<p>She won the golden ticket: admission to one of the nation's top colleges. She soon found that too many students choose "the best," rather than "the right" school.
<a href="http://www.greatschools.org/parenting-dilemmas/7991-the-myth-of-the-ivy-league.gs">http://www.greatschools.org/parenting-dilemmas/7991-the-myth-of-the-ivy-league.gs</a></p>
<p>ok, I’ll bite: what’s the myth? I didn’t attend an Ivy League school, but always figured that when you get that many high achievers in one place, you’re going to have a lot of competition. So what’s the myth?</p>
<p>@crankyoldman The myth is that the Ivy League schools aren’t as perfect as they seem. Academically yeah, but the overall experience is usually disappointing. I’ve spoken to someone in PM on here who has a child at Harvard who hates it there, but is gonna stay there for the prestige. </p>
<p>It certainly does seem that these days, the Ivies (and probably the M and S in HYPSM) are full of kids who are brilliant, high-achieving, but insecure. </p>
<p>If you think about it, it makes sense. If a kid got in to a school like UChicago or a top LAC, they most likely got in to some Ivy as well, but they were secure enough about themselves to choose UChicago or the LAC because it fits them better.</p>
<p>However, the insecure kid would choose the Ivy in the thought of justifying their worth, so you’d have more insecure kids at the Ivies (substitute “HYPMSW” for “Ivy” and the same holds).</p>
<p>Virtually no kids would choose Chicago or a LAC even though they don’t like it as much as an Ivy because they feel that UChicago or the LAC is more prestigious than an Ivy. The opposite seems to happen far too often.</p>
<p>@PurpleTitan that’s not true. I chose Chicago above Yale and Columbia and I know 4 people already in the class of 2018 that ditched Yale for Chicago. So yeah. Enough with the myths. The Ivy League “myth” only exists among the uninformed, the uneducated and the parents who wish to patch up their own insecurities through their high achieving children. </p>
<p>@neweducation I think more of what he/she was trying to say is that people won’t choose Chicago/Top LAC over HYPMS on basis of prestige. They choose Chicago because it fits them more. But if one’s biggest director of choosing a university is prestige, they would choose HYSPM over Chicago.</p>
<p>@neweducation To some extent I agree. The more informed and less pressured the student is, the more likely they will select a school that seems to be a good fit for them, regardless of outside perceptions of prestige. However, the Ivy League brand is tempting for anyone, and will undoubtedly have sway over some students. Whether or not they end up being happy there is a different story.</p>
<p>I think that perhaps while many hear of how the Ivies are competitive and stressful, and common sense says that with that many high-achieving students in one place means competition, a lot of students think that they’ll do fine. Even though they know stress and competition is a problem, it’s not one they’ll encounter. Just like how some only apply to Ivies and no safeties because they’re convinced that even though the acceptance rate is extremely low, they won’t get rejected. Other applicants will be rejected, but they won’t. Same concept applies here. Other students will be stressed, but they will manage it well and not be overwhelmed. It may be competitive, but they’ll still graduate in the top 25% of the class.</p>
<p>I think that may be part of it at least. These students have been the best students their whole life, capable of handling a rigorous courseload and ECs. They think they can handle college just fine too. </p>
<p>Thank you, @Ctesiphon.</p>
<p>BTW, as someone who grew up in the Midwest (but has lived in the Bay Area and around NYC), this IVY LEAGUE UBER ALLES mentality seems bonkers to me. Is this an East Coast thing? Because when I was growing up, going to a top public magnet, no one thought our local Midwestern Ivy-equivalents were less than the non-HYP Ivies (and most actually didn’t differentiate that finely; there were “good schools”, which included some of the top public flagships, and “others”). I get the sense that the states with top public schools like CA, TX, NC, VA, MI, and much of the rest of the Midwest aren’t so Ivy-obsessed either.</p>
<p>As someone from Missouri I hear almost nothing about HYPSM. At least where I am people are generally more practical in terms of how their college will affect their life and what not, unfazed by prestige. In MO there are good places for people aspiring for all directions. Mizzou is good for journalism, truman for business, Wash U for science, SLU, SL college of pharmacy etc. Makes it easy for people that are open-minded and down-to-earth. </p>
<p>Sorry, don’t see any “myth” in play-in fact, the writer says that “86 percent of college students felt overwhelmed”-this has nothing to do, at all, with the Ivy League. Unless my math is off, they don’t have 86% of college students. Beats me why so many are so obsessed with the Ivy League, but this article really doesn’t clarify anything. This article actually pretty much condemns the “burden of expectations” etc etc etc. Is she right or wrong? Who knows-but the writer uses some pretty sweeping language to condemn all of higher education, not just the Ivies. And unless I read it wrong, the writer ultmately graduated.
I’d also point out that her complaints are echoed by pre-meds and engineering students all across the country(I wasn’t one of those, either); to declare a “myth” about a set of schools based on this article is a mis-reading of the numerous complaints the writer has about the entire education system. But it is a headline-grabber; if one were to write “The Myth of Engineering Students at the State University” it would be met with, rightly or wrongly, a collection of yawns.</p>
<p>There’s no myth here, there’s just a whiney 20-something blaming all of her problems on someone else, especially her parents.</p>
<p>“Between researching materials for my thesis, directing a singing group, coordinating events for three different clubs, applying to summer internships, picking up extra work shifts at the library, and running to the gym between classes”</p>
<p>She was over-extending herself. Once she dropped most of her EC’s she was happy as a senior. </p>
<p>What is the W in HYPSMW? Williams? Wharton? Seriously, nobody says that…</p>
<p>Anyway, Chicago isn’t a good example. It is actively trying to become as selective as the Ivy league schools and to rise in the rankings, and both have worked out for it. In a way, people feel more justified in picking Chicago over Columbia and the sorts these days (I know at least three people who chose Chicago over Brown, Dartmouth, WashU, Vassar etc out of “prestige”). Top LACs are a much better example. You would quite a few kids who go to Swarthmore and Pomona over Ivy League schools, and their ability to avoid distractions (prestige) to get what they really want (a fulfilling college experience) is admirable.</p>
<p>W=Wharton</p>
<p>HYPSMW is really a MBB-consulting-focused acronym now IMO, as the Wall Street target and semi-target list now extend to all the Ivies, most of the Ivy-equivalents, Little Ivies, and some of the top state schools these days (as well as Kelley in IU). </p>
<p>In most other industries, HYPSM don’t dominate, and in tech startups, it’s S…HMCornellMichiganIllinois(CS)</p>
<p>This is College Confidential, not an “MBB-consulting-focused” firm.</p>
<p>Thanks for sharing this link. It should be pinned to the top of the CC forums!
The author makes the obvious point that if you take on an"Ivy or Bust" mentality (or any other form of chasing prestige) and work solely for external validation, you are likely to become anxious and dissatisfied over time. </p>
<p>As a parent, I wish every kid posting “chance me” threads had a supportive adult giving them this message.</p>
<p>I know plenty of people at Ivies that are happy and learning. It’s wrong to make blanket statements about “all Ivies” which are, as CC likes to point out oh so often, eight completely different schools with different environments.</p>
<p>Ah, true. I’ &ll stick with good ole HYPSM, then (a very CC-specific term, BTW, and one that doesn’t really map well to the real-world; if you look at MBB consulting, Wharton should be added in. If you look at high finance, either you should add a bunch of schools or, if you restrict it to the very top, it’s HW & maybe P. In high tech, both Y and P should drop out, and the engineering schools of a bunch of universities should be added in. If you look at PhD production, a ton of LACs + Case Western & several public research universities should be added in).</p>