<p>Yeah and I've seen people having trouble deciding between a more prestigious school and a less prestigious one, taking into account personal fit, money, quality of education, class size, job placement, social life, etc. etc.</p>
<p>Just a while ago there was this thread in the Stanford forums titled "Stanford vs UCI." :D</p>
<p>I just want to say that although I haven't forgotten about the good LACs, I didn't apply to any of them, and I don't know much about them. My cousin went to Grinnell, but that's about all I know about it. I agree, though, that they are often over-looked by many people simply because they're LACs.</p>
<p>Whether you like it or not, Ivy League is Ivy League, and a lot of weight is given to an Ivy League degree on a wide variety of levels. From pop culture to employment, Ivy League schools undoubtedly do very well. It doesn't mean that all are the best in the country, but they all are undoubtedly among the best.</p>
<p>Aviatrix, what is your basis for saying only HYP and UPENN are good schools? What is your basis for saying Duke is better than Dartmouth or Caltech is better?</p>
<p>For liberal arts and students looking for a more intimate environment, Dartmouth is a better fit. All these schools, whether Ivy League or top privates like MIT and STanford and Duke, are all great schools. Someone who wants to study biophysics and have a science-focused education probably won't find a better match than Cal-Tech.</p>
<p>Ivy Leagues are more known as leaders in liberal arts and social sciences than Duke or MIT or Caltech. </p>
<p>Not too many would choose Ivy League over MIT for biomedical engineering unless he or she wanted a liberal education as well.</p>
<p>The bottom line is that Ivies certainly have a well-deserved reputation in what they do best, and they have a lot of connections in certain areas that you simply won't get at a place like Duke (even what you called "crappy ivies" like Brown and Dartmouth).</p>
<p>watercannon,</p>
<p>the schools in the Ivy League athletic conference weren't chosen because they "were the oldest, best, most selective schoosl" or whatever. They were chosen because they already played each other and were in close proximity to each other...kind of like every other sports conference.</p>
<p>Also there is a difference between Ivy League the athletic conference, and ivy league, the term that has become an adjective. Ivy league the adjective basicly means the best. In that case, it doesn't really mean the 8 schools in the athletic conference. A school (berkeley for example) could be considered ivy league caliber. Most people who post on these threads, 16 year old juniors in high school, don't realize the difference.</p>
<p>Also, ivy league, Ivy League, or not, there are great schools out there. If the Ivy League schools were the best schools, they'd rank 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8. They don't. They are just a group of 8 schools that are very good. People stereotype these schools as being better than everywhere else when they arn't. The "no. 25" school can provide you with just as good as an education as the "no. 3" school or whatever. I think we should stop putting these schools on a pedistal, especially considering 99.9% of the people on these boards who say "well x schools are in that league or just as good" get all of their information from a controversial magazine that tells them so once a year.</p>
<p>hyperpuritan</p>
<p>the problem is that most of the "Ivy lovers" don't see anything outside of Ivy League as a viable alternative in anything! Thats why some ppl here are saying that there are school just as good as the Ivies out there.</p>
<p>in the end, it's the people not the places. people want to go to ivies because they believe that there are things offered there that they can't get anywhere else (i.e. - connections, equipment, education). in fact, that's what most ranks are based on and we can't deny those. although there are different categories in ranking, ivies always come out to be on the top (except for party schools and stuff like that xP haha). although the ivies started out as just an athletic thing, it's turned into much more obviously, so calling it just an "athletic conference" is pretty archaic.</p>
<p>all in all, it's every individual's choice on where he/she want to apply. and whether you apply to harvard or to a public university, it's because you believe there is something there that's "your calling" if you will and special to you. none of us are in any place to judge other people's choices and dreams.</p>
<p>We arent.. but the people who hire you for a job are.. Go tell them you went to georgia state instead of an ivy.. and then watch them hire the ivy grad..</p>
<p>Im not saying this happens to everyone, but overhwhelmingly, ivy students do better than non ivy (again there are exception because there are some schools as good as the ivy's.e.g. stanford)... But to say that theres nothing special about the ivy's, or that you dont understand the hype that surrounds an ivy education is just ridicuous..</p>
<p>although personally i do perceive that ivies are "better" quote on quote, i have to disagree with your argument. and again, "special" is such a relative word. there are amazing people who turn down ivies every year because ivies are not "special" to them. and in fact, there are people who are "hyped" about other schools such as umich or ucb (not ivy equivalents). from studies conducted by various prestigious universities and professors (i.e. - a princeton professor), it has been proven, as i said before that it's the people who attend ivies and not the schools themselves who hold weight and are successful..</p>
<p>article: <a href="http://www.brookings.edu/views/articles/20040902easterbrook.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.brookings.edu/views/articles/20040902easterbrook.htm</a></p>
<p>Whatever floats your boat.</p>
<p>
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I agree, I didnt apply to a single Ivy becuase I honestly didnt have any desire to go to one. That said, some people do like them, so they do go there.
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</p>
<p>I agree with that comment. I never had the desire to go to an Ivy. Am I wasting my intelligence because I've always desired to go to a state school? Not in the least.</p>