<p>I personally want to get into Brown or Princeton (Undergraduate focus)( I used to but than i thought, whatever happens happens, if i get in great, if i don't well... i will go to another school i like 2nd) so bad, but i am not really stressing out about it anymore. Why is everyone so stressed about it? Like the world is ending if they don't get into one of the ivy leagues.</p>
<p>It’s a lot of thing. A lot of imagination inside my head. Perhaps bragging rights. I may be obsessed, but I will be happy with another school. For me personally, it is the increased opportunities and job recruitment at top schools that make it worth it to go.</p>
<p>Studies have shown that it is the accepted applicant, more than the school attended, that predicts future success. I.e. if an applicant is accepted to Harvard and Penn State and attends either, the future is equally bright (or dim). BTW it is absurd to use the term “Ivy League” in a non-generic sense, in terms of quality of institution/student body- top liberal arts colleges are at least equivalent if not better undergraduate options.</p>
<p>^The one caveat to that study: Low income students do see an increase in their future income if they attend an Ivy or Ivy equivalent. For high-achieving low-income kids, HYPS may very well be a better option than their state schools or even the “lower Ivies” and their peers. HYPS simply have unmatched financial aid.</p>
<p>Why would a student want to go to Princeton?</p>
<p>Aside from the fact that it has been ranked #1 in the US for 8 of the past 10 years, students get:</p>
<p>the most beautiful campus
the incredibly close knit alumni-network
the highest endowment per student
an in depth education taught by world class faculty
resources for innovation and to explore their interests
reputation / prestige
better employment opportunities
generally accepted as the best undergraduate education</p>
<p>I could go on, but sure, the world isn’t going to end if you don’t get in; in fact, we should be grateful that we get the opportunity to go to college in the first place. However, if you end up at a school like Princeton, it just makes your world a whole lot better : ) … or so we think.</p>
<p>For me, as a science nerd, I apply to school because of the quality of professors, its accessibility to research, and financial aids. I don’t care much about the rest. :D</p>
<p>Some people also value the composition of the student body.</p>
<p>In short: Because this is CC.</p>
<p>Many on here want to manage hedge funds (because they’re greedy money-grabbers) and they “need” the connections that Ivy League schools provide them with.</p>
<p>Basajaun: a bit hyperbolic, but in essence true. That is in part why Swarthmore produces far more nobel laureates, per capita, than Princeton. To be fair, however, hedge funders are often nerdy, mathematical types, and some do come from non-ivies such as M.I.T.</p>
<p>^Basajaun said that MANY ON CC are greedy and want to manage hedge funds, which may or may not be true.</p>
<p>I don’t think it is fair to carry this generalization over to the population of students at Princeton, which Dad2 seems to be doing.</p>