<p>I think Mr. Badger has a little bit of a chip on his shoulder. That’s OK- use it to your advantage.</p>
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<p>In what universe? I’ve never heard of such a thing.</p>
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<p>That’s putting it mildly. :)</p>
<p>Also, before he makes any further attacks on college “liberalism”:</p>
<p><a href=“Opinion | College Doesn’t Make You Liberal - The New York Times”>Opinion | College Doesn’t Make You Liberal - The New York Times;
<p>If someone says this evidence is tainted because the NYT is somehow far-left and tampers with actual research conducted using the scientific method, I’ll be even happier that they chose Liberty over an actual college.</p>
<p>I don’t have a chip on my shoulder. I have friends at Ivy Leagues and many of them immediately developed a stronger sense of self-worth upon being accepted. Small sample size, sure, but nevertheless true. </p>
<p>You know what, Badger? You develop a stronger sense of self worth WHENEVER you achieve a goal and/or accomplish something important to you, whether it be getting into a highly selective college, completing a marathon or getting a promotion at work. Deal with it!</p>
<p>@MomofWildChild It’s not simply self worth, it’s more of a self worth that you are more important or better than others because of achievement. Compete against yourself, not others. You’re not better because you’re Ivy League.</p>
<p>@BadgerState Are you sure you’re not just projecting this onto them? I mean, there’s a lot of acceptance-shaming going on and the few HYPMS kids I know didn’t change at all upon getting in.</p>
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<p>DS knew a friend in NYC who attended an Ivy League school. That friend told him that. I personally do not know whether it is true though.</p>
<p>At a second look event (not at an UG college), all students were asked to report what college they came from. When the few students reported that they were from an elite college, the “atmosphere” became a little bit awkward when not many were from such a school. (the “H-bomb effect” can not be avoided. – DS is not exactly one of them so please do not call him snobbish or pretentious or anything like that.)</p>
<p>Agree with MomofWildChild. Even when a person becomes a fan of a sport team, or buy something slightly special (e.g., iPhone or Samsung Galaxy phone), he becomes a part of a group. Buying a jacket/dress of a particular brand or a handbag has the same effect.</p>
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<p>The key word in “self-worth” is “self.” People can think whatever they want about why they are superior or inferior or equal to others. And the students who got into their top choice Ivy League schools have likely been competing against others for years. </p>
<p>You describe yourself as a conservative student…isn’t part of traditional conservative values a “live and let live” mindset? Telling people how they should think goes against that (not that it is a liberal value, either).</p>
<p>@sally305 You’re misinterpreting my comments. I’m not telling people how to think, I’m telling people how I perceive things. There is a difference. I said I have no problem with Ivy Leagues if that’s where you want to go. I believe college is about more than academics and students should also find a place where they’ll have a good time. I know some would respond ‘we’re not paying $20,000 per/year to have a good time’. That’s fine. That’s your take. </p>
<p>I say life is short, go where you’ll be happy and enjoy the social scene. </p>
<p>That’s my view. Others might have different ones and that’s fine! 
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<p>Top colleges aren’t just an academic experience, though. It all depends on what people consider a “good social scene.” And at this point, your thoughts aren’t original- CC’s been stressing “fit” for quite a while now.</p>
<p>@dividerozero That’s great. I’m new here, so I wouldn’t know how things are approached. I see a lot of people trying to get advice on getting into ivies and seemingly viewing the lower ranked universities as ‘fallbacks’ or even punishments for poor performance. My observations are as valid as yours, I just haven’t been around here long enough to see what you’re describing. </p>
<p>I’ve only been here around a week longer than you. Those applicants usually get a few reality-check comments.</p>
<p>@BadgerState, If your family’s annual income happens to be, say, less than $65k and you get into one of HYPS which enables you to attend such a school with an even lower out-of-pocket price (I believe the parents’ contribution is zero in such a hypothetical case) than public school’s price, will you not attend such a school, just because you believe most students at such a school are what you may not like?</p>
<p>There are still many students there who may come from a family background similar to yours (I assume that your family is not super rich here but I could be wrong.)</p>
<p>@mcat2 </p>
<p>My family income is around 140K. </p>
<p>You obviously know very, very little about the Ivy schools or other highly selective colleges. I can assure you that my kid had WAY too much fun at his Ivy! He did fine academically, though, and the degree has served him very, very well. He’s proud of his school, made lots of good friends and contacts and is gainfully employed. I’m satisfied with that.<br>
Back in the dark ages, I took some summer classes at the same Ivy. I attended a flagship public university the rest of the year. I didn’t find my classmates at the Ivy any different in attitude from those at the public, but they were all very, very bright. That was not the case at the public, although there were certainly plenty of bright students. </p>
<p>I feel so misunderstood in this thread, lol. I’m kind of tired of repeating myself.</p>
<p>I come from a wealthy family and city, so maybe it’s just people in my area with this stereotype. Nevertheless, I’ve said before, and I will say one less time – I never said Ivy Leagues are bad schools or they aren’t fun, I said if it isn’t what you want, and you’d have more fun somewhere else, go there. Don’t go to an Ivy League school because you want the prestige factor. I don’t think you should feel obligated to go Ivy just because you can. </p>
<p>Enough said. </p>
<p>I love my SEC. I don’t think of the SEC as second-rate to the Ivy League. We have some great students here and I’d choose my University over any Ivy League, because it fits me perfectly. However, if you don’t love Greek life, football, and are conservative you probably wouldn’t enjoy the SEC. </p>
<p>There are very high-ranking students who feel pressure to go Ivy because it makes a statement. I don’t think they should have that pressure, I think they should go where they’re happy…even if that’s going from Ivy to the SEC. </p>
<p>90% of the University of South Carolina class of 2013 graduated in the Top 10% of their class. Not many Universities can say that. We have good academics too, even if we aren’t Princeton or Harvard. You can get a great education here. </p>
<p>Protip: If you hover over the top right corner of your comment, you can edit it as long as it’s within 15 minutes (you should see a little gear). Would’ve saved you two replies here. :)</p>
<p>Honestly, though, no one’s going around every single thread and only recommending top-25 universities. There’s quite a few threads in this subforum that get recommendations with colleges some of us have never heard of. That’s partly why CC’ers are generally more aware of colleges than the overall population. And USC Honors is a frequent recommendation. CC’s even been called out for suggesting state colleges over Ivies/etc., especially when FA is in play. And there’s plenty of other threads reminding people that prestige isn’t everything. So it seems that overall the community doesn’t disagree with you too vehemently, although obviously it varies on an individual level.</p>