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And that is pretty stupid bringing in the Alum seeing as they are the ones who actually liked the colleges. We seem to be forgetting the transfers, dropouts, suicides that major colleges lead in.
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<p>I think you're forgetting that these schools have some of the highest graduation and alumni giving rates in the country, especially for research institutions. You will always find somebody who didn't like their alma mater; it's a question of relativity. </p>
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I highly doubt you know what 99.999% alumni truly feel about their college.
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<p>Not 99.999 percent, true, but you would be surprised at the amount of surveys that these colleges conduct of alums regarding their student experience.</p>
<p>Look. You are free to pursue whatever type of educational environment you desire. A comprehensive research university may not be the best fit for you, but denigrating these schools based on completely unfounded things such as a suicide rates or the gaining acceptance based on "lies and money" is just silly.</p>
<p>THAT IS THE POINT! Of course they are unfounded. Would you really expect for this information to be given for a prospect student to examine. It is like saying we don't torture terrorists that are being held in secrecy. COME ON. THAT IS WHAT I"VE BEEN PREACHING. It is propaganda and advertisement which get these major colleges so many applicants. The goods are exaggerated and THE BADS ARE UNFOUND.</p>
<p>"So like, right now for example. The Haitians need to come to America. But some people are all, "What about the strain on our resources?" Well it's like when I had this garden party for my father's birthday, right? I put R.S.V.P. 'cause it was a sit-down dinner. But some people came that like did not R.S.V.P. I was like totally buggin'. I had to haul ass to the kitchen, redistribute the food, and squish in extra place settings. But by the end of the day it was, like, the more the merrier. And so if the government could just get to the kitchen, rearrange some things, we could certainly party with the Haitians. And in conclusion may I please remind you it does not say R.S.V.P. on the Statue of Liberty. Thank you very much." Cher from "Clueless"... ;)</p>
<p>But I bet few know just how unregulated academia really is and just how much advantage these major colleges take of it. I can't believe that a college can raise tuition rates without explaining why. I’m sorry if this post is bothersome, I’m just a pessimist I guess.</p>
<p>I'm sorry that you have an extremely narrow view of how academia works and that it frustrates you.</p>
<p>Each institution has extremely unique and complex governance structures. I can tell you all about who makes those decisions at Brown, where the student input exists, where ideas originate and how the nature of those ideas mean they end up in different places, but 1) That'd only be about one institution 2) You don't seem interested in actually learning about this stuff, just frustrated and drawing easy, convenient, and inaccurate conclusions.</p>
<p>I've served on two major policy making bodies at Brown and on various advisory boards. I spend almost as much time in University Hall (which houses administration) as I spend in the classroom at Brown. I'm intimately aware of university governance and decision making, internal institutional research and external reviews, public data and data we never publish. I'm in that position as a student at Brown simply because this is what I'm interested in.</p>
<p>So please, stop making generalizations formed from a naive and still forming perception about the university as a structure. I'm glad you're interested enough in these important factors to have an opinion but try and base them in fact before shooting off online.</p>
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I can't believe that a college can raise tuition rates without explaining why.
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<p>The reasons for escalating tuition costs has been pretty well-documented. Education is a labor-intensive good, not easily substitutable by machines or automatons. So whereas other sectors of society can easily replace lettuce pickers with lettuce-picking machines, or secretaries with voice mail machines, we still need a person who has studied Eastern European history or thermodynamics for many, many years to expound at the front of the classroom.</p>
<p>It is not a matter of downing the Ivies tarheelbound. These rants of mines are a way for me to vent my familys expectations of me. I always look for the bad in something and nothing else especially now that I'm a junior and am looking at colleges. The one mistake clearly was my venting towards Harvard and bringing alongside all the other Ivies. I'm very stubborn as is any other person and even though I'm provided the good aspects I exemplify the bad. I admit that I was in rage in posted without thinking but I stand the same. Dartmouth, Columbia, and U. of Penn are the last places I would ever want to go. As for the other Ivies I don't know much but some bad aspects to them. That is just the way I tick the bad outweigh the good and bagging on the Ivies on a forum does nothing to change that.</p>
<p>Oh by the way UNC-Chapel Hill is one of my top 5 schools!</p>
<p>Good luck on getting into UNC Chapel Hill then! (No, that’s not sarcastic, haha.) </p>
<p>I understand how expectations and assumptions forced on you can be frustrating. People need to take your side into account–what YOU want to do in your life. Don’t let anyone tell you you need to go to an Ivy school “just because it’s an Ivy.”
I think it sort of goes both ways, though-- the reason people responding were upset at what you were saying is because you were basically pushing your assumptions and expectations on them and their schools as well. Of course Ivies aren’t for everyone; each one is a very distinct, separate school and they can’t really be lumped together like that. No, not one of the schools is necessarily the “best” or even “better” than all non-Ivy schools; after all, as you said, rankings and prestige don’t mean that much. It’s all about what school fits YOU; because, when you find that school, that is your “best” school, regardless of what others think otherwise.</p>
<p>Anyway, I just wanted to chime in. I hope you’re starting to see that Ivy schools aren’t as bad as you might have thought, though I certainly agree there are pros and cons for each. Good luck on the college search as you head for senior year!</p>
<p>Edit: Oh, wow. Just noticed how old this thread is. Derp, me.</p>
(No, that’s not sarcastic, haha.) </p>