<p>Yes, they have the prestige and all those nice things that come along with it, but are they really that much better than some other private universities? Don’t get me wrong-they all seem to be nice schools, but it just seems impossible that they are really as good as everyone says that they are.</p>
<p>Actually, from what I’ve read, the person with whom you do undergraduate research is more important for your r</p>
<p>***
***</p>
<p>…why else?</p>
<p>I agree with porkperson</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>because everyone else wants to</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>HYPS have better financial aid than all other schools in the country.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Yes. Yes they are.</p>
<p>I say “sense of accomplishment”</p>
<p>"HYPS have better financial aid than all other schools in the country. " But a student may get significantly better merit aid from ‘worse’ schools</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Yes, that is a possibility. Many schools are very stingy, though. In fact, discounting merit aid, for the vast majority of people, HYPS are cheaper than the local state univeristy.</p>
<p>But how so? Everyone has named something that cannot be accurately measured, such as “prestige” or “you get connections.” Where is the substantial evidence?</p>
<p>Who knows? Why do people choose McDonald’s over Burger King? Of course the issue goes much deeper than that; I think it’s just a matter of choice and opinion.</p>
<p>My motivations are the hobnobbing with experts, definitely connections since the grades can only push you forward in your career for so long, definitely fin-aid, being at a school where everyone deserves and desires to be there (for the vast majority), it may get me into a better grad/professional school, location is nice, and it validates all my hard work. Acceptance to HYPS is different than acceptance to Amazing, Resource-Rich, Top State School.</p>
<p>My dad brought up Ivies today in the car, and I really wasn’t considering any.
I secretly think it’s because he wants to say, “My daughter’s going to HYPS.”
It’s a “My kid is on the Honor Roll” bumper sticker to the next level. I kinda wanna do it too.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Prestige actually is measured. And my financial aid claims are factual. HYP graduates also enjoy extremely disproportionatley high rates of attendance at top graduate and professional schools. They are, furthermore, over-represented at the upper levels of government.</p>
<p>Um, people actually want “MY KID IS ON THE HONOR ROLL!!!” stickers :)?</p>
<p>“I think it’s just a matter of choice and opinion.”</p>
<p>That’s what I’m trying to say. The opinion that HYMPS schools (or whatever the acronym is) are inherently better than other schools is just that- an opinion. Opinions do not make schools better than one another. Maybe a personal opinion makes them a better choice for that person, but there are plenty of other good schools that the student could thrive at. So, I still do not see the appeal of the Ivy League.</p>
<p>“That’s what I’m trying to say. The opinion that HYMPS schools (or whatever the acronym is) are inherently better than other schools is just that- an opinion. Opinions do not make schools better than one another. Maybe a personal opinion makes them a better choice for that person, but there are plenty of other good schools that the student could thrive at. So, I still do not see the appeal of the Ivy League.”</p>
<p>When you’re competing for a job and you’re absolutely evenly matched with some kid who went to the University of X, but you went to HYPS, that’s where the appeal lies. You’re going to get that job. It opens doors, it says, “I’m an important person.” People that go to HYPS aren’t picking it for the academics because you can get a just as rigorous, if not tougher education elsewhere. They’ve got their future in mind, they’re wanting to go to grad, law, and med school. HYPS (and doing well at one) gives you an edge over others in life. It sucks, but that’s how it is.</p>
<p>“Um, people actually want “MY KID IS ON THE HONOR ROLL!!!” stickers ?”</p>
<p>Haha, there must be /some/ market for the product.</p>
<p>“Prestige is actually measured.”</p>
<p>Silverturtle, I have a great deal of respect for you (and your SAT guide 
). However, I’m not seeing your point here. What is the measurement or scale for prestige? </p>
<p>All I see is government jobs and admittance to grad programs. That does not seem to relate the majority of college-seekers, or even to the majority of the people who want to go to the Ivy League.</p>
<p>Prestige, location, extremely bright peers, endowments, connections, financial aid, and ego inflation.</p>
<p>I don’t know, there are other schools for financial aid and usually if you can get into an ivy you can get full rides from other schools, and really it just comes down to prestige and bragging rights.</p>
<p>But not everyone wants to go to an ivy league, I certainly don’t. They always came off to me as just “you should come to us, because we’re us” rather than actually give me some interesting reason to go. And then I’m into engineering and Cornell is kinda the only one that’s top 10 (and then UT beat them in the US rankings so it’s like…eh). MIT was just like “I’M MIT! YOU SHOULD LOVE ME” and I asked if they had a theater group and they said “um…kinda, we have a bunch of techies…ARE YOU AWARE THAT I AM MIT!??”</p>
<p>In fact, I only bothered applying because my teacher told me I had to send an application either to an ivy or MIT and cornells is smaller to fill out. </p>
<p>So yeah, I never cared about the ivies because they never showed me an actual reason to do so besides ego. When looking at colleges I looked for ABET, a theater club, and an environment that I’d like.</p>