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<p>Well said, IBClass. I, too, have attended both Ivies and top publics. In fact, I’ve taught at both Ivies and top publics. No question the kids at the Ivies are more pampered, and that some of the services they get can give them a leg up as they move on to the next stage of their lives and careers. That’s worth something, possibly a lot. But for pure academic heft, the difference between the top publics and the Ivies is minimal-to-none, and there are many individual departments and programs in which a top public like Berkeley or Michigan will absolutely blow most Ivies out of the water. The mistake a lot of Ivy kids and especially Ivy wannabes make is to conflate pampering, privilege, and difficulty of admission with academic quality. It just ain’t so.</p>