So is ANYONE here not applying to the Ivies?

<p>No...I'm not. First of all, they're much too far from where I live. Second, none of them really appeal to me; I think you can receive the same quality of [undergraduate] education somewhere else, and for a much lower price. I'd rather save my money for graduate school.</p>

<p>Dartmouth wins. It's a liberal arts education that focuses on the undergrad and has the (yes, inflated) ivy league reputation.</p>

<p>I agree with most of the things that people are saying. Ivy undergrad for the most part blows when compared to other, lower cost, lower "prestige" schools.</p>

<p>I enjoyed my undergraduate education at Cornell, I got knocked down(first test grade) and picked up (small group discussion seminars) and put together right. I had an advantage, my sense of humor kept me from taking myself too seriously. Could a non-Ivy league school have done that for me...probably and that is why I don't bash those options. I personally liked having a library that contained all the books and journals I needed. I didn't want to request a book and wait until it arrived from some sister library 5 days later. I also enjoyed having a course catalog the size of a Manhattan phone book to pick classes from. I took remote sensing classes with guys all in military uniforms, enviromental law classes with lawyer wantabees and geography classes with students who wanted to be farmers in New York and on three other continents. Don't knock what you haven't tried. If it wasn't a match for you fine, but the Ivy is a welcoming plant to thousands of others.</p>

<p>If I apply to any next year, it will be Brown and Brown alone. It's more a fool's hope than anything else. The other ivys aren't particularly strong in my areas anyways and I would hate to be around a school where everyone went to private school. The ivys are right in the area where I want to live, but only Brown attracts me. First, I'm not into this prestige thing, and Brown isn't really thought of by the general populace too much, I like the fact people seem to actually be interested in learning who go there. Secondly, I hate a really strict core curriculum, and Brown seems perfect in that right. I don't have anything against the ivys, but I would rather go somewhere that offers merit-aid.</p>

<p>I really had no desire to apply to an ivy, so i didn't. I don't think i would have fit in. I'm serious about school, but I want more of a total experience. I think if i were to go to an ivy i would be too consumed by the academics to enjoy my time there. I have nothing against people who apply to ivies, i just think they tend to have different priorities and a different personality than i do.
Incase you guys want to know, here are my stats and where i applied:
3.9 unweighted
32 act
lots of volunteering, worked since 8th grade, lots of awards, 4 yrs varsity for track and XC, captain, played piano in chapel 9th and 10th grade, various poetry awards, my true loves are sports and music</p>

<p>Colleges: Marshall Univ, UofM-ann arbor, Lake Forest College, UNC- Chapel Hill</p>

<p>I didn't apply to any Ivies-only liberal arts schools for me. Since many LACs are just as good as the Ivies and this is the only shot I have to attend one, I'm saving the Universities for grad school.</p>

<p>no ivies for me either... was going to.. but then when i checked the only ivy i've ever considered (yale) didn't have much of a program in my major (journalism). so.. stuck with my ED school Northwestern, USC, UC Berekley, UC LA and UC Irvine and Emerson College (EA).. was going to apply to Boston U, Uconn, NYU, and Ithaca, but ended up getting accepted ED so =D, oddly enough, im one of two people in the top 10 in my school who didn't apply Ivies or the likes of Stanford, MIT, etc
Besides, Northwestern's one of the top schools for my major (journalism).</p>

<p>No ivies, though maybe for grad school.. :)</p>

<p>m3ssi, IM me... im just wondering about your stats, EC's, etc and also jana's stats, EC's etc so i can gauge kinda what it takes to get into northwestern or cornell ED</p>

<p>i would.. if you're online right now... though i don't think it was my stats that got me in.. it kinda pales in comparsions with the ones you see on these boards.</p>

<p>okay i didnt apply because of these reasons:
A) i'm poor and those rich people prob wont give me any aid
B) i'm too dumb for them
C) i dont want to be a conformist and follow what every other kid is doing
D) i hate ivies because theyre mostly rich snobby kids
E) my dream school is hopkins
F) i got into hopkins</p>

<p>ivy envy, i see it all the time.</p>

<p>FYI, Rice University has a greater percentage of National Merit Scholars than all 8 schools in the Ivy League (also more than MIT or Stanford). If someone wanted an intimate atmosphere (smaller than Dartmouth) with intense research opportunities (much more than seen at any Ivy save Harvard), it would behoove them to look into Rice!</p>

<p>i agree with breeze, Rice University is so much better than Ivies
Ivies are SO overrated!</p>

<p>I'm not applying to the ivies even thought I might be able to get into some
1) Really can't afford them
2) Don't feel like spending my entire college career slaving over books etc. (I already did that in high school)
3) Most of them farther than I want to go
4) I'm already accepted into the college I want to go to so why waste more time filling out applications</p>

<p>There was a time I was going to apply just to see if I could get in but now i'm just too darn lazy to take the time.</p>

<p>Breeze, you omit the fact that National Merit Finalists automatically get scholarships at Rice (if it's designated as their first choice), not too mention the six other merit awards that they offer. The Ivies, along with Stanford and MIT, do not offer any merit aid. The Ivies' position (that they don't need to offer merit aid) is either admirable or thick-skulled, depending on how you look at it.</p>

<p>Oh, I'm definitely not. My stats aren't up to par. I also think I'm too laid back, for the most part, to warrant such a competitive atmosphere. Not even mentioning the ticket price...wooooooow. </p>

<p>Although, I would love to study in such fantastic libraries. I love libraries.</p>

<p>Ivies aren't the most competitive. Grade inflation exists in most of them (especially), Cornell being the notable exception... I've heard it described as the "easiest to get in and the hardest to get out of." I'm not really sure what the most competitive schools in the country are but I wouldn't say the Ivies qualify.</p>

<p>^All of this is based on hearsay. I've not actually seen any academic competitiveness first-hand, ever.</p>

<p>I am going to apply to UGA and then work my butt off. Then off to the Ivies for my MBA!!!!!!
HOPE is such a good thing, makes college afforable and it also has made UGA a much better school then it was even 10 years ago.</p>

<p>locke913-
Best to explain to those outside of Ga that HOPE is a state sponsored scholarship that students automatically get if they get (and maintain) a certain GPA. It has been very successful in keeping a lot of very bright students who might have gone to out-of-state schools here in GA,where they will hopefully stay in the job market as well.</p>