<p>BeKind, who are you referring to here? If you mean me, then please read my comment again. Of special note, look at "prestige" and the context I am talking about. I never say Ivy League schools are better than state schools. It is just that the reasoning presented by spades is just unacceptable for any critical mind on earth. I agree state schools are good but if you are really into getting knowledge, the top schools are the way to go in terms of quality, depth, etc...Don't talk about you should be able to self study and achieve the same results since we have only 24 hrs per day and most of it is occupied with school time, homework and other related stuff. Other than that, it is used for socializing and having fun. Do you want to use that part of time to study? Come on, get real!</p>
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You want to "kick some ass and take some names"? You have a far better chance of doing that as the star student at State-U, than one of a million talented folks at Ivy.
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I disagree.</p>
<p>For example, of my entering class in my PhD program, 10/70 of us went to MIT as undergrads. Another 10 went to HYPS. Very few star students from any state U made it into our program. And those of us from MIT weren't necessarily star students there -- I did well in research, but I wasn't any kind of superstar.</p>
<p>I don't think that going to a top school automatically guarantees you a place in a top grad program, but being one of the crowd at a top school doesn't seem to hurt much, if at all.</p>
<p>I'd rather be a snob than be delusional about what I want.</p>
<p>As far as my kicking ass and taking names statement, I'm currently finishing up four years of doing so here at Harvard and wouldn't have it any other way. If you really want to know what you're capable of, throw yourself in the deep end.</p>
<p>Several people have tried to claim that it's better to go to a school in which you will stand out, get a high GPA, etc. For some professions, this might be right, but it's not generally true. Especially at investment banking and consulting firms, your undergraduate institution matters a great deal. There's a well-known anecdote about a student from UT-Austin with a 4.0 who was interviewing with a top investment bank. The first question he was asked was "Why should I hire you over a 3.8 from Harvard?".</p>
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<p>I don't know where did you go for ugrads but you certainly do not deserve a place at an Ivy League. </p>
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<p>You aren't qualified to determine who deserves to be at any Ivy and who doesn't. </p>
<p>You have any work experience?</p>
<p>Anyhoos - at some point folks here will realize that "academic learning" (which is all you probably have ever been exposed to) is a tiny tiny fraction of what will compose the rest of your life. Speaking of life...</p>
<p>Some folks here who seem to choose "Ivy" to get away from "normal" people will one day realize that they live in a "normal" world. Good luck getting away from that.</p>
<p>Oh yeah - btw. No one cares about what you know. I'm sure in your small little bubble you are a superstar, but as you get older, a new generation of young superstars will take your place. Then you'll realize you're just ordinary like everyone else.</p>
<p>Sounds like you're speaking from experience, spades.</p>
<p>14<em>of</em>spades, you (and several of the pro-Ivy posters) are talking in generalizations that are almost impossible to debate. Stick with claims which have some empirical basis. My claims are:</p>
<p>[ul]
[<em>]The faculty at Ivy League schools are on average better than the faculty at state schools.
[</em>] The students at Ivy League schools are on average higher achievers higher achievers both inside and outside the classroom than their counterparts at state schools.
[<em>] Ivy League schools have a higher endowment per student than state universities
[</em>] Ivy League schools have better track records placing grads at top graduate and professional schools and in competitive, high-paying jobs such as investment banking and consulting. [/ul]</p>
<p>From these I conclude that a student who is admitted to an Ivy League school and a state university will:
[ul]
[<em>] find the Ivy League school to be more intellectually stimulating
[</em>] have greater resources to pursue extracurricular activities with similarly motivated students at the Ivy League school
[li] increase his/her opportunities to succeed in post-graduate pursuits by attending the Ivy League school over the state university[/ul]</p>[/li]
<p>These all seem like pretty good reasons to choose the Ivy League school.</p>
<p>Thank you, Weasel, for re-iterating what I said earlier, but in much more precise terms haha</p>
<p>I totally agree :)</p>
<p>I want to get my bachelors and masters in four years, and my state school doesn't allow that, but Penn and Yale do.</p>
<p>Dbate: Harvard does too. Check out advanced standing.</p>
<p>The intellecutal stimulating thing is completely false, at our state school (university of Texas) ppl who have the stats to get into Ivy League schools go there who are just as smart if not smarter than Ivy ppl, there are intellectuals anywhere and i would argue that the wider range of intelligence at a state school would benefit a discussion much more than Ivy bc ppl at state schools typically have a broader range of experiences and therefore different outlooks i.e. you might find one who thinks grades are meaningless and how a credible position to defend.</p>
<p>They do, really I wasn't going to apply to Harvard, but i might, now. If i could get in. But doesn't there's require you to have like a gilzillion APs or something? I will google it to not be ignorant.</p>
<p>Well, yeah, Dbate, but that's only because our state school is incredibly bada** lol. Most aren't. Plus, I would argue that UT's top students are in the honors colleges, which provide a great (and cheap!) education, but the average student doesn't have as many opportunities.</p>
<p>That's true our sal went to UT last year and I think the year before that but our val went to Harvard.</p>
<p>f'sho. I love having it as a safety when for everyone who's not top 10, it's like a reach haha. It really is a cool school, and Austin is great. I would know; I live here!</p>
<p>I wouldn't want to live in the same city i went to high school though, that is why Rice was a no go from the get go.</p>
<p>Yeah I'm aware that Plan II is an amazing program, but most honors colleges at state universities can't compete with Ivies.</p>
<p>Yeah Weasel, because of Texas Law, as a valedictorian State resident, I am automatically into UT and my first year is tuition-free. However, getting into Plan II is ridiculous! Something like over half of the class of 2012 are valedictorians with crazy stats. It's super small, therefore super competitive. McCombs business program is difficult too. So, technically, UT is my safety, but Plan II is most definitely not haha</p>
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I cannot stand to be in an <em>academic</em> environment with people of "average" intelligence. It is physically painful to me. I have to resist the urge to shout "WHY DON'T YOU GET IT??!!" at the top of my lungs. Now, I have many friends who would be considered "average." I love them to pieces. But being in a classroom with them? Not so much.
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<p>if i was one of those "friends" i would feel completely humiliated by that.</p>