<p>While others may refer to Ivy applicants as prestige whores, there are actually applicants, many applicants, who applied for more practical reasons, such as the fact they actually liked the colleges. Here, I would hope any applicant who has or may be called a "prestige whore" says their reason for applying to the top colleges.
Here I go.
Harvard: Top notch poli-sci department, great opportunities, not that big, top faculty, great location. My visit there was fantastic.
Yale: Same as above, and I really liked the dorm system.
Stanford: Same as ^^, siblings are there, other side of the country.
Columbia: Same as ^^^, NEW YORK!, not far away, citylife.
Princeton: Same as ^^^^, I've been doing activities there my whole life, so I have a strong connection to it.
Dartmouth: Great natural environment, small, in New Hamspshire (political reasons), know people there.
Georgetown: Same as ^^^^^^, in the nation's capital, family there.
The other colleges I applied to: UMich and Rutgers, because of football reasons lol.
Accepted: HYPS, G-Town, Rutgers
Rejected: Dartmouth and UMICH
Waitlisted-accepted: Columbia.
Share people share!</p>
<p>Same as above: the strongest reason of all. It’s such a contradiction. Funny how your main reasons are location, dorms and ‘great opportunities’. </p>
<p>People apply to the ivies because they are good schools (obviously), most are in good locations and they are prestigious. Unless you can honestly say “I applied to X because it has such and such programs unique to my major, offer good internships, have ___ club/organization that is amazing and I would love to join” or something similar, you are no different from the types of people you were trying to scold in your thread.</p>
<p>You’re no different than the prestige whores…</p>
<p>You can’t deny that the prestige was a big factor in applying to those schools. I mean, look at the schools you applied to. And there’s nothing wrong with that.</p>
<p>If location is at all important in one’s college decision, I can’t imagine applying to so many Ivies in different locations. And, yes, these schools–among many others–have “great opportunities.” Obviously. It’s what those opportunities are and how they relate to your major that matters.</p>
<p>I had assumed that “prestige whore” meant applying to an Ivy because it’s an Ivy.
And I was trying to scold the insecure people who call people prestige whores, not the so called prestige whores. And yes, to your outline.
I know I sound like an arrogant jerk, but because my stats are in line with those schools, I applied there. I’m not wasting my time at schools which I don’t feel comfortable in. I visited everyone of those schools, and more.
^I wanted a variety of locations to choose from. And, these opportunities relate to my major.</p>
<p>Seems like it was just another “Hey look where I got into” thread. </p>
<p>
Anyone pointing out that some people apply to schools for the wrong reasons is insecure? How about someone, who has gotten into all the schools he could want, still trying to get attention from people on CC? Kinda insecure.</p>
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<p>Yes. I guess you answered your own question -Reasons for applying to HYPSM/Ivy League-. Your reasons, anyway.</p>
<p>It just sounds like you’re coming up with reasons to like the schools, after the fact that they’re Ivies- as in, not picking them first based on criteria. </p>
<p>Like, you picked Columbia because of the city life but then Dartmouth because of the small, great natural environment?</p>
<p>I actually don’t care what people think of me on here 
The thread was started for everyone to pitch in, not for people to try to burn me at the stake. Whatever.
^I like both environments. What, I can’t be a city dweller who loves nature?
Why didn’t I pick, say Cornell? Brown? MIT? CalTech? Penn? I only applied to the Ivies which I visited and actually liked.</p>
<p>Who are people to tell other applicants there reasons are wrong for their applications? If their interest is genuine, they may get in. If it isn’t, colleges see right through it.</p>
<p>Double-posting = you do care what people here think, if you’re trying to push your viewpoint so hard. </p>
<p>Prestige, I feel, is inextricably tied to having “top-notch” departments/programs. This whole thing is a bit silly. </p>
<p>I’m sure you also fell in love with the intellectual environments of these schools, the institutional and student body cultures, this one great professor in a field you care about, the options to do interdisciplinary work in X, Y, and Z, the particular brand of irreverence of a school’s humor/satire publication, the proximity of fine art museums to the universities, et cetera, et cetera. I’m absolutely sure you came to see the schools as more than just a famous name. Don’t worry about it.</p>
<p>Many times, colleges do not see right though it. Same way they don’t see though certain personality traits. </p>
<p>It does not matter to me whether you have the right reasons or not. When you get there, you will either love it or be miserable; it will be your own doing. It may be because you thought it would be amazing and end up disappointed, or you applied for the prestige and did not know anything about the school. You may apply just for the prestige, get in, and fall in love with the place - who knows. It’s your life and it’s completely up to you; all those schools have a lot to offer. </p>
<p>My only point was this: don’t start a thread about how you applied for different reasons than “prestige whores” and then throw in bragging about your achievements, only to completely disprove your point a few words later. It’s hypocritical.</p>
<p>k</p>
<p>why i want top schools:</p>
<p>yes, the intellectual environment
get rid of all those kids who just DONT CARE about schoolwork or ec’s
app process is a nice filter for that</p>
<p>thenn, i know that top schools will get me where i want to go, for the most part
(thats the same for state schools… in the end, you’re the same, but theres nothing wrong with aiming high)</p>
<p>also, the location is so important.<br>
top schools usually have amazing campuses and campus life
lots of involvement, lots of research benefits, blah blah blah</p>
<p>and now having said that, thank goodness my stats are in line</p>
<p>I don’t know…truth be told, during application season I tried not to fall in love with Brown, but I failed. There was just something about the school that clicked, and from what I garnered from the persona of the student body, the news posts and videos on the website (because I just kept checking it every day…), and from student review sites, it seemed like the perfect place for me to come of age. Sure, prestige is great, but I considered all the schools I applied to, even my state schools, “prestigious” so it wasn’t really a factor. But bowing to popular opinion, at one point I wished Brown wasn’t an Ivy so that I wouldn’t be competing against so many applicants, haha.</p>