<p>what is the big deal with all these Ivy League colleges? what makes them so great. if you got a 4.0 GPA you should already be happy and go to any college or university in the USA. also, you could attend till you get weak! all i want to know is why should somebody choose a ivy league school. i might want to go to one. i go to a community college right now and theres not that much diversity.</p>
<p>Excessively generous financial aid. Stunning facilities. Better chances at top ranked grad schools. Top-notch professors. Academically accomplished peers. Lifelong connections to people who will be at the top of their fields. Tons of diversity. Alumni-giving back rates above 50%. </p>
<p>You won’t find this stuff many other places. Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, MIT, and the other top colleges alone have these.</p>
<p>I think self pride is a big factor, too. Also, being able to wear a shirt of a university and not feeling like a poser, but like a lucky individual who fulfilled a dream many others have.</p>
<p>I’m a little confused as to what you mean by this:
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<p>Could you clarify, please?</p>
<p>My biggest thing is that the kids I’ve met at Ivies are just, for the most part, very interesting people. They are so diverse and so passionate and many of them have done some great things. I’m always surprised. On top of that they’re serious about their studies and do well in school too. That’s what attracts me to these schools.</p>
<p>People are mostly full of it. There is pratically no real benefit of going to an Ivy league school, except for the fact that every time you apply for anything in your life it will be easier. Going to an ivy (and in all honestly only the top ivies i.e. HYP) will only make things easier to get your foot in the door, aside from that your life will probably be the same. Any how, it is not that important to go to an Ivy league school, people are mostly just obsessed with names, but in all honesty it is just a school.</p>
<p>Dbate and the OP’s implication are right. You can have a great time at any university. A lot of the ideas given by these other posters seem pretty bogus in terms of uniqueness. There are great students at any school. There are great professors at any school. And really, what the heck is the point of going to a place with a well-known professor if you aren’t going to work with him, since it’s a pretty blatant fact that research >>> teaching undergraduates and most professors just cannot invest that kind of time into teaching?</p>
<p>I’ll be completely honest—I applied to these prestigious schools because I wanted more basic recognition. Even though it’s unfair, meaningless, and bogus, the average person will be more impressed, at first glance, by someone at a more prestigious school. I feel like I’ve never had much recognition and I want more. </p>
<p>It also helps that I do really like a lot of them for what they are, but the fact is that many universities are similar and I’m sure if I looked hard enough I could find a lot of places similar to Yale or Harvard or wherever.</p>
<p>Actually starbuck about the professors you are wrong. A Nobel laureaute teaches one of the intro bio classes.</p>
<p>That’s cool. A Nobel laureate teaches one of the intro biology classes. Great singular example. </p>
<p>And anyway, who cares? Are you going to learn far more in an intro to biology course because someone who won a Nobel prize was teaching it? It’s not like having a Nobel prize suddenly makes one a great teacher.</p>
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<p>Indeed. Often the best teachers are the ones who struggled academically and truly realize the effort it takes to find effective and invigorating methods of teaching concepts.</p>
<p>I’ve worked at or been associated with several other colleges. I can state 100% that I and my fellow classmates were better cared for by a forward thinking administration who had lots of money and a large alumni pool who expected Yale to deliver on the singular best undergraduate education possible in the USA.</p>
<p>(and this was at a time considered to be the nadir of Yale’s physical condition – we didn’t know any better)</p>
<p>Access to classes (my wife had to stay an extra YEAR at her state school b/c of classes being oversubscribed or otherwise unavailable), access to teachers, access to extremely interesting and diversely passionate people around you, people around you willing to experiment new things (culture, life, etc.), a bureaucracy that actually files your paperwork on time (especially FA related stuff), super flexible scheduling (shopping period), unbelievable resources, proximity to NYC Boston and other colleges, etc. </p>
<p>Alumni are pretty ravenous with their loyalty and acclaim for old Yale. There’s a reason behind that.</p>
<p>Dbate: the grass may seem greener elsewhere but my experience has shown me different.</p>
<p>The fact that one feels like they are smuggling grapefruits.</p>
<p>I visited Yale this summer and have applied as an incoming freshman. Just being on campus is a magical experience. There is a wonderfully overwhelming sense of mystery and magnificence to Yale which many people, I believe, are attracted to. I didn’t meet too many people associated with the school, but the several whom I did meet really stood out from other students, alumni, and faculty of other schools which I visited. Though I’m sure that anyone can “have a good time” and experience a quality education at most colleges and universities, there is truly something “different” about Yale. This may sound cliche or silly, but it’s honest.</p>