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This isn’t really a fair stereotype of Ivy League undergrads at all. Parental pressure doesn’t translate into admission as much as you might think, given how tr

This isn’t really a fair stereotype of Ivy League undergrads at all. Parental pressure doesn’t translate into admission as much as you might think, given how transparently manufactured their applications end up looking. The Ivy League graduates I know went there because they were naturally high achievers, more or less. They liked being challenged, accepting challenges, and working hard to complete them. Ivy Leagues deliver challenges and high expectations non-stop. Anyone who isn’t naturally the type of person to seek out and complete challenges isn’t going to last long there. > I'm thinking of some cheap local college is good enough and save the money. I really don’t understand this notion that Ivy League universities are somehow no better than community colleges. Everything from the faculty to the coursework to the buildings and resources are world-class. It really is a step above and I do encourage ambitious young people to take a serious look at top-tier universities, including (but not limited to) Ivies. The benefits are very real, but only for people who want that level of challenge. On the other hand, if your goal is simply to graduate college and move on then Ivy League would be a terrible choice. They really are much more difficult.

hotpotamus 4y ago
In the wake of the admissions scandals, I'm not so convinced that the Ivy elite are really as special or gifted as you say. If anyone who gets in on a golfing coach's bought recommendation can complete the coursework with all these supposed high achievers, then something seems off. If you define high achievement/accepting challenges as devotion to the institution and a willingness to do whatever it takes to enter and graduate, then I think the picture comes into better focus. Just my take - I'm certainly not Ivy material myself.
leereeves 4y ago
> The Ivy League graduates I know went there because they were naturally high achievers, more or less. Surely that's not the only factor. Wealth still seems to be a key factor in admissions. 67% of students at Harvard are from the top 20%, just 4.5% from the bottom 20%.[1] And various forms of discrimination remain. Asian Americans, in particular, have sued because Harvard discriminates against them in admissions, and: "Harvard’s internal statistical analyses, released over the course of the lawsuit, revealed that the [subjective] personal ranking carried the most weight and the academic ranking the least."[2] 1: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/college-mobility/harvard-university https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/college-mobilit... 2: https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/five-myths/five-myths-about-the-ivy-league/2019/03/22/13fdb0da-4bf0-11e9-93d0-64dbcf38ba41_story.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/five-myths/five-myths...
rr888 4y ago
Thanks for taking the time to reply on this. Like I said I'm relatively new here and dont really have a good feel of the different university cultures. I see lots of other families put a lot of pressure on kids and do extra-curriculars because "that is what admissions wants". My natural inclination is to recommend my children is do what I did, work studiously but also have a life. I dont really know if this is good or not until its too late. > if your goal is simply to graduate college and move on then Ivy League would be a terrible choice. They really are much more difficult. I'm not sure what you meant about this. To me most undergrad courses aren't that different from school, if you're using the same text books, similar curriculum it doesn't really matter so much where you are. For post-grad yes the differences make more of an impact.
kcplate 4y ago
>I really don’t understand this notion that Ivy League universities are somehow no better than community colleges It has not been my experience that their graduates are any better educated than less prestigious universities. Post graduation at the undergrad level their value seems to be just the prestige of the university’s reputation on a resume and the social network it offers to other graduates for upward mobility. I am being honest, I’d consider a degree from Ivy League university a possible negative for an job candidate if I am hiring. One, it speaks to a likelihood of a possible wealthy background growing up and my three decades of experience, I have not found that to be a consistent precursor to capability of the candidate. Two, it creates a higher likelihood that a recent graduate would use my opportunity as a quick stepping stone to the next big thing sooner rather than later.

hotpotamus 4y ago

In the wake of the admissions scandals, I'm not so convinced that the Ivy elite are really as special or gifted as you say. If anyone who gets in on a golfing coach's bought recommendation can complete the coursework with all these supposed high achievers, then something seems off. If you define high achievement/accepting challenges as devotion to the institution and a willingness to do whatever it takes to enter and graduate, then I think the picture comes into better focus. Just my take - I'm certainly not Ivy material myself.

leereeves 4y ago

> The Ivy League graduates I know went there because they were naturally high achievers, more or less. Surely that's not the only factor. Wealth still seems to be a key factor in admissions. 67% of students at Harvard are from the top 20%, just 4.5% from the bottom 20%.[1] And various forms of discrimination remain. Asian Americans, in particular, have sued because Harvard discriminates against them in admissions, and: "Harvard’s internal statistical analyses, released over the course of the lawsuit, revealed that the [subjective] personal ranking carried the most weight and the academic ranking the least."[2] 1: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/college-mobility/harvard-university https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/college-mobilit... 2: https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/five-myths/five-myths-about-the-ivy-league/2019/03/22/13fdb0da-4bf0-11e9-93d0-64dbcf38ba41_story.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/five-myths/five-myths...

rr888 4y ago

Thanks for taking the time to reply on this. Like I said I'm relatively new here and dont really have a good feel of the different university cultures. I see lots of other families put a lot of pressure on kids and do extra-curriculars because "that is what admissions wants". My natural inclination is to recommend my children is do what I did, work studiously but also have a life. I dont really know if this is good or not until its too late. > if your goal is simply to graduate college and move on then Ivy League would be a terrible choice. They really are much more difficult. I'm not sure what you meant about this. To me most undergrad courses aren't that different from school, if you're using the same text books, similar curriculum it doesn't really matter so much where you are. For post-grad yes the differences make more of an impact.

kcplate 4y ago

>I really don’t understand this notion that Ivy League universities are somehow no better than community colleges It has not been my experience that their graduates are any better educated than less prestigious universities. Post graduation at the undergrad level their value seems to be just the prestige of the university’s reputation on a resume and the social network it offers to other graduates for upward mobility. I am being honest, I’d consider a degree from Ivy League university a possible negative for an job candidate if I am hiring. One, it speaks to a likelihood of a possible wealthy background growing up and my three decades of experience, I have not found that to be a consistent precursor to capability of the candidate. Two, it creates a higher likelihood that a recent graduate would use my opportunity as a quick stepping stone to the next big thing sooner rather than later.