<p>Hm.....There's all this tension surrounding getting into a good college and crap. But I mean, at a "second-tier" college you'll have more time to pursue your OWN interests, instead of using all your time to finish projects and slave away to maintain a >3.5 GPA. </p>
<p>And Btw, when I say <em>Harvard</em> what I mean is one of those "elite" schools that give you mounds after mounds of work and stuff.</p>
<p>And what have Harvard students accomplished in life as a direct RESULT of attending Harvard? Seems more to me that people who are accepted into Harvard are the ones who don't need the extra shove anyway, and would succeed either way. And, they may even benefit from having more time to hone the mad skills that got them into Harvard into the first place.</p>
<p>Why is there so much hype surrounding getting into Harvard/ivy league anyway? Would you guys go if given the chance? Or would you "reject" Harvard and go somewhere that gives you more room to thrive and less of a hole in your pocket/doesn't leave you destitute and living in a cardboard box?</p>
<p>About 22% of the admitted students turn down Harvard each year.</p>
<p>Most of them seem to do it in order to attend one of the other equally prestigious universities.</p>
<p>The situation of not being able to pay and hence not attending Harvard arises only if one’s parents make so much money that they do not qualify for aid but are unwilling to pay for it or have merit scholarships from elsewhere and choose that option.</p>
<p>For low income people Harvard and other ivy leagues are way cheaper than state schools because Harvard and other Ivies meet 100% of demonstrated need</p>
<p>You know, with all the people begging to be accepted, and working their butts off to get into an ivy, I guess it kind of masked all the people who aren’t so excited at the prospect.</p>
<p>And @CSIHSIS: -__- …what’s wrong with McDonald’s?..</p>
<p>Can’t tell if ■■■■■■■■, if not: Perhaps some of us don’t like the social climate.</p>
<p>Let’s be honest, Harvard is full of nerds. I’m not saying being the smartest kid in your grade is a bad thing, but Harvard is full of students who were at the top of their high school. Most people aren’t able to maintain such a high quality of academic excellence without sacrificing some part of their social life, which is what Harvard (I think) suffers from. That’s fine for others, but not me. </p>
<p>I would gladly go to some of the other Ivys/top colleges, specifically the ones with more school spirit and a more “work hard play hard” approach.</p>
<p>What are the social climates at Harvard and the other Ivies as opposed to other top non-Ivy colleges (such as Stanford, CalTech, Berkeley, Duke, UMiami, and MIT) and how do they differ? I’ve heard that MIT especially has a very good atmosphere and social climate.</p>
<p>Obviously MIT and Caltech are techy… think geeks, not nerds</p>
<p>Cal I hear is kind of hippyish, but both Cal and Duke have a good sports scene which fosters school spirit. Schools like Michigan, UVA, and Northwestern (to an extent) can fit in here.</p>
<p>UMiami isn’t really a “top” college (although it’s very good), and it too has a prominent sports scene.</p>
<p>Within the Ivy league, Brown is more liberal than the other Ivys. Penn is known as the “social Ivy”. Cornell is a bit more tech centered. HYP are all full of high school valedictorians with 2400s. Don’t really know too much about the others though.</p>
<p>These are all generalizations - and someone correct me if I’m wrong about any of them.</p>