<p>I've heard this from a few professors at other colleges. The quality of undergraduate education at ivy league schools is actually equal to or worse than a comparable non-ivy institution. Sure, you are going to get better students coming out of ivy leagues, but only because you have better students going in. The rationale is that at an ivy league you are paying a lot more for the reputation, at the expense of undergraduate education.</p>
<p>Is this true? Is this some big secret? Have studies been done on the improvement at ivies vs. other schools?</p>
<p>Yale, Dartmouth, Princeton and Columbia have it better than at Harvard, Cornell, UPenn, and Brown.</p>
<p>Some of it is opinion, some of it is due to a lack of a core, some of it has to do with shear size. But, each school has a particular vibe that can appeal to an individual who knows him or herself.</p>
<p>I personally like the first four better, although CGS at UPenn is also appealing (I have lots of college credit and was thinking of going part-time), although I got into CAS.</p>
<p>The best advice is to find out what you want first before applying to college. If you like the LACs over the national universities, then I'd apply to a few. As the undergrad level, some Ivies are better than others, although some LACs do it better.</p>
<p>The academics at Ivies are probably comparable to other top-20 institutions. But the professors and resources are among the most elite institutions in the nation.</p>
<p>The professors are the best in the nation. Why is it in their interest to teach? It is a university, which means professors want to do research. I'm pretty sure its through excellent research, not excellent teaching, that professors get promoted and selected to work at ivy league institutions. Why would they care about undergraduate learning?</p>
<p>Why do people give money to charity? Why do people donate blood? Not all the actions in this world revolve around self-interest. Many elite teachers at top schools are generally passionate about their research and they like working with enthusiastic and gifted students at the undergraduate level.</p>