[Ivy League Myths Demystified]
College admittance decisions recently went out, and we’ve begun seeing tons of articles, as we do every year, questioning the worth of college, the obsession over low admissions rates, and the annual commentary about some kid who got into a ton of great universities.
We also have seen a good deal of press bashing Ivy League Schools. The rhetoric is familiar: Ivy League universities are overrated, expensive and fuel socio-economic disparity.
A lot of these articles are in response to the ridiculous pressures parents put on their kids to get into some great college who’s logo would look nice on a bumper sticker.
In response, hopefully I can give a more pragmatic account that weighs the merits of both sides. Few extreme opinions are ever correct, and the topic is clearly complicated.
[My Short Take on the Good, the Bad, and the Mediocre of Going to an Ivy League School]
First off, I’m biased.
I go to Cornell, which is an Ivy League school. We are the youngest Ivy, the one with the highest admissions rate, and take a lot of flack for being in Ithaca… but we manage—and Ithaca is “Gorges.”
In Cornell’s defense we do have the best engineers in the Ivies, the best agricultural school in the country, the best architecture school, world famous professors and the guy who made Oreo’s Kosher—but maybe that was some school pride flaring up 
Secondly, I’m not from a private prep school. I came from a decent public high school that sends a kid or two to an ivy league school every once in a while.
And as a last preface IVY LEAGUE SCHOOLS ARE NOT NECESSARILY THE BEST SCHOOLS IN THE COUNTRY!!!
-MIT
-Cal Tech
-Duke
-Stanford
etc. etc. etc. etc. etc.
ARE NOT IVY LEAGUE SCHOOLS. Our sports league just has a cool name–it’s literally. just. a. sports. league.
The Classes
There are some amazing classes in the top universities. Wharton’s Business School is phenomenal; Stanford held the famous Facebook Class and Cornell’s psychology 101 course was taught by a guy who coined the phrase “power nap.”
But just like at any other university, some classes are great, and others aren’t. Some professors care more about research, some like to teach small classes. A few classes are downright impossible, a few classes are incredibly easy.
The engineering school at Cornell is exceptionally difficult—much harder than the classes in other departments—but difficult doesn’t always mean better. Many Cornell Computer Science graduates are only taught very theoretical principles and couldn’t even build a website if they were asked to. It doesn’t mean they’re not smart, it means that Cornell’s computer science department is simply different than the Comp. Sci. department at the University of Florida, or UCLA’s, or Stanford’s.
The best part about going to a top university is perhaps the other kids in the classroom. Schools that are hard to get into generally attract students who are great at getting good grades. Sometimes this means they are smart, other times it means they are good at following directions, but most importantly, it means they raise the competition level. Their aptitude or hard work pushes your own limits, and makes you better.
Are all the Students Smart?
No—not all.
Some are! 3 of my best friends from college either work at Google [X], at Andreessen Horowitz, or have started their own company. Others are musicians, writers, award-winning researchers or future NFL athletes.
But some are not that smart. They either went to a feeder high school, worked really hard in high school due to pressure from parents, that once absent == alcoholism, or just somehow snuck in. (Are there kids with famous last names? Maybe a couple—but the ones I’ve met have generally been really bright and I wouldn’t attribute their admittance to family donations).
I’d say a quarter of Cornell is “blows my mind” smart, half is very bright, and a quarter is mediocre.
I bet this is the same at other Ivy Leagues. I also bet it’s the same at public universities, private universities, and for all I know in online classes as well.
Will You Be More Successful Once You Graduate?
Maybe! My imperfect answer to this question is: Having an Ivy League School’s name on your resume will give you lots of options, and first round interviews. It’s also a checkmark of validity. It says: “this kid is probably, at least, decent.”
That first interview is an Ivy League School’s BIGGEST advantage. The degree will get you in the door for a few reasons:
-Prestigious companies recruit and favorably accept applications from certain top schools
-Alumni from those schools are eager to help students, and build a strong network around themselves.
-Your friends, who also got those first interviews, often got sweet jobs, and as you get older can hook you up.
Expectations are also higher. I firmly believe that we perform as well as those around us expect us to perform. If you graduate from an Ivy League, people expect you to do well, in turn giving you the confidence to do just that.
Those around you have also set precedent. I’m not the first student at Cornell to have founded a company, which is why I believed I could. At Harvard there is the extreme example (Mark Zuckerberg). It’s similar to a USC athlete believing he or she can one day play pro.
BUT—none of this whole “where did you go to school” thing matters once you’re actually in your job. Nobody cares what school you went to if you suck.
Likewise, if you land a job and are exceptional at it, no one will ever ask you what school you went to again. Life is about “what you have done for me lately.”
Does University Fuel Socio-Economic Disparity?
Sometimes. I believe that universities overly rely on feeder schools to send them kids. These feeder schools provide a phenomenal preparation for college, but that preparation is unfair. It puts students in an adventitious position to score high on SAT’s, it ignores major parts of the American population, and there has not yet been a good way to offset this.
It’s a hard problem.
I also believe that judging diversity based on race is a poor way of judging a class of students. Race is not an indicator of upbringing—we need a new class of metrics.
Universities should be focused on finding diversity via income disparity, location, and general indicators of upbringing. Race or gender are incomplete metrics. I believe in the mission of fostering diversity, but doing so via a wholesome lens is important.
Final Thoughts
Cornell University is an amazing institution. I would fight, scream, cry, claw my way to get back in. But an admittance to Cornell, or any other Ivy League school, is not an indicator of success. It’s acceptance into a cool opportunity. But every major university provides resources excellent students can take advantage of.
My advice regardless of wherever you end up going:
-Surround yourself with people you admire.
-Try a million things. Once one sticks, work incredibly hard at it.
-Fall in love with your friends, your partner, your professors, your campus and with being curious
-Your probably wrong about a lot of thing—remember that
This is just the beginning. University is a means to an end, not an end in itself—just remember to enjoy the “means” along the way.