<li>his/her own Ivy</li>
<li>the other Ivies (this might happen subconsciously)</li>
<li>other Ivy-level schools.</li>
</ol>
<p>
I think you’re taking a small sample and expanding it to the general population. </p>
<p>Walk outside and pick a random person on the street. I am willing to bet you quite a bit (s)he won’t be able to name even half of the Ivies correctly.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>You are right, after Harvard there is a big drop off in prestige.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>And so are a bunch of other schools…including other ivies and non-ivies…what’s the point?</p>
<p>People forget that it’s just an athletic conference…</p>
<p>According to US News Peer Assessment rating, 8 of the 15 most prestigious colleges in the country are Ivies. There is not a big drop off in prestige from HYP to the other Ivies. They range from 4.4 (Brown) to 4.9 (Harvard and Princeton).</p>
<p>What’s more, their prestige is based on real differences in quality. Prestige doesn’t fall out of the sky.</p>
<p>There is good reason to aspire to an Ivy League education.</p>
<p>I think more correctly “prestige” is awarded to schools that offer continuing quality as opposed to more flash-in-the-pan examples.</p>
<p>■■■■■ alert.</p>
<p>Anyone who disagrees with brewerfan99 is a “■■■■■”!</p>
<p>No, actually, prodigalson, you and 8thkey are the only people on this board I’ve bothered to call ■■■■■■.</p>
<p>This thread is clearly just Ivy compliment diving and is both inappropriate and unnecessary.</p>
<p>The Ivy distinction - and other top schools - certainly matter to some people. But most people just don’t know or care. I tell people I’m going to Stanford and they don’t even know what school it is. Most people have no idea where Yale is, and I’ve honestly never met anyone at the grocery store who knew there were eight Ivy League schools (usually they can name Harvard and Yale, but Princeton rarely gets mentioned despite being only two or three hours away).</p>
<p>There is occupational segmentation from having attended an Ivy League school. Probably 40% of an Ivy class attends law school, 20% medical school and maybe 15% graduate school. Literally, 75% of the class at an Ivy is never going to be part of the workaday world of teachers, district sales managers, pharmacists, engineers, fortune 500 mid managers etc. as most will be routed to the top 200 law firms, medical specialty practices and tenured positions at universities. For the 25% or so who do enter the workaday, Fortune 500 world, their degree probably puts them at a net disadvantage since their peers are often uncomfortable, suspicious and feeling they have to “prove themselves” around them. In the workaday world environment, the Ivy degree offers no advantage.</p>
<p>Even the MBA track graduates are going to be routed into investment banking, venture capital, private equity and strategy consulting jobs and will never be in a corporate system of pay for “performance” pools, forced relocations etc.</p>
<p>My hypotheses is that unless the Ivy grad actually capitalizes on the occupational routing available to him, he will be worse off trying to make a career in the lower reaches.</p>
<p>By the way, people don’t seem to know that the Ivy League consists of only 8 schools, some of them you might not have even heard of. MIT, Caltech, UChicago, WUSTL, Stanford, Duke, Northwestern, John Hopkins, Emory, Rice, etc etc are NOT Ivy League.</p>
<p>TE is right. All the Ivy grads and the grads at post #18 schools would not have a fun time in the world of cubicles and team building exercises, if they don’t use their degree to join the better tracks available to them.</p>
<p>prestigious enough that people will be impressed but nowhere prestigious enough so you’re guaranteed a good job after graduation.</p>