<p>I must add to your statement that not only “prestigious” colleges have smart people and great professors.</p>
<p>Smart is a relative term. If you are smart enough to get into a prestigious college, then by choosing a non-prestigious college there is a significant chance that (with other things being equal) you are doing yourself a disservice.</p>
<p>Hey, you said it, not me. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>At some schools, that may not be true, though. Sure if you’re at the top of the applicants to an Ivy League, but if you’re at the bottom or mid range you might not to be doing that much of a disservice to yourself.</p>
<p>I mean I probably don’t have very good reasons on paper, but like, I’ve spent four years slaving away to get into college, why the hell would I go to a community college now? Sure when I get a job it won’t matter, but I’d like to feel fulfilled for once.</p>
<p>They tend to have much higher medical school acceptance rates (which I am sure is partially because of the type of students they accept) and better financial aid. Those two reasons are more then enough for me…</p>
<p>“How many of you would need to take out a loan to attend those prestigious universities?”</p>
<p>I’ll have to take out a loan to attend pretty much anything other than a community college. The best public school in my state (OSU) is still over $10,000 a year. </p>
<p>I’m good at saving money and I’m not going to major in underwater basket weaving. I’m okay with going into debt if it means I get a better education/more opportunities.</p>
<p>At more prestigious schools, you have more intimacy with some of the world’s most renowned professors. There are a lot of great opportunities for research. The alumni network is stronger.</p>
<p>Also, top private schools have LOTS of money and can afford to provide more services. Take DukeEngage for example. </p>
<p>People at top schools will be more brilliant than anyone you’ve ever had school with (as a whole), and this challenges you to grow yourself. If I went to a state school filled with smart people, but not world-changing people, I wouldn’t push myself as much because it wouldn’t take as much effort to be a the top of the class.</p>
<p>@biovball: So you’re telling me that a less prestigious school then the “top 10” have better professors, better research, and better alumni network?? Now you are giving more “prestige” to them while disregarding other school. </p>
<p>I think I will meet several brilliant people at my “non-ivies” university. I’m sure whatever I decide to go will challenge me more then enough. You also assume that “smart” people are not world-changing people. Yet your agrument is flaw because several world changing people did not graduate from college like Steve Jobs and Zuckerburg or whoever the Facebook guy is (so the next comments will argue about how they were too smart for ivies…)</p>
<p>It’s not that Ivy League colleges make you smarter or better or more ambitious, it’s that a lot of smart ambitious people go to an Ivy League college, because of its prestige.</p>
<p>I want to go to a prestigious college because…I don’t know. My parents raised me to want that. Bragging rights I guess.</p>
<p>Mark Zuckerberg went to Harvard and dropped out…</p>
<p>my reasons
- Culture. Not necessarily environment but the people of these universities have a certain temperament (as well as the faculty and surrounding area) that constitutes a unique culture.
- Be the Best I can be. Better School provides better products: better engineers, doctors ,lawyers,etc
- High Level Intellect. These schools highly reflect what society has been trending towards for the past 30ish yrs. Valuing highly intelligent people that work their butts off.
- Depending on the school. you provide legacy status to your direct descendants. They r consequently helped significantly.
- Because of the opportunites they provide. Not necessarily job or monetary opportunities but educative opportunities or opportunities to expand your understanding of the world and even the universe.</p>
<p>Uhh, Prestige can change.</p>
<p>Soon, i think Georgetown will be a top ten school. Look at how their popularity is rising.</p>
<p>Also, people who apply for prestige stink. So far only Wharton is on my list. I want to apply to the those “lesser colleges” because i found things about them that incite me in wanting to gain a degree there. Harvard, nor Princeton have yet to do that</p>
<p>Dat financial aid.</p>
<p>Going to an Ivy League school guarantees eternal bragging rights. Simply getting into a prestigious school gives you a (typically false) sense of superiority over other people. We’ve heard of famous people who have gone to these famous schools, and students think that they too could have the same success as some of the Ivy League alumni, if only they can get into the schools. Academic students work their butts off in high school to get into these schools. Why would you work rigorously for four years only to attend a school that you could have easily gotten into with half the effort? The whole thing is superficial, yes - but does that stop anyone from desiring a diploma from Harvard? It certainly doesn’t stop me.</p>
<p>I’ll go for the acceptance, but the cost, no. I’ll extrapolate my prestige as if I attended it.</p>
<p>Anyways, engineering at an “average” school is about the same, and for me, more practical over theoretical. Cheap, easy to get into school, but many have worked their way to the top jobs at public places, including an uncle making in the top 10 of state workers with over $300,000 a year. I can intern for the local utility company, and there is a speech by one of the top paid employers their that started out as an engineer from the “average” school (gave up on medical/dental) and worked their way up.</p>
<p>Going to get a kick out of seeing my competition / abuse their nice AP credit policy to rid most of my GE.</p>
<p>Also, what about all the kids who could just sneak into an Ivy League? I would rather go to a good school and be an active student leader than go to an Ivy League and feel intimidated and not smart enough to participate.</p>