<p>No folklore here. I know these folks personally. BYU offers much better financial aid - often free - to middle class families, and for Latter Day Saints, it IS Harvard. And the post-college opportunities are vast. BYU also helps facilitate mission years. Finally, BYU is also where most will find their spouses. I have never, ever heard students and parents talk of sending their kids to the Ivies for marital possibilities - but it is common talk for BYU families. BYU students also come back to our community; Ivy Leaguers never do. For students for whom close, lifetime family connections are considered important, Harvard (and the entire Ivy League) is fourth rate.</p>
<p>The Calvin College ones are always religious conservatives whom college counselors persuaded to apply to Harvard, but whose families decided they wanted their kids to have a rigorous conservative Christian education. </p>
<p>We get one, maybe two, a year in the area. And it always seems to be these two specific schools.</p>