I’m not offering a comprehensive statistical analysis of where kids from Ohio, Indiana, Illinois et al end up going to college. I am pointing out that almost 30 years ago, there was a “buzz” among HS seniors about which colleges were cool and which ones weren’t- and the list wasn’t all that different from kids living in Belmont MA or Atherton CA.
The town I live in now (Northeast) has no Ivy or bust mentality. It is a very localized phenomenon, even here. If you live in a community with a lot of kids who are first gen college (American parents) you may find MUCH less Ivy fever than the town two exits off the highway with a lot of immigrant families where it’s Harvard or bust.
But I am calling the BS police that every kid in the Midwest is looking for merit aid and is much too sophisticated to fall prey to the stupidity which is the Ivy League. A- because it is demonstrably false. B- because for many families, getting a kid into Princeton means a much better deal than the Merit offer from the instate option (and these families are shrewd enough to figure that out.) C- some posters here like the chest thumping that comes with “we were too smart to pay tuition”-- which is great if that’s what’s worked out for your family- but is hardly representative of your entire geographic region- where many kids are pining away for the same set of 8 or 10 schools that their counterparts in other parts of the country are.
But mostly A- demonstrably false. Living in Ohio doesn’t make you immune.