<p>Preach it sister!</p>
<p>I think there are many benefits to going to an Ivy league school such as the connections and name that was stated previously in the thread. The only downside is people try to kill themselves getting there and I was one of them. Also graduating at an Ivy league is not the only way to secure a good paying job. If someone went to a good school, preformed well and is dedicated to their work and activities they could still be successful.</p>
<p>Your examples are terrible.</p>
<p>Cue7 nailed it. There are a lot of people out there that are under the impression that Stanford, MIT, John Hopkins etc ARE Ivy League schools…because those names are generally thrown into the same categories. Anyone can get a solid undergrad education at virtually any school…whether or not it’s thrown onto a typical top 20, 50…even 100 list. I said it earlier in this thread, but so many people come across as having picked their ideal schools from the USNews top 10 list. These people frequently don’t seem to have really done much actual research into their schooling options…they’ve just heard that these schools are “the best” so that’s where they want to go.</p>
<p>There are so many state schools, lesser known universities and LAC’s that can provide a very solid undergrad experience. There are literally thousands of accredited 4 year institutions in the United States…some people make it sound like only 10 or 20 of these schools are any good, and all the rest are for the “stupid people.” I’ve seen people on here get rejected from the “top” schools and feel like their lives are over. Getting turned down by HYPSM and getting accepted to a school that’s a better match for you is nothing to be ashamed of.</p>
<p>For those who are not already aware of the Krueger and Dale study</p>
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<p>Check out [Who</a> Needs Harvard? | Brookings Institution](<a href=“http://www.brookings.edu/research/articles/2004/10/education-easterbrook]Who”>http://www.brookings.edu/research/articles/2004/10/education-easterbrook)</p>
<p>Assessing by income alone is too narrow a measure. I imagine that many students find the experience - not just the exit options - of an “ivy+” school very appealing. Combine this fact with the reality that these top schools offer outstanding financial aid, and you get a very impressive package.</p>
<p>So again, if the fit is right, these schools are a great option for some.</p>
<p>the ivy league is for insecure people who need personal validation!(IMO)
if those same high school students, spent less time stressing and putting massive pressure on themselves about getting into an ivy and went to anyone of a number of other colleges to which they maybe much much more compatible they would be so much happier in high school and then college. sadly 99.9% of them will never be guided in the right direction and/ or can not be convinced to look past the bells and whistles!</p>
<p>Zobroward: I repeat, a school should be about fit, strength in areas of interest, and cost. For some, ivies are great options, for others, not.</p>
<p>Attending an Ivy or another “elite” college or university is not just about the name of the school. The admissions criteria at these schools helps insure that your fellow classmates love to learn, and are similarly situated. And sorry, but at most state schools, that just ain’t gonna happen. Can someone get a “good” education at these other schools? Of course! But for a gifted student, or an exceptionally bright student, classes move along at a speed of the lowest common denominator. And the bar for the lowest common denominator at top academic schools is simply much higher. Hence, bright students are challenged more, they are in an environment where they can learn more, and it is a much more satisfying environment for them to learn.</p>
<p>I am so sick of people whining about the Ivy league schools and how it is all about prestige, and that its not the “end all” of education. Sorry, but if you are an exceptionally bright kid, you want to be around other exceptionally bright kids who love to learn. And where else are you going to find that other than at the top academic schools, which have the toughest academic admission standards. And if you don’t understand that, then that speaks for itself.</p>
<p>I appreciate many of the points the OP was making.</p>
<p>My son has been accepted at several UC’s, but hopes to get into Harvey Mudd. He is well known at his high school for academics. The top two students have gotten into two of the Ivy League schools, but not commonly known names like Yale, Princeton or Harvard. The funny thing is out here in California at a big but not very competitive high school, no one is familiar with any of the schools, (including Harvey Mudd) and very few people are aware that they should be impressed because the valedictorian and salutatorian got into “Ivy League” schools. </p>
<p>I had a chance to congratulate both and was surprised that they both couldn’t understand why my son did not apply to any East coast schools and was hoping to get into a school that most people have never heard of . (I keep correcting people that it’s not “Harvard Med” that he wants to attend.)</p>
<p>^Along those same lines, I think OP must have led a quite sheltered life if she is under the impression that an “Ivy League Fetish” is widespread. Out here in the West, I doubt you could find many people who can name all of the colleges in the Ivy League, let alone care that they cannot.</p>
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<p>Funny.</p>
<p>My D1 attends Haverford College, a top 10 LAC just outside Philadelphia. Apart from people in academia, very few people here in the Midwest have heard of it. When people ask D1 where she goes to school, she says, “Haverford College. It’s a small liberal arts college in Pennsylvania.” She reports that a large fraction of the people she meets then say something like, “How did you end up way out there; do you have family there or something?” (We don’t, she chose it for the academics).</p>
<p>Another sizable fraction think she’s mispronouncing “Harvard” and try to correct her pronunciation.</p>
<p>I think more people have a fetish with “why the Ivy League fetish?” type threads.</p>
<p>I think there’s at least one a day.</p>