"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. "
There are pockets - mostly upper middle class suburban pockets in the Midwest - where yes, “the list” looks similar to the NE (though maybe a bit more NU, Notre Dame, U Chicago, WashU, Vandy). For me, the difference seems to be the extent to which the Ivy (etc) names are known in other socioeconomic groups, not just the 1%ers. In my personal experience, the difference was that even in my blue-collar environment, people had heard of amd were impressed by Penn, Bryn Mawr, Swarthmore, etc. Here in the Midwest, I just find that awareness of the elite schools is still more upper middle class limited.