<p>I would like to know why we are all clammering for an Ivy League school: Why are they better? I know some of the most common answers are "Well, you can get a better job". If you say something like this then how do you know that? Explain to me why this is true. Make sure that when you post something that you have it backed up with statistics and facts, otherwise don't post at all. Also if you do give proof don't let it be, "Well, my cousin went to Harvard and now he's such and such a thing...". This doesn't prove that his going to Harvard landed him that job. It could be that he was just genuinely talented and his going to Harvard flowed from that talent.</p>
<p>P.S. This isn't meant to dash anyone's dream for Harvard or Princeton but I'm really curious as to why we all want so desperately into these places. </p>
<p>P.S.S. I know I made this thread in the wrong category but I thought this would be the place where most people would see it ;)</p>
<p>I don't know the exact stats but there was a study that showed that Ohio State Enginnering grads make almost exactly as much as MIT grads 5 years after graduating. So I don't see the point in stressing over HYPSM</p>
<p>well i know that since i want to be a politician, i'm going to need to go to the most high profile college i can.</p>
<p>mainly i'm going for the name, and the prestige is lovely... plus who can say no to having unlimited grant money for research, the best teachers, and the best resources at your hand?</p>
<p>For me, it is partly about the name, but mostly about the other students you are going to meet there. At an Ivy (or anything close--MIT, Stanford, Duke, etc..), you are going to meet students who are talented, passionate, and truly interested in learning. Every Harvard graduate glows when you ask them about what they enjoyed most at Harvard--it's not just the education or the prestige, but the community you're surrounded by everyday. </p>
<p>Furthermore, it's not just about money (while going to Harvard makes getting into graduate school a hell of a lot easier). It's a lot about the professors you learn from. My interviewer said he took his favorite history course from Henry Kissinger--now where else can you say that you took a course from Henry Kissinger (aside from these top schools--anything in the top 15-20)? The opportunities at a Harvard, Yale, or Princeton are abover and beyond what you could recieve at Ohio State. But, in th end, you are partially right, becase college is what you make of it. I have a friend who went to UWisconsin, graduated in 3 years, and is now working for Goldman, and I also have a friend at Harvard, who was rejected from his top three choice consulting jobs...</p>
<p>i'm an academic through and through. i want to learn from the best professors in the field and mix with other intelligent, hardworking, and successful students. (not that you can't find plenty of those people outside of the top schools, but the ivies seem to claim a disproportionate share of them.)</p>
<p>also, the prestige. that's why i'm not applying to any LACs.</p>
<p>Yazdan: I'd say exactly the opposite is true about your statement of how Ivy-Leagues are more expensive. They give some of the most generous financial aid out there! which is a strong incentive for me to apply Ivy. Seriously, I would probably be paying less for my college tuition if I got into an Ivy League than if I attended a less-prestigious college.</p>
<p>Well, when I go to college, I want to mix with intelligent, talented, creative, and basically extraordinary students. </p>
<p>The best high school students in the country apply to Ivy League. The best applicants from those pools are admitted (usually). Thus, many of the best students in the country (also, international. So, the world too.) attend Ivy League. I want to learn with those students.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>The better the school, the less chance you have of getting shot by some deranged lunatic. The more selective the school the better they are at weeding them out.</p></li>
<li><p>It's a really nice experience, and great for networking with legacies - I'd rather have ally my friends be sons/daughters of senators than of farm workers!</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Johnston22: They're not just good because they're Ivy. They're also Ivy because they're good. </p>
<p>Yes, there are other comparable universities which are not in the Ivy League: Stanford, University of Chicago, Berkeley, etc. </p>
<p>The Ivy League contains many of the best, not all of the best. Just look on different rankings and see how many Ivies are in the top 20.</p>
<p>The name "Ivy League" is obviously obsolete until the general public has given it a weight. It seems to be a self promoting ideal. The name gives them prestige. That prestige invites better students, professors, etc, which brings more prestige. It goes on and on.</p>
<p>It isn't all about post-Ivy income. It's about the education, the people you meet, and the prestige, and btw I believe the last preference is NOT unreasonable at all... if you study human psychology... it's one of our most basic needs, prestige ^.^</p>
<p>^ I hope you're not being serious. That's just BS. </p>
<p>People go there partly because people there are much more passionate and interested in learning than the students at the average college. Its not some kind of mystery.</p>