<p>It doesn’t really matter what the term “Ivy Leave” REALLY means. The term has obtained a reputation as being one of the elites; which the 8 original are part of. I personally mean the 8 when I use the term “Ivy League”. However, when the discussion is about prestige, high quality, low admittance, career making, etc… then I’ve made reference to “West coast Ivy”; usually meaning Stanford or other such prestigious schools not on the easter part of the U.S.; that have all the same attributes and benefits of the traditional Ivy League School (Including price most times). </p>
<p>Unfortunately; there’s too many labels for the schools one attends. Ivy League usually refers to the schools the EVERYONE SHOULD be trying to attend. It’s supposedly the BEST. In contrast; “Public” or “University of XXX” are usually looked down on when compared to the Ivy League school. With “Private” in the middle. The truth is; there’s absolutely no TRUTH to this thinking at all. Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton and Yale are not better schools because they are “Ivy League”. And they aren’t Ivy League because they are better schools. The term is relatively recent, and the schools just happen to be one of the original colonial period schools. (most of them). But as for them being better; that is totally up to what you want to do with your life. If you’re into engineering and the hard sciences, no one is ever going to try and argue that an “Ivy League” is better than MIT, CalTech, NJTech. If they were to argue that, they are rationalizing and naive. Or if you’re looking for business, to not include Stanford, MIT, Northwestern, or some others is pompous. Or if into Agriculture, most of the “Ivy league” can’t even compare. Veterinarian; you can’t forget CSU in Ft. Collins. And research; if that’s important; some of the best research programs come from schools like Michigan State. And we haven’t even talked about the Liberal Arts. You then should be looking at Amherst, Williams, Swarthmore, etc… </p>
<p>The Ivy League just happens to be some of the oldest colleges. But oldest isn’t always better. Depends on what you want to study and do with your life. And yes, the Ivy Leagues can be the BEST at some things also. But that’s individual colleges within the university. As an overall school, they aren’t automatically the BEST because they are Ivy League.</p>