<p>In response to KK19131's question, I have no freaking clue what "dormant ivy" means. It is a phrase that I see all over this website. Anyways, good luck at Northwestern (fabulous school), and it was indeed my top choice w. cornell, and its came down to the end choosing. It was extremely difficult to give up such a fantastic school.</p>
<p>Also certain schools are good (aka prestigious) for certain fields. I guess employers and grad schools also look for that. So if you are sure about what you want to do with your life, I suggest you look for which school is best for your major.</p>
<p>To thethoughtprocess: just because you've never heard of them doesn't mean they're not prestigious; perhaps your definition of prestige and mine are different. Prestige to me means that a school is selective and offers a topnotch education, and is known by those who are, well, "in the know", so to speak. I think that Carleton and Haverford should be regarded just as highly as just about any private or public institution in this country by anybody who claims they "know" schools in the US. (The aforementioned guidance counselor who has never heard of williams should definitely not be a college counselor, and in my eyes, doesn't fall under the category of experts on american colleges/universities). And it's funny to me that you've heard of swarthmore and not haverford, as the two are often mentioned in the same breath (kind of like a harvard-yale, or williams-amherst relationship).</p>
<p>Well, the definition I was using is that its well-known and people go "oh sweet, I've heard of that place, that sounds cool" when you talk about it. Like, I've never heard about Carleton. I'm a fairly normal student. Thats why I don't think Carleton fits my definition of prestige - because most people haven't heard of it, atleast in my area.</p>
<p>I applied to Swarthmore, Amherst, and Williams, I never really heard of Haverford. I don't know why. Theres a town called Haverford thats 30 minutes away from me though, so thats probably where the college is too (is it in Southeastern PA?). I'm sure its a cool place. Its just that for most Liberal arts colleges I'm not really too well-informed, besides the three I applied to and the ones my friends applied to.</p>
<p>To me, rank factors a lot into a school's prestige. (I guess i'm basing it mainly on US news rankings, but also on the wallstreet journal ranking of graduate "feeder" schools <a href="http://www.wsjclassroomedition.com/pdfs/wsj_college_092503.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.wsjclassroomedition.com/pdfs/wsj_college_092503.pdf</a>
) But anyways, yeah it is in haverford, PA, just outside of philly. If you end up going to swat, believe me you will hear about haverford. We have a bit of a rivalry going, to say the least. :)</p>
<p>Oberlin, Kenyon and Ohio Wesleyan.</p>
<p>Why must we have threads like this on CC about once or twice a week? All they do is cause pointless flame wars. Take a look at the top 50 schools in each category of the US News rankings and you have your "prestigious" schools, as defined by an admittedly flawed process. Yes, the rankings are an opinion, but any attempt to do such a thing would cause the same arguments over what's underrated and overrated (another overused thread topic). Don't get so hung up on the relative position of schools in the ranking, either. The #20 school is about the same as #1 as far as its "prestige" with people that know anything about colleges. If you deal with the great ignorant majority, go to HYPS, anything else is inferior to them. Okay, I'm done venting...</p>
<p>no, the #20 isn't the same as #1 at all, thats just silly thinking</p>
<p>these threads are just fun</p>
<p>I think the LAC's Amherst, Wellesley, Swarthmore, Williams, etc are all about equal in prestige. I don't think you could know one without knowing the others.</p>
<p>And it seems like alot of people don't know that Penn's an Ivy, and a surprisingly huge portion of people haven't even heard of Brown whereas for some reason everyone knows HYP, Cornell, Columbia. Brown and Dartmouth don't get enough attention.</p>
<p>I agree with ReninDetroit. Wellesley has a certain air of prestige. Maybe not to the general public, but certainly among those who value academics and employers.</p>
<p>Hey collegekid1988, count me in as one of those envious ivy bashers because I think I would choose Stanford a hell of a lot faster than Cornell. You know, even with Stanford's abysmal prestige and grad placement.</p>
<p>LOL jk Good luck being a Big Red and all.</p>
<p>washu sucks. i live right by it. i did research w/ a neurosurgeon in it.
why do ppl out of town always think it is prestigious?</p>
<p>Because it is prestigious?</p>
<p>if i end up at washu i'll kill myself for 3 reasons
1. its in town
2. i spent time in it and i didn't like it
3. its not prestigous...most ppl i know use it as a backup...for when all else fails...</p>
<p>Devil, who wouldn't choose Stanford in a heart beat if he/she applied and got in, however, I didn't apply b/c i knew i had no CHANCE LOL.</p>
<p>I knew about and applied to Williams, Amherst, and Swarthmore without ever hearing about or knowing about Wesesley, for what its worth...so its possible to know one without the other</p>
<p>WashU isn't that bad, is it?</p>
<p>Hell no it is not that bad. It is just that a few ivy leaguers <em>wink wink</em> are angry because USNEWS ranked it above their beloved future abode. I bet the Yalies and MITers (lol that doesn't sound right) could care less.</p>
<p>well, the very thing you preach (grad placement) is not good with WUSTL compared with other schools.</p>
<p>True, but I could care less since I am not going to WUSTL. lol</p>
<p>USC is more than just football. It has top ranked schools in engineering, business, journalsim, film, and many others. Furthermore, even though flawed, they must be doing something right to be ranked 30th academically in the nation.</p>