<p>“But does this have anything to do with going to an Ivy? You can fail – or succeed – in doing any of the above at any college, Ivy or no.”</p>
<p>Yes it does, and in several ways (I thought I already stated them.) You are far less likely to be top of your class at an Ivy, and hence far less likely to get the very top recommendation. That should be rather obvious. In the humanities at least, there really are fewer research opportunities, as those opportunities are reserved for graduate students. (My d. is essentially doing the same research job now at Princeton as a graduate student as she did as a first-year undergraduate at Smith. I was also once a graduate student at Chicago, and a TA, and none of the undergraduate students in the humanities got ANY of the research opportunities that the graduate students monopolized - hey, that’s what we were being paid for, and upon which, many faculty reputations depended.) Finally, and this is anecdotal, but it is clear to me that, in many cases, language training at at least some Ivies simply is not close to the quality or intensiveness available elsewhere. </p>
<p>So, yes, it COULD (doesn’t have to, but could) have something with going to an Ivy.</p>
<p>How is this overcome? Ivy students are smart!!!</p>