<p>Is it better to go to a good college (ivy) and be average, or go to an average college, (state school) and be a standout?</p>
<p>I don’t know, I’ve always thought that you need to compete against people at your level or better in order to improve. I feel like a person who got into Ivies just wouldn’t be challenged at an “average college.” That being said, there are plenty of other reasons to pick a state school over an Ivy, with cost being the major one.</p>
<p>You really can’t say. Individual results will vary. Much can depend on what you plan to do after college. There are some luxuries to be afforded by an ivy level experience. But a standout is a standout.</p>
<p>An author (can’t remember the name at the moment) was just speaking about this on 60 Minutes last night. He said he couldn’t see the upside of a brilliant student going to an Ivy and feeling like an idiot for four years (while surrounded by even more brilliant students) when he could go to a state school and just feel brilliant. Depends on the student, of course, but what he said made sense.</p>
<p>Ahhh . . . and looking at when you started this thread, I’m guessing you saw that segment of 60 Minutes. :D</p>
<p>There are other factors to consider, though. Are you more comfortable in a college of 2,000 students . . . or 20,000? What about class size - do you enjoy the anonymity of large lectures, or do you want the one-to-one interactions of small seminars? There’s more to this than just reputation and admit rate.</p>
<p>It may have been Malcolm Gladwell. He talks about this very in depth in his book David and Goliath.</p>
<p>Gladwell’s premise has been discussed here extensively. There is some doubt as to the wisdom and logic. I, for one, will be perfectly willing to let others take his advice and lessen the competition for my own children. They already know they’re just “average” standouts (top 2-3% based on test scores), but they’re still way better than average and are being encouraged to use their respective talents at as high a level as possible.</p>
<p>Taking your brilliant student and putting him at a lesser school reminds me of those parents who red-shirt their late spring 5 year-old so they can play in kindergarten leagues as physically dominating 6 year-olds, all in the name of winning and building “self-esteem”. The only person you’re fooling is yourself.</p>