Picking The Right Ivy League School

Colleges and Universities A-Z Brown University
1

<p>Hello fellow CCers! </p>

<p>Please hear me out completely before making any comments. </p>

<p>Fortunately, the acceptance/rejection hype has (finally) settled. It has been a stressful four days for all of us, I’m sure.</p>

<p>However, for many people, the process is not over. I applied to many schools, and was very lucky/fortunate to have gotten into some great schools:</p>

<p>HARVARD (Single Choice Early Action)
PRINCETON
YALE
PENN
COLUMBIA
DARTMOUTH
CORNELL
BROWN
RICE (Interim Decision)</p>

<p>Currently, I am completely lost as to where I should begin to decide on a college… I hope I am not the only one in this predicament. I do not solely want to rely on USNews or Statistical Rankings to decide my undergraduate degree. I have not visited any of my schools, but am planning to visit four of them in the upcoming month of April. </p>

<p>Question: What else does one consider outside of financial aid and “campus likability”? What determines “fit”?</p>

<p>Is there an alumni who can provide some assistance in describing how his/her personal experience has been regarding the aforementioned undergrad program(s)?</p>

<p>Much thanks,
(A very confused and torn.) Tri</p>

2

<p>All the ivies have their own character based on their academics, social environments, and locations. What do you value in a school? Its academic programs, extracurriculars, off-campus activities/opprotunities, reputation, diversity, research options, student body size? Another way to look at it might be what do you view college as? A place to meet people, a stepping-stone for grad/professional school, exploration and self-discovery, momentum for a career? Ideally, college is all these things, but if you had to rank them, what order would they fall in.</p>

3

<p>that's crazy you got in everywhere</p>

<p>congratulations! you must be really exceptional!</p>

4

<p>
[quote]
All the ivies have their own character based on their academics, social environments, and locations. What do you value in a school? Its academic programs, extracurriculars, off-campus activities/opprotunities, reputation, diversity, research options, student body size? Another way to look at it might be what do you view college as? A place to meet people, a stepping-stone for grad/professional school, exploration and self-discovery, momentum for a career? Ideally, college is all these things, but if you had to rank them, what order would they fall in.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Thank you for your response. At this point, the lure of certain social schools (Columbia) are just as enticing as intense academic programs. But you are right-- I'll try to form/evaluate some sort of list of factors that I'll have to take into consideration in the upcoming weeks.</p>

5

<p>First of all, congratulations on all your acceptances! You have a very impressive list.</p>

<p>Now, if I may be so bold as to say so... it seems to me as if you've approached your college search / applications process with the wrong attitude. Your question should not be "Picking the Right Ivy League School" but rather "Picking the Right School for Me." If you haven't even visited any of the schools and don't already know what it is that you like about each of them (besides that they are prestigeous), then it looks to me like you have just applied to all the Ivies without considering how they fit you and what they could offer you besides a name-brand education.</p>

<p>Now, it's possible I've got you completely wrong, and that you applied to each of these schools for a specific and personal reason. If so, good for you! But if not... maybe you should consider changing your attitude about college a little bit.</p>

<p>As aidnked says, each of these schools has something to offer. Research each one, and visit as many as you can, asking yourself, "what can this school offer ME? Will this be an environment where I can have the college experience that I want?"</p>

<p>You asked "What determines 'fit'?" Here is another list of things to consider (many of these things aidnked already mentioned):
--the academic philosophy of the school (contrast Brown's complete academic freedom and student responsibility for education with Columbia's core curriculum)
--the academic programs (is the school strong in the department(s) that interest(s) you?)
--other academic opportunities (design your own major, double major, cross-registration with music / art schools, etc. Contrast how Brown strongly encourages study abroad, while Harvard generally takes the attitude, "we are the best school in the world, so why would you leave?")
--extracurricular activities (is there something you really want to do in college like sing in a chorus, play rugby, go clubbing in a big city, volunteer to help the homeless? Find out which college is the best place for whatever interests you)
--attitude of the students toward the school (are the students happy where they are? Did they pick the school for its name, or because it was a good personal fit?)
--social life (contrast Dartmouth, where most students stay on campus and drink, with Columbia, where a lot of the social life takes place off campus in the city, etc)</p>

<p>I'm currently a student at Brown, so I'd be happy to answer any questions you have about my experience here.</p>

<p>I'm sorry if this post comes off as sounding like a lecture. It's not intended to be at all. I just hope that you find a school that you can say to yourself every day, "I LOVE this place! I love these people! I love what I'm studying!" That's how I feel at Brown, and I would wish that experience for you, wherever you end up.</p>

<p>Best of luck!</p>

6

<p>If you would hate being in the middle of nowhere, cross off Cornell and Dartmouth. They'd be hard to get to, too, as you'd have to fly into Boston or NY and then take a bus from there which is a pain in the ass.</p>

<p>If you want a CITY, Columbia obviously, but Harvard and Yale are good too. Brown isn't so great as we really aren't integrated into Providence well (and many people complain about that).</p>

<p>Princeton has more of an upper class feel, less laid back. Brown, Princeton, and Dartmouth are the WASPier ivies if that's your thing.</p>

<p>If you want pure academic rigor, HYP or Columbia should be your choice.</p>