<p>Sorry for asking pretty much the dumbest question ever (and the really pathetic exaggeration).</p>
<p>But what is the big deal with the ivy leagues? I was just looking into a few schools and Ivy Leagues cost a lot, doesn't accept ALL AP (Like scored above 4 or 5) credits, etc.</p>
<p>From what my parents say, employers won't even care if you graduated from a normal school than from a prestigious school (which I highly doubt..).</p>
<p>In fact the whole thing confuses me, can someone explain the pros of Ivy Leagues to me?</p>
<p>Hype and prestige, of course! You don’t think that parents like telling their catty neighbors that their son is an international business major at Harvard? Or that young men don’t like telling prospective mates’ fathers that they are pre-meds at Princeton?</p>
<p>But in terms of objective value, Ivies really probably don’t do that much for you. Yes, many successful people go to Ivies, but that’s more correlation than causation. Bill Gates was going to be successful whether or not he had an Ivy. Warren Buffett was going to to be successful whether he went to Nebraska or MIT. When schools are able to be as selective as Ivies are, one will quickly notice a high rate of successful people, regardless of the intrinsic value of the education.</p>
<p>Other than prestige and being around brilliant students creating an amazing environment, going to an ivy can help. They attract researchers/professors whom are highly regarded in their fields creating a better learning experience along with access to top rate facilities. In terms of careers, many employers (say consulting firms for example) recruit from ivies. If you plan to go into medicine, some of the advising is better and coming from an ivy gives a noticeable boost in med school admissions. In the earlier stages of one’s career, it will help more.</p>
<p>Better teachers mean you’re getting a better education and in addition to better teachers at Ivy league schools you’re generally dealing with a more academically focused student body so most of your peers will have similar goals.</p>
<p>There is a lot of misinformation in this thread…</p>
<p>Ivys, and other top schools, open up doors for students that other schools can’t compare with. Top schools offer the best professors, and essentially give far better education than lesser schools. While students are at top schools they have unparalleled opportunities for research, and other academic activities that lesser school kids wouldn’t be able to participate in. Finally, after graduation, there are some jobs that only accept kids from top schools. If any of you have heard of investment banking, which is one of the if not the most highly regarded post-undergrad job available, investment banks only accept kids from “target schools”. Target schools include the ivys, Stanford, MIT, UMich, Duke, Chicago and maybe a few others. If you don’t go to one of these schools then nearly impossible to get an investment banking job. Furthermore, the reputation of your school plays a large part in where you can get a job. Finally, your undergrad school has an impact on where you can go for grad school. Employers do care about where you went to school, I have no idea why your parents would say that.</p>
<p>My parents just don’t like the idea of the tuition. They were thinking I get my Bachelors at one of the state schools and then my masters at an Ivy League.</p>
<p>Also I plan on Biomedical Engineering. Since you didn’t really mention it, does Biomedical Engineering only accept people from “target schools”</p>
<p>I was using the term “Target school” referring to investment banking. I have no idea what target schools for bio-med jobs are, but I can tell you for a fact that you will have more job opportunities at an Ivy regardless of your major. I think all ivys meet full need, anyways.</p>
<p>Most state schools aren’t on the same tier with the Ivies, UChicago, Stanford, and the like, because of both the resources (professors and everything else) there and the intellectual quality of the student body at top universities and colleges. A more selective school only admits those who are intellectually able. Not to sound elitist (CC’s favorite insult, don’t you know?), but state schools don’t attract the same group of people. </p>
<p>Also, take everything that everyone says about admissions with a grain of salt, because it’s probably not true.</p>
<p>I really think it depends what state school you’re comparing to an Ivy. UofMD’s College Park is a state school and it’s selective (not as selective as say, Dartmouth or anything) but there ARE prestigious state schools. And about the bio-engineering thing, my cousin is a bio-chemist who went to the University of Delaware, once he graduated he ended up getting his masters at Columbia, and paying virtually nothing to go there. </p>
<p>It’s true that Ivy’s cover 100% (for undergrad edu)(or nearly that) of needed aid- but if you’re middle class, it’s unlikely you’ll get a full ride since you won’t be deemed “in-need” of the 45k per year.</p>
<p>I guess my point here is that unless you’re going into a career that will help you pay off up to 200,000 worth of debt (ie: investment banking…) you’re better off going to whatever school is at your caliber and that you can afford five years later when you’re trying to buy a house. In the end everyone’s experiences and opinions are different and you’ll have to make your own decisions about your future.</p>
<p>Yours is a decision that millions of kids will also be making over the next two months.</p>
<p>It is a very hard decision.</p>
<p>Do you go to your state’s flagship university, or to a more prestigious, but also much more expensive, private college?.</p>
<p>A lot of people who have to go the state school route, because of finances, in my opinion rationalize things, and declare that going to an Ivy is really not that important. </p>
<p>It IS important. That doesn’t mean you can’t be a success in life if you don’t go to the private school. You certainly can. But if it is remotely possible to swing things from a financial standpoint, it is my gut feeling that you try and go to the private school.</p>
<p>However, that being said, if you do that, and won’t then have any money for graduate school, that might not be the best course of action.</p>
<p>So I guess there is no right answer here. If you go to your state school, and do well, you may wind up at the same graduate school as the kid who goes to the Ivy undergraduate. </p>
<p>Top companies also tend to recruit more from Ivy league caliber schools and don’t even go to state schools, from what I’ve heard (for jobs an internships).</p>
<p>For some majors, like Law, I’ve heard multiple times that it’s extremely difficult to get at least a decent job if you don’t attend a top 10 law school.</p>