Has anyone here gone to an Ivy League school?- Page 2

[BlueWizard]

Posted: 10/26/05 at 11:50pm

I understand the prestige and history factors, but what about the quality of education? Do you really come out of Harvard a more intelligent, well-read person? I've heard stories about how some Ivy Leagues inflate your grades so that you'll get into any graduate school you want, or nail that job you've been eyeing.

[BrendanStryker]

Posted: 10/26/05 at 11:53pm

If that's true, then all the more reason to go! I was accepted to The University of Pennsylvania, and wanted to go quite badly. However, due to circumstances beyond my control, I ended up going to a uni in England.

[BlueWizard]

Posted: 10/26/05 at 11:55pm

Poor you.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 10/26/05 at 11:56pm

Where in England? I have some friends that are attending universities over there and my other friend is looking into grad schools.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 10/26/05 at 11:57pm

I don't really know, BlueWizard. I mean, I didn't apply here thinking "oh, it's an Ivy, I have to." I did it because it had one of the best academic programs for what I wanted to study when I applied, and for the usual factors of social life and all of that sort of thing. I have friends who applied to all of the Ivies simply because they had the name, which I think it silly.

[JACXR71]

Posted: 10/26/05 at 11:59pm

Don't forget the 'new' Ivys - Duke, Northwestern, Stanford, and I believe Georgetown. Considered just as prestigious, the only difference being that they were founded after the "Ivy League" had already been established.

[BrendanStryker]

Posted: 10/27/05 at 12:00am

I went to Brookes at Oxford.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 10/27/05 at 12:07am

I actually think I've heard of that. More of my friends go to universities in Scotland, St. Andrews and one that begins with an H that I'm blanking on.

Emcee, did they get into any of them? I had some friends that did that as well, with no intentions of actually attending them, just to be able to say they were applying there. And if they got in, they could brag that they got in, but chose not to attend because *insert snobby bullsh*t reason here*. I just can't imagine wasting all that time on a college application just for bragging rights.

"Considered just as prestigious"

By the students there at least, definitely not by the original Ivy League schools.

Updated On: 10/27/05 at 12:07 AM

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 10/27/05 at 12:21am

Something went very weird in my high school the year I graduated. Our valedictorian applied to two Ivies, and she didn't get into either -- Brown and Harvard. It was a total surprise. This girl should've gotten in. She got into respectable schools, but nothing like anyone expected of her. Random people got into some of the Ivies, but we had very few Ivy acceptances that year -- less than normal. We did send like five people to Cornell, though. My friends who applied to the Ivies simply because they wanted to brag didn't get in. I have a friend who applied to Harvard simply because he wanted to go to one of these regional parties Harvard throws for students who apply. He's smart, and if he worked harder he may have gotten in, but he's also a jerk and a slacker.

[Elphaba]

Posted: 10/27/05 at 12:53am

er, does being drunk years ago at a Yale-Harvard football game count?

[son_of_a_gunn_25]

Posted: 10/27/05 at 1:43am

"I did it because it had one of the best academic programs for what I wanted to study when I applied"

Exactly what counts when you apply. I am not saying all Ivy Leagues are bad to underclassmen, but I have heard stories. Go for the strength of the program in the area you want to study. The people in your field will know that it is a place to look for people with your particular degree.

[wickedwitchofthechest]

Posted: 10/27/05 at 2:16am

I'm at Duke, not Ivy, but close, and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. And yes, I do consider myself as better-read and a much more analytical thinker than some people I know at other universities, with whom I considered myself on par during high school. Of course, I'm severely uncompetitive, so I'm able to enjoy my college experience more than most students here.

Emcee, the college admissions process is beyond comprehension and completely, totally subjective. I don't know about other universities, but I work in the admissions office at Duke, and it's really amazing the people who do and do not get in. A lot depends on your essay, and if you're not really inspired on the topic, you're pretty much out of luck. Of course, it does make for fun reading when people send in essays about their first kiss or creepy stalkerish letters to the officers they met during a campus tour.

[Plum]

Posted: 10/27/05 at 8:25am

Seriously, I wouldn't go to an Ivy as an undergrad. They're all fine educational institutions, but if you want to be taught by profs who actually want to teach (as opposed to working on their latest book), go to a liberal arts college. The lack of grad students means that you get all the attention, the research opportunities, and even the possibility of publication.

Williams, Swarthmore, Wellsley, Haverford, Pomona, and Amherst are all great schools that put all their effort into their undergrads. If you want a brand name, go ahead and stick with the Ivy. But if you want the actual substance with which you associate that brand, don't. The little schools are the real thing. I know of which I speak. :)

-Plum, who has friends in Dartmouth, Princeton, Columbia, Harvard, and UPenn.

[KMF_NYC]

Posted: 10/27/05 at 11:47am

Undergrad at Brown -- was a GREAT four years...went there for the program only -- Not just "because" it was Ivy.

It really is what you make of it, just like any experience in life. I have friends who left Brown and Harvard as well as commuter schools because it was not the right environment.

I did not have or feel the undergrad envy -- although I know people who did (at Brown as well as others...

Make your choice carefully -- in most cases you will know where "home" is once you are on campus!

[ckeaton]

Posted: 10/27/05 at 11:52am

MFL, aren't you 13 or something?

[Up In Lost]

Posted: 10/27/05 at 11:59am

ck, I thought so too...

And, Brown is my reach school. If I applied, I could get into Harvard, but it's REALLY cut throat there, and I'm a weebit passive for that.

At the moment, my top three are Ithaca, Lehigh and Skidmore. Brown, again, ismy reach, and my dream school, but I'm not too sure about being able to get in.

Probably should pick a safety, too. Hm.

[Plum]

Posted: 10/27/05 at 12:04pm

Aw, Skidmore's nice. I went to CTY there. I know a couple of people who are happy at Lehigh, too.

And state schools work fine as safeties- they're really underrated in a lot of places and the prices can't be beat. :)

[Up In Lost]

Posted: 10/27/05 at 12:28pm

I know Skidmore is nice! I really liked it there, and the theater program seems pretty awesome. Four student done productions every SEMESTER. That's a lot. I also know a few kids who go there. The only thing I didn't like about it was how quiet the campus was. Besides that, it was awesome. The riding (horses) program is also AMAZZING, so that's a plus.

I loved Lehigh, but the guy who took me on tour, and the interviewer didn't really know much about the theater program, so I had to ask around about it.

And, I know nothing about Ithaca except they actually have exactly what I want and that I wouldn't have to fool with mixing and matching classes, and what not. They also have a riding team.


Edit: THe Lehigh campus was CRAWLING with boys. And no, I'm not a little hussy, I just want to be.

Updated On: 10/27/05 at 12:28 PM

[M J R]

Posted: 10/27/05 at 2:22pm

I went to Rice, which considers itself a "2nd tier" ivy league school. Incredibly demanding.

[My Fair Lady]

Posted: 10/27/05 at 9:49pm

I'm 14, and I go to a private high school, so they encourage us to decide where we want to go by the time we're Sophomores.

[ElphieDefiesGravity]

Posted: 10/27/05 at 9:51pm

AHHH! That's crazy, in my opinion. I had know idea where I really wanted to go until this summer, and I'm a senior!

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 10/27/05 at 9:53pm

I thought I knew exactly where I wanted to go by the end of my freshman year. I changed my mind about six billion times, but oddly enough, that first "choice" I made ended up being my first choice when it was all said and done. You'll probably change your mind between your sophomore year and the time you actually apply.

[bta212]

Posted: 10/27/05 at 10:27pm

I went to Cornell and I can't endorse Ithaca College very highly; If you are planning to enroll in a program that is unique to I.C., AND if you have exceptional self-control (i.e. you can study while everyone around you is partying), you might do well there, but it is NOT an academic environment at all.

[BlueWizard]

Posted: 10/27/05 at 10:55pm

Since we're advocating schools here: if you want to go to a school that's on par with the best in the U.S., but with a fraction of the tuition, you might want to look into some Canadian universities. All universities in Canada are publicly-funded, so even with the International student fees it's significantly less expensive, and the level of education is very high. I can tell you that the University of Toronto is one of the most respected research universities in the world, and have many illustrious professors in its faculty.

[Up In Lost]

Posted: 10/28/05 at 3:07pm

I know nothing of Ithaca really, but I tend to be a hermit anyway, the partying won['t bother me.